Women’s Hockey Improves to 9-1-2

After a quick winter break, the Middlebury women’s ice hockey team came back to campus to take on Utica and Wesleyan. Even without students in the stands the Panthers still captured the victory against both opponents to end the holiday with a 7-1-1 record.

“Coming back from break we were all very excited to be back together and to begin preparing for a big three game week,” said senior tri-captain Maggie Woodward ’13. “With everyone refreshed and excited to be back on the ice, we had a great week of practices and by Wednesday we were eager to start playing games again.”

This past weekend, the team played Amherst at home back-to-back Friday and Saturday night, Jan. 11 and 12. A tie in the first match did not hold the girls back from taking home the victory after the second match, winning 5-2 on Saturday. The squad now holds a 9-1-2 record with four more NESCAC teams to play and 12 more games before the NESCAC quarterfinals.

The game on Friday was a tough tie for the Panthers, considering that Middlebury was ahead by one goal until the last 31 seconds of the game. The Panthers held a 21-13 shot advantage over Amherst in the first two periods and controlled the puck throughout. However, the Jeffs took back some of that control in the third period, beating out the home team with a 10-5 shot advantage.

The Jeffs also racked up four penalties throughout the game, totaling eight minutes of power play advantage for Middlebury. Middlebury’s only goal was scored by Katie Sullivan ’15 with an assist by Emily Fluke ’15.

“We felt like we left something out on the ice after Friday’s game against Amherst,” said senior tri-captain Madison Styrbicki. “We knew we played pretty well Friday night, but at the end of the game we couldn’t help but feel a little unsatisfied. We felt like we’d left too many goals out on the ice,” added Woodward.

Saturday’s game, however, went much better for the Panthers, as the team beat Amherst 5-2 in regulation time. The first three goals of the game for Middlebury were scored in the first period, setting a tone and a pace which the Amherst team could not match. Senior Lauren Greer ’13 popped in the first two goals for the home team with assists from Sarah Ugalde ’14 and Woodward. The third goal of the first period was scored by Sullivan and assisted by Styrbicki and Hannah Bielawski ’15. The Panthers kept the lead and put one more point on the board in the second with a goal by Styrbicki and assists from Bielawski and Greer.

In the third period, however, the Jeffs came back with two goals to Middlebury’s one to conclude the game with a 5-2 score. Heather Marrison ’13 notched the final goal for the home team and was assisted by Styrbicki. Middlebury outshot Amherst 35-28, with goalie Annabelle Jones ’15 making an impressive 26 saves in the game.

“I think we all came back Saturday ready to play with a little extra edge and to battle for a full 60 minutes,” said Woodward. “Playing Amherst at home is always a high energy statement game and I think we brought a little more energy and were hungry to bury a few more lose pucks on Saturday afternoon. It felt good to be able to compete a little harder on Saturday and come away from the weekend with three points against a pretty good team.”

The fourth-ranked Panthers will compete on the road at Bowdoin next Friday and Saturday, Jan. 18 and 19. The team’s current 9-1-2 record, 6-0-2 in the NESCAC, gives them a comfortable spot in both the league and the national rankings going into the end of the season.

“We take every game individually and by coming out with a win for each day really helps us in our success,” said Madeline Joyce ’14. “We have a saying on our team to ‘be 1-0 at the end of the day; We have very high goals and expectations for the end of the season and if we take each game as it comes I am very confident about our team’s potential.”