Fifteen minutes into his third game as a Polar Bear, Bowdoin College freshman Ryan Leary scored the first goal of his college career.
A couple minutes later, he scored his second. Then a third. A natural hat trick in, oh, three minutes or so.
By the next period he had his fourth, and by the time the game was over he had his sixth, not to mention Bowdoin's school record in a 10-5 win over Skidmore.
The kid works fast.
"He certainly put 'em in the net," said Bowdoin coach Terry Meagher. "He just had one of those special nights where he was in the right place at the right time and you don't hear of that anymore. It was one of those nights were it was legit all around."
Legit, but still unbelievable. Even for the kid who did it.
"It was just crazy," Leary said. After a three-goal first period, anything was possible. "It was kind of a rush going into the locker room."
The performance gave the Marblehead native early entry into Bowdoin's elite, and New England Small College player of the week honors on the side.
Bowdoin is 5-2 on the season and Leary leads the team with eight goals.
"He's a producer," Meagher said. "He puts numbers up."
He's one of a handful of youngsters that has Meagher excited about the season. Four of his top five scorers are underclassmen, including sophomore defender Mike Corbelle, a Byfield native and a Pingree alum, whose five assists are the second highest total on the team.
"Michael's a gifted skill player. His stick skills and his ability to pass and his ability to see the ice is very special. We think that when this is all said and done he's going to be one of the best that's played here.
"He's one of those players that your eyes go to him. You enjoy aesthetically his game. You enjoy his skill, his ability to make plays. It's a smoothness. You say 'Wow, this kid's got some ability.' "
Leary seems more than ready for a youth movement.
"Coach puts a lot of confidence in our freshmen and sophomores," he said. "And it looks like this year both classes are having good years."
One thing about the Polar Bears, Meagher said, is their continuity. Teams joke that it looks like Bowdoin rolls out a bunch of clones. Meagher said it's nice that Leary and Corbelle match the carbon copy.
"Both of them have the gift of making the right plays," Meagher said. "What's the old saying? The bigger the moment, the lower their pulse gets."
