Men's Puck Awaits NESCAC Foes as Tourney's Host

Author: Peter Yordan

The Middlebury men's hockey team is enjoying a well earned two week respite after receiving a first round bye in the upcoming New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC)tournament. The team, which closed out its season with a 5-1 victory over St. Michael's on Friday, has quietly gone about amassing one of the most dominant single season records ever compiled in Middlebury's long and storied hockey tradition. There is even a strong suspicion among the Panther faithful that this team has yet to play its best hockey.

Certainly, the team was not at its best level in its season finale against St. Mike's over the weekend. The Purple Knights proved to be anticlimactic opponents after Middlebury's stirring 3-1 victory over Norwich on Tuesday, a game many felt to be Middlebury's best performance all year. "I was really hoping we would build on the momentum of Tuesday night," said Head Coach Bill Beaney. "We were not very sharp— at times even lethargic."

Still, the pedestrian pace of play didn't stop the Panthers from overpowering their weaker adversary. Robert Chisholm '03 scored 14 seconds into the game, and was quickly followed by Tim Graham '05 to make the score 2-0. Kevin Cooper '04 continued his torrid pace of late, adding a third first period goal on the power play to bring his team leading total up to 22 on the season. With Middlebury staked to an early lead, the game quickly degenerated into a rather casual affair. Levi Doria '05 and resurgent senior Andy Campbell rounded out the scoring, setting the final tally at 5-1.

The victory gave Middlebury a gaudy overall record of 22-1-1, good enough for them to earn the number one ranking in the National Coaches Poll. The only tarnish on their sterling season so far has been their early loss to Norwich in November and a 1-1 tie with Bowdoin in January. Other than that, the Panthers have shown a remarkable tenacity in close games. Much of that credit must rest upon the lanky frame of their star goaltender, Christian Carlsson '02. "We have the best goaltender in the country," says Beaney.

The team has also benefited from a strong veteran presence in the locker room. "I really didn't think we would mature as fast as we did," said Beaney. "But we had a number of players who came into this year wanting to prove something. I think our seniors across the board have done a wonderful job helping to prepare this team."

The team will now get its chance to prove itself. As the winners of its league, Middlebury earned the right to host the NESCAC tournament and to have an automatic bye to the quarterfinals. "It's a great advantage that we can play in front of our own crowd," said Beaney. "There's also an added incentive that you don't want to lose at home. We haven't lost at home all year and we don't want to start now."

Indeed, with the record that the team has accumulated the Panthers should be able to maintain their home ice advantage for as long as they continue to win. The champion of the NESCAC tournament gains an automatic berth in the NCAA championship, which awards home ice to the top seeds in the first round.

The team is looking to take advantage of the two week break in their schedule to rest and fine tune their game. "We just need to use these two weeks to come out and in every practice get a little better," said David Greiner '03. The Panther's main focus will likely be on special teams. Middlebury has been victimized by power play goals several times in recent weeks.

While the team will look to heal nagging injuries and catch its collective breath during the break, it will also attempt to maintain the momentum it built throughout the regular season. "Every year we won the national championship (1995-1999) we had a break like this, an opportunity to recharge our batteries," said Beaney. "The trick of it is not to lose that competitive spirit." The team knows it cannot afford to come out flat for the deep and competitive NESCAC tournament like they did against St. Michael's. As coach Beaney said, "There are no gimmies this time of year."