Boston — Thursday morning's workout gave the Connecticut College women's hockey team a sneak preview of Frozen Fenway.

The atmosphere was better than advertised.

"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity," senior Ashley Anctil. "Especially for me, because I live in New Hampshire and I'm pretty close to home, and I've only been here once. It was just like amazing walking out to the field."

The fond memories of playing Bowdoin College under the lights at historic Fenway Park with the Green Monster looming in the background and iconic Citgo sign in the background will stick with the Camels for a lifetime.

Unfortunately, the result wasn't a positive one.

No. 9 Conn couldn't penetrate Bowdoin's tight defense, suffering 3-0 loss in a New England Small College Athletic Conference hockey game.

Bowdoin sophomore goalie Kerri St. Denis was the difference, making 24 saves, including several spectacular stops to help the Polar Bears improve to 8-2-2, 3-1-1. Right down to the final seconds when junior Katie Kohl was thwarted on the doorstep, St. Denis frustrated the Camels (7-3-2, 4-2).

A native of Harpswell, Maine, she was almost giddy talking about the experience.

"I don't even know how to describe it," St. Denis said. "It's just surreal. And getting to do it with my teammates and my best friends, it's a great experience. I'm going to remember it forever. ... The atmosphere is unlike anything else I've ever experience before, so it was really cool."

Cool certainly didn't describe the weather. It was downright balmy, as the pregame temperature hovered around 62 degrees. Light rain fell at times, making conditions challenging.

It didn't affect the outcome, though.

An opportunistic Bowdoin broke a scoreless battle about midway through the second period, receiving goals from sophomore Maegan Sheehan and Julie Dachille just over a minute and a half apart. Sophomore Brooke Solomon closed out the scoring at the 12:43 mark of the final period.

The total matched the most goals allowed by the Camels, who are strong contenders for the conference regular season title, this season.

It also was too big of a hill to climb for the Camels, who entered the game averaging 2.09 goals per game. They couldn't take advantage of significant time in the Bowdoin offensive end, especially in the first period, and finished with a 24-18 edge in shots.

"We came out hard," senior Julie Beattie said. "They're a great team and we knew what we were coming into. It's disappointing when they score first, but it pumps us up even more."

Bowdoin stormed the net to produce two of its goals, including the pivotal first one. Goalie Katherine Chester (15 saves) stopped the first shot but Sheehan was there to jam home the rebound. Then Dachille scored from a tough angle to make it 2-0.

The Polar Bears took it home from there.

"There's a lot going on playing under the bright lights and it's tough to step up," Bowdoin's Marissa O'Neil said. "We started slow in the first period and then just continued to battle for 60 minutes. ... It was an unbelievable day and certainly capped off by a great win. And Kerri was outstanding in net."

For the Camels, the loss didn't overshadow the positives of playing at the Frozen Fenway event. It was especially special for the 11 Massachusetts residents on the roster.

"It gives a big boost to the athletic department and our team," Conn coach Kristin Steele said. "Off-campus, the alumni that  were tapped into and were brought into the fold, maybe they hadn't been in it before and now they're going to follow a little bit, so it's great.

"From a recruiting standpoint, we played at Fenway Park. People are going to recognize that, so it's great."

Beattie, who had never been to Fenway before Thursday, added: "It's definitely something that we're going to remember."

g.keefe@theday.com