Women’s Puck Picks Up Some ‘Dubs’

The Middlebury women’s hockey team took both games in a doubleheader against the Hamilton Continentals on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 25 and 26. The first game ended 4-1 on goals from junior Anna Zumwinkle and sophomore Madie Leidt and a pair of empty -netters by seniors Katherine Jackson and Katarina Shuchuk. Junior goalie Lin Han finished the game with nine saves. In the second game, scoring finally opened in the last minute of the second period as Hamilton slipped the puck past sophomore goalie Anna Goldstein. The Panthers tied it up in the third as first-year Eva Hendrikson fired a slap shot into the back of the net, only for Hamilton to regain the lead 10 minutes later. Sophomore Ellie Barney then scored to tie the game at 2-2. With 35 seconds left, Jackson sealed the come-from-behind victory for Middlebury.

On Friday and Saturday, Feb. 1 and 2, Middlebury squared off against Wesleyan in another doubleheader. The first game, a 3-2 victory for the Panthers, saw a power-play goal from Barney and a pair of goals from Leidt, who added a shorthanded tally and the game-winner for her team-leading ninth goal of the season. The second game ended 1-0 as Wesleyan picked up the program’s first win against Middlebury since their initial meeting in the 1978-79 season. Senior captain Jenna Marotta skated in her 100th game, and Goldstein made 15 saves.

On Tuesday, Feb. 5, the Panthers picked up another shutout as they defeated the Norwich Cadets 3-0. Middlebury scored in each of the three periods as Shuchuk netted power-play and even-strength goals, with Jackson adding an empty-net goal with less than a minute remaining. Goaltender Han made 34 saves in her 11th career shutout.

This past weekend saw Middlebury face off against Colby in a NESCAC back-to-back. On Friday, Feb. 8, the Panthers scored a season-high six goals. The first two came in the final minute and a half of the first period from Shuchuk and first-year Ashley McDonald, her first as a Panther. Four goals in the second period sealed the victory for Middlebury as first-years Jenna Letterie and Katie Hargrave, Marotta and Barney all scored. Barney had a four-point night as senior alternate captain Rachael St. Clair skated in her 100th game as a Middlebury Panther. The second game ended in a 1-0 victory for the Mules. Despite a 27-23 shot advantage, Middlebury could not convert, and Sadie Kuhn’s lone goal remained the difference.

Middlebury (14-4-3, 9-3-2) seeks to close out the regular season in the next few games. The eighth-ranked Panthers will square up twice against Williams, finishing up NESCAC play. They then face third-ranked Plattsburgh State on Tuesday, Feb. 19 in the final game of regular play.

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