The Middlebury men's ice hockey team dropped a 4-0 decision to Bowdoin in its season lidlifter on Friday evening.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The Polar Bears struck 27 seconds into the opening period. Isaac Abbott collected a loose puck behind the goal and muscled a wraparound bid inside the right post for a 1-0 lead.
• The visitors nearly knotted the contest with 1:58 expired. John Halverson tried to force in a shot on the doorstep, but goalie Jacob Osborne denied the bid with his pads.
• Bowdoin earned a power-play opportunity with 14:01 expired. The Polar Bears won the faceoff and Gabe Shipper fired an initial shot from the right circle that was blocked. The puck flew in the air toward the crease, where Will Rice batted the puck past Panther goalie Andrew Heinze at 14:15 for a 2-0 advantage.
• Middlebury buzzed the zone in the latter stages of the frame with a trio of attempts. The best came from Tyler Wishart on the left point that Osborne snagged with his glove.
• The hosts looked to get on the board again with 20 seconds left, but Heinze thwarted a knuckling shot by Shipper to keep it a two-goal difference.
• With 1:52 expired in the middle stanza, Revy Mack found space between defenders on the rush, but his wrister was saved by Osborne's right pad.
• The Panthers skated in with some pace with 14:39 remaining. Luc Malkhassian lifted a puck that was headed for the top of the net, but the netminder stopped the shot with his helmet.
• Bowdoin nearly made it a three-goal difference with eight seconds left after a Middlebury miscue at the blueline. Heinze answered the call, stuffing shots from Will Killoran and Justin Wright in quick succession.
• The hosts doubled their advantage with a pair of tallies less than two minutes apart early in the third period. J.J. Lemieux flipped a wrister between the circles that Heinze got a piece of with his stick, but the puck trickled over the goal line. Wright made it a 4-0 contest on a top-shelf flick.
• With 8:03 gone in the stanza, Edward Moskowitz deked a defender and sent a left-handed shot toward Osborne that the goalie smothered with his body.
• The Panthers manufactured a quality opportunity on back-to-back shots by Wishart and Jack Silverman from point-blank range, but Osborne denied both with 4:26 left.
• Middlebury nearly ruined the shutout with two ticks remaining, but May's wrister whistled just over the crossbar for the final 4-0 tally.

NOTES

• The programs played for the 99th matchup with the Polar Bears holding a narrow 45-43-11 advantage.

The Panthers conclude their season-opening weekend in Maine with a 3:00 p.m. contest on Saturday at Colby.