Panthers defeat Lord Jeffs for NESCAC title

The top-seeded Panthers hosted the NESCAC tournament this past weekend. Middlebury faced off against Bowdoin on Saturday and, after a 4-0 win over the Polar Bears in the semifinals, sixth-ranked Amherst in the NESCAC finals on Sunday. The second periods of both games were crucial as the Panthers out-scored their opponents 6-1 in the middle minutes.
In the semifinal matchup the Panthers broke a scoreless tie 3:33 into the second period when sophomore defender Heather Marrison ’13 netted her fourth goal of the year. It was just the beginning of a big weekend for Marrison, who recorded a goal and an assist in both games and was awarded the NESCAC Player of the Week Award. Forwards Maggie Melberg ’12 and Maggie Woodward ’13 provided the second and third goals in the period and goaltender Lexi Bloom ’11 made seven of her 17 saves in the period as the Panthers skated to a commanding 3-0 lead.
Middlebury secured the win in the third period as Lauren Greer ’13 scored her team-leading 12th goal of the season and a smothering Panthers defense held the Polar Bears to just two shots on goal.
The win over Bowdoin advanced the Panthers to the NESCAC finals where they met second-seeded Amherst for the third time this season. The Panthers and Lord Jeffs split two games at Amherst earlier in the year when Middlebury ended their NESCAC rival’s 17-game home-unbeaten streak. To add to the drama before the game, both teams learned that due to an upset in another conference only the NESCAC tournament champion would likely get a bid to the NCAA tournament.
Even so, the build up to the game could not eclipse the drama once the game started. The Panthers jumped out to an early lead on the stick of Madeline Joyce ’14 less than five minutes into the first period. The goal came on the Panthers’ first power play of the game. Lord Jeffs goaltender Caroline Hu made the original save, but after taking multiple deflections off of several Panthers attackers the puck flipped up over the head of Hu and landed in the net. Joyce was officially credited with her fifth goal of the season while Nora Bergman ’11 and Marrison were given assists on the play though the puck appeared to hit so many different players on its way across the goal line that only the players on the ice may actually know who was responsible for the Panthers’ lead.
The Panthers appeared to extend their lead early in the second period, but an apparent Panthers goal was disallowed after it was determined that the puck was batted into the back of the net inside the goal crease. Despite this the Panthers were awarded a penalty shot as Amherst defender Randi Zukas was penalized on the play for a delay of game. Melberg took the penalty shot but was denied by a great save from Hu as she tried to beat the Amherst goaltender to Hu’s right.
The save proved crucial as Amherst seized control of all momentum when they drew level 9:01 into the second period on Ellen Swiontkowski’s 10th goal of the year. After making several fantastic saves from point blank range Bloom conceded a goal for the first time in over 100 minutes of play.
Despite the clear shift in momentum, the Panthers responded with great resilience, unleashing three goals in a 7:04 span that left the Lord Jeffs reeling as they mercifully welcomed the end of the second period. The run started less than three minutes after Amherst equalized when Marrison expertly snuck a low slap shot through the screen set up by her teammates into the lower left-hand corner of the net. Hu, whose vision was affected by the screen, never saw the puck as it sped by her leg into the back of the net.
Four minutes later Sara Ugalde ’14 made a great individual play, intercepting an errant Amherst pass in the Lord Jeffs’ defensive zone before flipping it over Hu’s right shoulder for her 12th goal of the season, tying Greer and co-captain Julia Ireland ’11 for the team lead.
The play of the game — and maybe the tournament, if not the season – however was made by Woodward who, after catching an edge on her skates and while being blanketed by an Amherst defender, somehow managed to redirect a centering pass from Joyce into the back of the net while sliding on her knees. What proved to be the game-winning goal brought the Kenyon arena crowd to its feet as few people, including senior Bloom, had ever seen a goal quite like Woodward’s before.
“Maggie’s goal was amazing,” Bloom said. “If it wasn’t for Maddie [Joyce’s] drive, however, she never would have gotten the puck in front of the net. We always say to throw anything at the net because you never know what will go in, and their goal proved that perfectly.”
Leading 4-1 going into the final period, the Panthers seemed all but assured an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. After being thoroughly outskated for 40 minutes however, the high-powered Lord Jeffs offense finally came to life. With less than nine minutes remaining in the game Amherst defender Stephanie Clegg scored her thirteenth goal of the season to draw her team within two goals. Then at the 15:50 mark Geneva Lloyd converted on an Amherst power play to cut the Panthers lead to one and created a frantic final four minutes of the game. The drama mounted in the final minute as Marrison was penalized for body checking, giving the Lord Jeffs nearly a minute of power play to finish the game which turned into a six on four advantage when Hu was pulled in favor of another attacker shortly after.
The Lord Jeffs have been one of the most dangerous teams in the nation in advantage situations, having converted more than 30 percent of their power plays, but the Panthers’ penalty kill unit survived the furious onslaught. And when the buzzer finally sounded the Panthers bench emptied as the players swarmed the ice, tossing their gloves high into the air and scattering their sticks and helmets across the rink.
“We were all busy watching the clock count down that we let up a little bit,” said Bloom. “Thankfully, our penalty killers hung in there and we stuck it out. There’s nothing more exciting than hanging a banner up in Kenyon Arena, especially your senior year.”
With the win the Panthers advance to the NCAA tournament where they will host the quarterfinals. The Panthers will face Manhattanville (19-7-2) Saturday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m.
“Going to NCAAs is something you should have to earn by winning not something you deserve because of your overall record, and I am grateful that we earned the right to go this year,” said Bloom.
The Panthers, who have won 13 of their last 14 games, will look to continue their excellent play in the NCAA tournament and look to hang another banner– a national championship banner-  in Kenyon Arena.