1925–26 Bates Bobcats men's ice hockey season

The 1925–26 Bates men's ice hockey season was the 7th season of play for the program.

1925–26 Bates Bobcats men's ice hockey season
Conference	Independent
Home ice	Lake Andrews
Record
Overall	3–6–1
Road	0–4–0
Neutral	3–2–1
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Carleton Wiggin
Captain(s)	Dave Wyllie
Bates Bobcats men's ice hockey seasons « 1924–25 1926–27 »

Season

As the season began, Bates was looking to recover from its worst performance but were not able to get any ice time in until New Year's.^[1] While there were many returning players, the team had missed the entire second half of the season due to a lack of ice and improving teamwork was a priority for coach Wiggin. Junie Stanley, who had been elected team captain after last season was no longer enrolled at Bates. The team would have to overcome his loss while Dave Wyllie assumed the mantle of leadership.

The Bobcats' first game came after just 9 days of practice against a veteran team from Bowdoin. The Garnet did their best but they were outmatched by the Polar Bears and sunk 0–3. The score could have been much worse but Wyllie did well in goal as the team was outshot 17–36. Al Lane nearly scored for Bates but the puck entered the net just after the second period had expired.^[2] The team then prepared for a 3-game road trip south and met Williams first. The Ephs had already dropped Yale twice and proved their superiority by throttling the Bobcats 0–13. After the worst loss in program history, Bates rebounded against Union. Though they lost the game, their performance was far better and the final score was a respectable 2–4. A day later the team had to contend with poor ice at Army but were still nearly able to pull out a win.^[3]

Despite losing all their games to that point, the steady improvement of the team gave hope that they could finish strong and vie for the state championship. They faced a shorthanded Bowdoin club in a rematch a week later but weren't able to take advantage. Wyllie played brilliantly, allowing just 1 goal in the match, but Bates was unable to score at all and lost their chance at a championship.^[4] Just before the exam break, Bates played host to New Hampshire and finally ended their losing streak. After losing 10 in a row, dating back to last season, Wyllie posted a shutout to lead the team to victory.

After a 2-week break for exams, Bates returned to the ice in mid-February and took on MIT. The lineup was reshuffled for the game with Lane moved to wing along with White while Foster took over at center. The new forward line provided nearly as much offense as the team had seen all season and popped in 5 goals for the Bobcats. Every score was needed against the Engineers, who netted 4 of their own, but a late goal by Foster gave the team their second win on the season.^[5] A third win by Bowdoin ensured the Polar Bears a state championship in the middle of the week but didn't deter the Bobcats from finishing strong. Because an earlier game against Colby had been postponed, the two agreed to play a doubleheader but that too was delayed until the 22nd. The first game Bates got off to a tremendous start by scored four times in the first period with White and Foster each in on two of those goals. The game slowed afterwards and that appeared to suit the Mules as Colby scored twice in the middle period. The pace picked up in the third but that didn't stop the comeback bid and Bates soon had its lead down to just a single goal. Wyllie stood tall in the final minutes, however, and enabled Bates to eke out a win. The second match was much tighter between the two and they finished regulation tied at 1-all. Foster put the team ahead in the first overtime period but it only took a couple of minutes for Colby to tie the game once more. After that the teams, who were visibly tired after an entire day of playing one another, were unable to get another goal. The match went to 4 overtime periods but nothing could be decided. After a total of 72 minutes, the games was called a draw and allowed Bates to claim the runner-up spot for the state championship.^[6]

Stanley Stuber served as team manager.

