The Bowdoin Polar Bears are a Women’s Division III ice hockey team representing Bowdoin College, located in Brunswick, Maine from the New England Small College Athletic Conference. The team is based out of Sidney J. Watson Arena, which is located on the school’s campus. The women’s program was established for the 1984-85 season.

 

Quick Hits

• School: Bowdoin College
• Location: Brunswick, Maine
• School Founded: 1794
• Enrollment: 1,873
• Colors: Black, White, & Gray
• Home Arena: Sidney J. Watson Arena
• Arena Capacity: 1,900
• Rink Dimensions: 200′ x 90′
• Conference: New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC)
• Head Coach: Marissa O’Neil
• Conference Titles: 3 (2003, 2004 co-champ, 2005)
• Conference Tournament Titles: 3 (2002, 2004, 2013)

Conferences

• Independent within ECAC (1984-1995)
• ECAC (1995-1999)
• ECAC East (1999-2001)
• New England Small College Athletic Conference (2001-present)

Arenas

• Dayton Arena (1984-2009)
• Sidney J. Watson Arena (2009-present)

Head Coaches

• Bobby Jones (1984-1988) 34-26-2 (.565)
• Lee Hunsaker (1988-1992) 35-27-7 (.558)
• Mike Woodruff (1992-1996) 40-40-2 (.500)
• Michelle Amidon (1996-1997; 1998-2003; 2004-2006) 140-52-12 (.716)
• Fred Quistgard (1997-1998) 11-12-1 (.479)
• Kevin McGonagle (2003-2004) 20-5-1 (.789)
• Heather Farrell (2006-2007) 17-7-2 (.692)
• Stacy Wilson (2007-2010) 28-35-9 (.451)
• Marissa O’Neil (2010-Present) 169-169-37 (.500)

