Women's Hockey Opens Season 3-1

Coming off a 21-4-3 record, a NESCAC championship and a trip to the NCAA quarterfinals, the Middlebury women’s ice hockey team opened the season with a pair of games against Colby Nov. 16 and 17, and the Panther/Cardinal Classic tournament this past weekend, Nov. 24 and 25. After its first four games, the squad currently stands with a record of 3-1; converting with two wins against Colby, one against Elmira and a loss in the Panther/Cardinal Classic final against Plattsburgh.

Against Elmira this past Saturday, the Panthers brought home an overtime victory after a tough battle. The game was a constant back and forth effort by both teams.

Middlebury took the lead in the first four minutes of the game after a steal and goal from Lauren Greer ’13. But, the Soaring Eagles came back strong and had a goal at the end of the first period to carry a tie going into the second period.

After multiple power plays and penalties from both teams, regulation time finished in a 3-3 tie, sending the two teams into overtime. To Middlebury’s advantage, they entered overtime with a 53-second power play, in which Hannah Bielawski ’15 fought in the crease and tapped in a goal to clinch it at 4-3. Not only did Middlebury win on the scoreboard, but outmatched thier opponents on the stat sheet. Middlebury had 32 shots on goal, overshooting Elmira by 11 shots, and only four penalties compared to Elmira’s nine. Tri-captain Heather Marrison ’13 also tallied for the Panthers against Elmira.

The following morning, Nov. 25, the squad took on Plattsburgh State at Kenyon Arena in the tournament final. Plattsburgh played consistently throughout the whole game, scoring one goal in each period. Middlebury, on the other hand, had trouble converting their chances, especially considering the fact that they held a 31-18-shot advantage over the Cardinals. Plattsburgh took a 2-0 lead in the second period, which was quickly neutralized by Middlebury who scored two goals in the period to tie the game 2-2.

In the third period, the Panthers took ample shots, but couldn’t connect on a goal. Middlebury also slipped on defense with just enough time for Plattsburgh to score one last goal to win the game at the 11:50 mark. Bielawski and Emily Fluke ’15 helped to keep their team in the game by tallying one goal each.

Fresh off the field hockey turf, Greer commented on her team’s performance.

“Having the Panther Cardinal Classic this early in the season was also a good chance to play some of the best teams in the country and see how we compete with them,” said Greer. “And this weekend we did.”

Following the tournament, Most Valuable Player honors were awarded to Middlebury’s sophomore forwards Fluke and Katie Sullivan ’15.

The previous weekend, Nov. 16 and 17, Middlebury handled Colby College in both games to start the NESCAC campaign 2-0.

The first game, on Saturday, saw Colby rack up six penalties in an aggressive contest. A combined total of 12 minutes throughout the game gave Middlebury multiple opportunities to score on the power play. After converting many of those chances, Middlebury came out on top with a 3-2 win.

Saturday morning was a far different game. The Panthers handled the Mules, making their fans proud for the second day in a row, by beating Colby 5-1.

Throughout the weekend Panther goals were scored by Bielawski, Fluke, Madeline Joyce ’14, Sara Ugalde ’14, Greer, Sullivan and Carly Schaeder ’16.

Next weekend the women’s ice hockey team will travel to Trinity College to play back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 1 and 2.

Greer is looking forward to this weekend’s match ups.

“This weekend against Trinity will be a major opportunity for our team to respond, and regain a rhythm against another good NESCAC team,” says Greer. “We always have a rivalry with Amherst, but I also consider Trinity as a major factor in our competitive schedule. Every NESCAC game is important, especially now that we play them back to back.”