1923–24 Bowdoin Polar Bears men's ice hockey season

The 1923–24 Bowdoin Polar Bears men's ice hockey season was the 5th season of play for the program.

1923–24 Bowdoin Polar Bears
men's ice hockey season
ConferenceIndependent
Home iceDelta Rink
Record
Overall1–3–2
Home1–0–1
Road0–3–1
Coaches and captains
Captain(s)Arthur Miguel
Bowdoin Polar Bears men's ice hockey seasons
« 1922–23 1924–25 »

Season

edit

Changes were coming for the hockey program in 1924. The first was a new policy that affected several programs at the school; Bowdoin adopted the increasingly popular one-semester rule that barred freshman from participating in varsity sports until they had completed at least one semester of classes. The school's athletic council announced their decision after a meeting on December 20 and it would be implemented immediately. This caused the team to have to wait for several prospective players who had already been training with the team since the beginning of the month.[1] While another warm winter played havoc with the available ice, the team was trying to sort itself out without a head coach. Al Morrell, who had served as a player/coach for two years, had graduated and was no longer able to serve in that capacity.

By the time the first game rolled around, the Polar Bears had yet to hold a single practice as a group and had been consigned to working out in the gymnasium.[2] It was hardly surprising that Bowdoin was unable to score a single goal in their first two matches, both held in Lewiston, despite all of its starters having played the year before. The weather refused to comply with Bowdoin's desires and a further game with Colby was postponed to a later date.

Bowdoin wasn't able to play its third game until after the exam break though that did allow the freshman players to join the varsity squad. While the lack of practice was still an omnipresent issue, the team was hoping to get onto the right track against Maine. With Berry now manning the pipes, Nichols was a reserve forward along with new entry Cole. The Polar Bears were able to finally get on the scoresheet but they were once more outplayed due to a lack of teamwork.[3] Mercifully, the ice solidified enough to allow Bowdoin to get some training time in for the next game. The awaited match with Colby finally was held on the 13th and the team looked like a completely different team. While starting the exact same players as they had against Maine, Bowdoin led off the scoring and then exploded for 3 goals in the second period. They were matched goal for goal by the Mules and ended regulation with 4 each. Three overtime periods passed without effect and the game was called due to darkness. Bowdoin retained the newfound vigor for their rematch with Maine and demonstrated just how important practice was for the team. In a complete reversal of fortune, Bowdoin dominated the game from the outset, scoring three goals in the first period, two coming from Cutter, to take a commanding lead. The White defense was the star in the second and stopped many a rush from the Blues. Cutter finished off his hat-trick in the third to lead the club to its first win of the season.[4]

Just as the team was getting into its stride, the ice melted and prevented the team from playing all but one game for the rest of the season. The final game was a rematch with Colby that saw both teams slowed by very soft ice. Cutter netter the only goal for the Bears but it was enough to secure a tie.[5] Due to having three of their state series games cancelled, Bowdoin finished with a 1–2–2 record which was good enough for them to finish in a tie for second with Maine (Bates was undefeated in 5 games).

John Whitcomb served as team manager.

Roster

edit
No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team
  James Berry Junior G 1904-08-19 Harwich, Massachusetts
  Gordon Bucknam Sophomore RW 1904-09-15 Newton, Massachusetts
  Clarence L. Cole Freshman D/W 1905-06-28 Limington, Maine
  John W. Cronin Junior C/RW 1905-02-10 Lewiston, Maine
  Charles N. Cutter Sophomore C 1904-03-05 Somerville, Massachusetts
  J. Reginald Forsythe Freshman RW 1902-11-12 Middlebury, Vermont
  Roger H. Littlefield Sophomore D/W 1903-10-19 Dorchester, Massachusetts
  Arthur J. D. Miguel (C) Senior D 1901-08-29 Cambridge, Massachusetts
  Barrett C. Nichols Junior G/F 1901-12-14 Boston, Massachusetts
  Howard B. Preble Junior LW 1904-07-10 Everett, Massachusetts
  William Widen Sophomore D 1902-12-09 Boston, Massachusetts

