The Bowdoin Polar Bears (Brunswick) and the University of New England Nor’easters (Biddeford) men’s ice hockey teams, coached by two very familiar names, have enjoyed fantastic seasons at the NCAA Division III level.
Bowdoin recently became the first #7 seed to win their conference tournament, topping Williams 3-2 in overtime back on March 5 to win their third ever NESCAC Title (also 2013, 2014). A week ago this past Saturday the Polar Bears had their great run ended in the NCAA Division III Tournament 1-0 in overtime by Curry College, in what was their first appearance in the dance since that last conference title in 2014. Bowdoin, led by former University of Maine player and assistant coach Ben Guite, finished up with a record of 15-10-3. Guite took over the program in July 2022 after a stint as bench boss for one year for the Maine Mariners of the East Coast Hockey League, where he led Maine to their first ever postseason with a record of 33-31-5.
The same Curry College team that eliminated Bowdoin from the tournament, won the Commonwealth Coast Conference league championship game over #10 the University of New England. The Nor’easters (21-6-2) though still qualified for the NCAA Division III playoffs. UNE defeated Plymouth State 2-0 in round one, and then got an overtime goal this past Saturday to upset the top team in the country #1 Utica College on their home ice 5-4 in New York to advance to the Frozen Four of D3 for a second straight season. They will face #3 Adrian College (Michigan) in the national semifinals this Friday at 3 p.m. on the campus of Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts. Endicott and Hobart College (NY) will meet in the other semifinal with the national championship game set for Sunday at 7 p.m. The Nor’easters fell in last seasons national semifinal to SUNY-Geneseo 8-3. UNE is led by former University of Maine player Kevin Swallow who appeared in 62 career games with the Black Bears from 2008-2010, after a transfer from Dartmouth. As the head coach (10 seasons) in Biddeford he has compiled a record of 136-48-16 where he has also earned several Division III awards for Coach of the Year.
Story by Chris Lessner
