2008–09 NESCAC men's ice hockey season

2008–09 NESCAC men's ice hockey season
Conference	NESCAC
Season	2008–09
Duration	November 2008 – March 2009
Total teams	10
Champions	Williams
Tournament champions	Bowdoin
Tournament runner-up	Middlebury
Ncaa tournament	Bowdoin
Top scorer	Joel Covelli (Colby)
Mvp	Joel Covelli (Colby)
Coach of the year	Terry Meagher (Bowdoin)

Contents

Regular season
Conference tournament
NCAA tournament
Statistical leaders
Awards and honors
See also

2008–09 NESCAC men's ice hockey season was the ninth season of play for the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) in NCAA Division III men's ice hockey. The ten-member conference competed in a double round-robin regular season schedule from November 2008 through February 2009. The Bowdoin Polar Bears won the conference tournament, while the Williams Ephs captured the regular season title.

Regular season

The Williams Ephs, coached by Bill Kangas, secured the regular season championship with a conference record of 14–3–1, finishing two points ahead of Bowdoin. Key performers for Williams included senior forward Brett Haraguchi and goaltender Marc Pulde. The Middlebury Panthers, under coach Bill Beaney, finished third, while the Trinity Bantams and the Amherst Lord Jeffs rounded out the top five. The Colby Mules, led by the nation's top scorer Joel Covelli, finished sixth but possessed the league's most potent offense. Notable non-conference results included wins by Bowdoin over UMass Boston and Middlebury's victory against Norwich.

Conference tournament

The 2009 NESCAC Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was held from February 28 to March 8, with all games played at campus sites of the higher seed. In the quarterfinals, top-seeded Williams was upset by eighth-seeded Tufts, while second-seeded Bowdoin, third-seeded Middlebury, and fourth-seeded Trinity all advanced. In the semifinals, Bowdoin defeated Trinity and Middlebury beat Tufts to set up a final between the Polar Bears and Panthers. Bowdoin won the championship game 4–1, with goaltender Chris Rossi earning tournament MVP honors, securing the program's second conference tournament title under coach Terry Meagher.

NCAA tournament

As the NESCAC Men's Ice Hockey Tournament champion, Bowdoin received the conference's automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey tournament. The Polar Bears were placed in the East Regional and traveled to face ECAC East champion and top-ranked Norwich in the first round at Kreitzberg Arena. In a tightly contested game, Bowdoin fell to the eventual national runner-up Cadets by a score of 3–2, ending their season. No other NESCAC team received an at-large bid to the tournament.

Statistical leaders

Colby senior forward Joel Covelli dominated the conference scoring race, leading the NESCAC in points (42), goals (22), and assists (20). Williams forward Brett Haraguchi finished second in overall scoring with 33 points. In goal, Bowdoin's Chris Rossi led the conference with a .934 save percentage and a 1.85 goals against average, while Trinity's Wesley Vesprini posted four shutouts. Defenseman Jeffrey Buvinow of Trinity led all blueliners with 24 points.

Awards and honors

*Player of the Year: Joel Covelli, Colby *Coach of the Year: Terry Meagher, Bowdoin *Rookie of the Year: John Yanchek, Hamilton *First Team All-NESCAC: **F: Joel Covelli, Colby **F: Brett Haraguchi, Williams **F: Ryan Bloss, Bowdoin **D: Jeffrey Buvinow, Trinity **D: Justin Troiani, Bowdoin **G: Chris Rossi, Bowdoin *Second Team All-NESCAC included players from Middlebury, Amherst, and Williams.