Year by Year Results

Season	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts	Finish	Conference Tournament	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Independent										Overall Record
1984-85	14	8	6	0	66	41	-	-	-	14	8	6	0	66	41
1985-86	14	9	5	0	75	41	-	-	-	14	9	5	0	75	41
1986-87	15	8	5	2	83	44	-	-	-	15	8	5	2	83	44
1987-88	19	9	10	0	73	62	-	-	-	19	9	10	0	73	62
1988-89	19	10	7	2	67	61	-	-	-	19	10	7	2	67	61
1989-90	18	8	8	2	49	62	-	-	-	18	8	8	2	49	62
1990-91	15	7	5	3	59	48	-	-	-	15	7	5	3	59	48
1991-92	14	8	6	0	45	52	-	-	-	14	8	6	0	45	52
1992-93	15	10	5	0	72	51	-	-	-	15	10	5	0	72	51
1993-94	21	11	10	0	96	83	-	-	-	21	11	10	0	96	83
1994-95	22	14	7	1	50	153	-	-	-	22	14	7	1	50	153
ECAC										Overall Record
1995-96	14	12	2	0	109	20	0.857	1st of 5 East	L, SF 5-3 (RIT)	21	13	7	1	125	58
1996-97	14	11	3	0	52	27	0.786	1st of 5 East	W, SF 7-4 (RIT) L, F 10-0 (Middlebury)	22	12	10	0	66	76
1997-98	16	10	5	1	63	41	21	2nd of 6 East	L, SF 5-3 (Middlebury)	23	11	11	1	74	79
1998-99	18	14	3	1	87	24	29	1st of 4 East	L, SF 4-0 (Sacred Heart)	24	15	8	1	91	56
ECAC East										Overall Record
1999-00	17	11	4	2	82	30	24	T-3rd of 18	L, QF 5-2 (Williams)	22	12	8	2	92	53
2000-01	18	12	3	3	78	27	27	T-5th of 19	L, QF 5-4 OT (Williams)	24	16	5	3	103	37
New England Small College Athletic Conference										Overall Record
2001-02	16	13	2	1	85	17	27	2nd of 9	W, QF 7-0 (Amherst) W, SF 3-1 (Colby) W, F 2-1 (Williams)	29	23	5	1	125	38
2002-03	16	14	0	2	88	16	30	1st of 9	W, SF 5-0 (Colby) L, F 4-0 (Middlebury)	28	23	2	3	133	35
2003-04	16	15	1	0	103	12	30	T-1st of 9	W, SF 6-0 (Hamilton) W, F 4-1 (Middlebury)	26	20	5	1	129	29
2004-05	16	15	1	0	87	17	30	1st of 9	W, SF 2-1 OT (Hamilton) L, F 5-1 (Middlebury)	26	20	5	1	120	44
2005-06	16	12	3	1	77	41	25	2nd of 9	W, QF 2-1 (Conn. College) W, SF 2-1 (Willams) L, F 8-2 (Middlebury)	27	17	9	1	118	71
2006-07	16	11	3	2	69	41	24	2nd of 9	W, QF 3-1 (Trinity) L, SF 3-2 OT (Amherst)	26	17	7	2	100	64
2007-08	16	2	8	6	32	44	10	7th of 9	L, QF 5-1 (Amherst)	23	5	12	6	45	63
2008-09	16	7	8	1	43	53	15	5th of 9	L, QF 5-1 (Colby)	23	11	11	1	68	71
2009-10	16	8	7	1	59	37	17	5th of 9	W, QF 4-2 L, SF 3-2 OT (Amherst)	26	12	12	2	100	64
2010-11	16	9	6	1	45	38	19	4th of 9	W, QF 2-1 (Conn. College) L, SF 4-0 (Middlebury)	26	15	9	2	85	63
2011-12	16	9	6	1	48	31	19	3rd of 9	W, QF 3-2 OT (Williams), L, SF 1-0 (Amherst)	26	12	10	4	72	60
2012-13	16	12	3	1	57	18	25	2nd of 9	W, QF 5-3 (Williams) W, SF 3-1 (Amherst) W, F 2-1 (Middlebury)	28	21	5	2	92	43
2013-14	16	6	7	3	34	41	15	T-4th of 9	W, QF 2-1 (Wesleyan) W, SF 4-2 (Colby) L, F 4-1 (Williams)	27	13	11	3	58	66
2014-15	16	6	7	3	37	39	15	5th of 9	W, QF, 3-2 OT (Conn. College) L, SF 4-2 (Middlebury)	26	11	10	5	62	59
2015-16	16	5	10	1	35	47	11	7th of 9	L, QF 2-1 OT (Amherst)	24	8	14	2	51	70
2016-17	16	7	6	3	27	33	17	T-5th of 9	W, QF 1-0 OT (Hamilton) L, SF 4-1 (Middlebury)	26	13	9	4	47	43
2017-18	16	6	7	3	32	35	15	5th of 9	W, QF 3-1 (Hamilton) L, SF 2-1 (Middlebury)	25	13	9	3	59	47
2018-19	16	2	13	1	19	39	5	9th of 9	Did not qualify	24	3	19	2	32	58
2019-20	16	4	11	1	29	49	9	7th of 9	L, QF 2-0 (Colby)	25	8	14	3	49	61
2020-21	Season cancelled October 8th due to COVID-19 pandemic														4
2021-22	16	6	9	1	30	47	0.406	6th of 9	L, QF 5-0 (Amherst)	22	10	11	1	50	56
2022-23	16	2	12	2	21	50	10	T-8th of 9	Did not qualify	23	7	13	3	46	60
2023-24	16	3	10	3	23	39	12.5	8th of 9	L, QF 2-0 (Amherst)	25	8	14	3	43	61
2024-25	16	10	6	0	30	27	29	4th of 9	L, QF 2-1 (Hamilton)	24	16	8	0	63	39
2025-26	16	5	11	0	30	37	14	7th of 9	L, QF 2-1 OT (Amherst)	24	11	13	0	60	47

NCAA Tournament Appearances

Season	First Round	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Championship	Third Place (until 2022)
2002	N/A	W, 2-1 (Middlebury Panthers)	L, 2-1 OT (Manhattanville Valiants)	--	L, 2-1 (Gustavus Adolphus Golden Gusties)
2003	N/A	W, 3-0 (Middlebury Panthers)	L, 4-1 (Manhattanville Valiants)	--	W, 4-2 (Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons)
2004	N/A	L, 2-1 (Plattsburgh Cardinals)	--	--	--
2005	N/A	L, 9-4 (Plattsburgh Cardinals)	--	--	--
2013	N/A	L, 4-0 (Elmira Soaring Eagles)	--	--	--
5 appearances		1 Third Place Finish		1 Fourth Place Finish

See Also

• Bowdoin Polar Bears women’s ice hockey website
• NESCAC women’s hockey website