Roster

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team
		George H. Chase	Senior				1904-04-26	Cambridge, Massachusetts
		Edward I. Erickson	Sophomore	D			1906-12-02	Newburyport, Massachusetts
		Lewis F. Foster	Sophomore	D/C			1906-10-14	Belmont, Massachusetts
		Fred T. Goggins	Junior					Portland, Maine
		Almon G. Lane Jr.	Junior	C/LW			1905-07-12	Lewiston, Maine
		Thomas McCrae Jr.	Sophomore	LW
		Lloyd V. Procter	Senior	D			1903-05-03	South Weymouth, Massachusetts
		Roy U. Sinclair	Senior	RW			1902-06-03	Westbrook, Maine
		Howard S. White	Sophomore	D/RW			1907-04-27	Belmont, Massachusetts
		David Wyllie (C)	Senior	G			1904-07-11	Whitneyville, Connecticut

^[7]

Standings

1925–26 Eastern Collegiate ice hockey standings v t e
	Intercollegiate								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	Pct.	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Amherst	7	1	4	2	.286	11	28		7	1	4	2	11	28
Army	8	3	5	0	.375	12	22		9	3	6	0	15	29
Bates	10	3	6	1	.350	18	38		10	3	6	1	18	38
Boston College	3	2	1	0	.667	9	5		16	6	9	1	46	54
Boston University	11	7	4	0	.636	28	11		15	7	8	0	31	28
Bowdoin	6	4	2	0	.667	15	12		7	4	3	0	15	17
Clarkson	5	2	3	0	.400	10	13		8	4	4	0	25	25
Cornell	6	2	4	0	.333	10	21		6	2	4	0	10	21
Dartmouth	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		15	12	3	0	72	34
Hamilton	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		10	7	3	0	–	–
Harvard	9	8	1	0	.889	34	13		11	8	3	0	38	20
Massachusetts Agricultural	8	3	4	1	.438	10	20		8	3	4	1	10	20
Middlebury	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		8	5	3	0	–	–
MIT	9	3	6	0	.333	16	32		9	3	6	0	16	32
New Hampshire	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		4	1	3	0	6	20
Norwich	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		2	1	1	0	–	–
Princeton	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		16	7	9	0	–	–
Rensselaer	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		6	2	4	0	–	–
Saint Michael's	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–
St. Lawrence	2	0	2	0	.000	1	4		2	0	2	0	1	4
Syracuse	6	2	2	2	.500	8	7		7	3	2	2	10	7
Union	6	2	3	1	.417	18	24		6	2	3	1	18	24
Vermont	5	2	3	0	.400	20	11		5	2	3	0	20	11
Williams	15	10	4	1	.700	59	23		18	12	5	1	72	28
Yale	10	1	8	1	.150	9	23		14	4	9	1	25	30

Schedule and results

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Record
Regular Season
January 9	vs. Bowdoin*	Bartlett Street Rink • Lewiston, Maine	L 0–3	0–1–0
January 14	at Williams*	Weston Field Rink • Williamstown, Massachusetts	L 0–13	0–2–0
January 15	at Union*	Union Rink • Schenectady, New York	L 2–4	0–3–0
January 16	at Army*	Stuart Rink • West Point, New York	L 3–4	0–4–0
January 23	vs. Bowdoin*	Bartlett Street Rink • Lewiston, Maine	L 0–1	0–5–0
January 30	vs. New Hampshire*	Bartlett Street Rink • Lewiston, Maine	W 1–0	1–5–0
February 13	vs. MIT*	Bartlett Street Rink • Lewiston, Maine	W 5–4	2–5–0
February 17	at Bowdoin*	Delta Rink • Brunswick, Maine	L 1–4	2–6–0
February 22	vs. Colby*	Bartlett Street Rink • Lewiston, Maine	W 4–3	3–6–0
February 22	vs. Colby*	Bartlett Street Rink • Lewiston, Maine	T 2–2 4OT	3–6–1
*Non-conference game.

References

1. "Saint Dominique's and Bowdoin Games Open Big Hockey Season". Bates Student. January 8, 1926. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
2. "Bates Drops Fast Game to Bowdoin". Bates Student. January 15, 1926. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
3. "Hockey Team Back After Three Well Contested Games". Bates Student. January 22, 1926. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
4. "Bowdoin and Bates Stage Slow Game". Bates Student. January 29, 1926. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
5. "Fast Hockey Brings Victory Over M.I.T." Bates Student. February 19, 1926. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
6. "Bates Wins Second Place from Colby". Bates Student. February 26, 1926. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
7. "Mirror, 1926". Bates College. Retrieved June 12, 2023.