[6]

Standings

edit
Intercollegiate Overall
GP W L T Pct. GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Amherst 11 5 5 1 .500 16 17 11 5 5 1 16 17
Army 6 3 3 0 .500 15 13 8 3 5 0 23 30
Bates 8 8 0 0 1.000 31 3 11 9 2 0 34 9
Boston College 1 1 0 0 1.000 6 3 18 7 10 1 32 45
Boston University 7 1 6 0 .143 10 34 9 1 8 0 11 42
Bowdoin 5 1 2 2 .400 10 17 6 1 3 2 10 24
Clarkson 4 1 3 0 .250 8 12 7 3 4 0 12 19
Colby 8 1 5 2
Cornell 4 2 2 0 .500 22 11 4 2 2 0 22 11
Dartmouth 17 10 5 2 81 32
Hamilton 12 7 3 2
Harvard 9 6 3 0 .667 35 19 14 6 7 1
Maine 12 4 8 0
Massachusetts Agricultural 8 2 6 0 .250 18 38 9 3 6 0 20 38
Middlebury 7 0 6 1
MIT 4 0 4 0 .000 2 27 4 0 4 0 2 27
Pennsylvania 6 1 4 1 .250 6 23 8 1 5 2 8 28
Princeton 18 12 6 0
Rensselaer 5 2 3 0 .400 5 31 5 2 3 0 5 31
Saint Michael's
Syracuse
Union 4 2 2 0 .500 13 10 5 3 2 0 18 12
Williams 11 2 7 2 .273 11 22 13 4 7 2 18 24
Yale 15 14 1 0 .933 60 12 23 18 4 1 80 33
YMCA College 6 1 5 0 .167 6 39 7 2 5 0 11 39

Schedule and results

edit
Date Opponent Site Decision Result Record
Regular Season
January 15 at Bates* Lake Andrews RinkLewiston, Maine Nichols L 0–7  0–1–0
January 18 at St. Dominique* Bartlett Street Rink • Lewiston, Maine Nichols L 0–5  0–2–0
February 8 at Maine* Alumni Field RinkOrono, Maine Berry L 1–6  0–3–0
February 13 Colby* Delta RinkBrunswick, Maine Berry T 4–4 3OT 0–3–1
February 16 Maine* Delta RinkBrunswick, Maine Berry W 4–1  1–3–1
February 25 at Colby* South End Arena • Waterville, Maine Berry T 1–1  1–3–2
*Non-conference game.

[7]

Scoring statistics

edit
Name Position Games Goals
Charles Cutter C 4 6
John Cronin C/RW 6 2
Clarence Cole D/LW/RW 4 1
Howard Preble LW 6 1
Reginald Forsythe RW 1 0
Gordon Bucknam RW 3 0
James Berry G 4 0
Roger Littlefield D/LW/RW 4 0
Barrett Nichols G/RW 4 0
Arthur Miguel D 6 0
William Widen D 6 0
Total 10

[7]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Freshman One-Semester Ruling is Adopted by the Athletic Council". Bowdoin Orient. January 9, 1924. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  2. ^ "Hockey Team Faces Bates With Almost No Practice". Bowdoin Orient. January 16, 1924. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  3. ^ "Maine Hockey Team Defeats Bowdoin 6 to 1". Bowdoin Orient. February 13, 1924. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  4. ^ "BOWDOIN SCORES BRILLIANT 4-1 WIN OVER MAINE SATURDAYTIES COLBY IN OVERTIME GAME". Bowdoin Orient. February 20, 1924. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  5. ^ "Bowdoin And Colby Hockey Teams Battle To 1-1 Tie". Bowdoin Orient. March 5, 1924. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  6. ^ "General Catalogue of Bowdoin College and the Medical School of Maine: A Biographical Record of Alumni and Officers, 1794-1950". Bowdoin College. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Bowdoin Orient". Bowdoin Orient. Retrieved July 11, 2023.