The Bobcats struck first in the matchup between the in-state rivals as Patrick Gaughan picked up a loose ball at midfield and fired a high shot from 10-yards to give Bates a 1-0 lead at 13:41. Bowdoin tied the game at 10:57 when Walter delivered a pass from behind the net to teammate Phil Stern, who scooped a shot inside the post to knot the contest at one. The Polar Bears grabbed the lead at 9:30 of the first when Micah Moreau broke into the box alone and fired a shot that deflected off a Bobcat and into the cage for a 2-1 Bowdoin lead. But Gaughan tied the score at two as he found the back of the net with a shot while falling forward to tie the score at two.

That would be the last tie of the game as Bowdoin rolled off five consecutive goals to take a 7-2 lead. The run started late in the first when Walter scored on a one-timer to regain the lead for Bowdoin. After netminder P.J. Prest made two spectacular saves on a Bates man-up opportunity late in the quarter, Walter scored again to open the second. Walter assisted on a goal by Jed Englund at 10:40 of the second before scoring two goals in a row to give the Polar Bears a 7-2 advantage. Bates stopped the run at 6:28 when a defensive misplay by Bowdoin led to a 3-on-1 breakaway for the Bobcats, with Peter Friedman scoring in front. Moreau added a goal before the half to make it 8-3 Bowdoin at intermission.

Both teams scored three times in the third as the game entered the fourth quarter with Bowdoin leading 11-6. Bates opened the fourth quarter with Dave Frederick beating Prest five-hole to cut the lead to 11-7 at 13:35. After winning the face-off, Bates held a nearly two-minute possession, taking five shots before capping it off with a goal at 11:10 by Frederick to cut it to 11-8. Just two minutes later, the Bobcats struck again when Jack Sandler netted a goal to cut the lead to 11-9 with nine minutes left to play. But the Bobcats would get no closer as three straight Polar Bear goals by Adam Fleit, Stern and Josh Allen put the contest away.

Prest made 16 saves for Bowdoin, while Bates keeper Mark Dobbyn made 10 stops for the Bobcats. Frederick led Bates with three goals and one assist on the day, while Hunter Walter ended with four goals and five assists for Bowdoin.