Women's Hockey Edges Williams

Author: Kate Nerenberg

After jumping out to a successful 4-0 start, the women's hockey team truly tested their abilities in a pair of games against teams ranked in the top 10. Middlebury, ranked fifth in the nation, defeated seventh-ranked Plattsburgh 5-1 in the first of these games before falling to top-ranked Elmira 4-2 the following day.
Against Plattsburgh, Panther Emily Quizon '06 found the back of the net on the first shot of the game at the 14:23 mark of the first period. Fellow rookie Liz Yale-Loehr '06 assisted on the goal from the right wing. Despite a 7-2 shot advantage for Plattsburgh in the first period, Panther goaltender Kate Kogut '06 held strong between the pipes. Middlebury came out on fire in the second period, as forward Lorna Gifis '05 made it 2-0 at the 19-second mark, putting back a rebound. With just under three minutes remaining in the session, Amber Neil '03 capitalized on a power play and put her team up 3-0. Neil and Gifis each scored again in the third period to seal the win for the Panthers. Plattsburgh managed to get on the scoreboard with under five minutes remaining, taking advantage of a power play situation. Kogut ended the game with 23 saves while captain Angela Kapus '03 registered four assists.
The next day, the Panthers once again faced an extremely tough opponent in top-ranked Elmira. Middlebury did not waste any time showing off its talented offense as Kristin Reid '04 put the Panthers on top at the 6:07 mark. The Plattsburgh offense was held scoreless until it tied the game at 11:19 and then took a 2-1 lead with only 33 seconds remaining in the first session.
The Eagles were able to maintain their momentum going into the second period, scoring in the first four minutes as they started to move away from Middlebury. The Panthers would not go away and once again made it a one-goal game with a Neil goal at the 13:17 mark. However, they could not contain the Eagles, who went on to score one more goal in the third period. Goaltender Kati Madourous '04 made 20 saves and posted her first loss in three years.
After traveling to Canada for three exhibition games of the Concordia Tournament, the Panthers snagged two New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) wins with back-to-back victories at Connecticut College.
On Friday night, the Panthers used first-period goals from Kapus, Hannah DeLong '06 and Erin Neil '03 to propel them to a 5-1 victory. Gifis and Reid scored in the second and third periods, respectively. The Panthers out-shot the Camels 44-10 for the game. The next night, Neil took the game into her hands, scoring three straight goals to lead Middlebury to a 7-1 win. Again, the Panthers overwhelmed the Camels with a 51-13 shot advantage.
The victories over Connecticut College provided a warm-up for NESCAC rival Williams. Last season, the Panthers were able to wipe the Ephs out in their first match-up, beating Williams 8-0 on the road. However, the Ephs came to Middlebury later in the season, ready to put up a fight, and nearly won, but once again the Panther squad came out on top, 3-2.
The next time the Ephs traveled up to Middlebury, the outcome was not as sweet. Middlebury was hosting the NESCAC tournament and seeded first. However, despite a strong start for the Panthers, Williams managed to tie the game, sending it into overtime, where it eventually edged out the Panthers.
They had this last game in the back of their minds this week as they picked up the intensity in practices and tried to play at game-pace.
Using their sharpened skills and a defensive-minded approach, the Panthers took awhile to warm up before show-casing the depth of their team. After battling through two scoreless periods for both teams, Audrey Pellerin '04 finally found the back of the net with five and a half minutes remaining in the game.
Williams dominated the early parts of the game, out-shooting the Panthers 5-3 in the first period and 7-5 in the second period. However, in the final session, the Eph defense could not handle the powerful Middlebury offense, who found nine openings and managed to connect on one.
"This game was huge for us. We wanted to beat [Williams] because they prevented us from getting to the NESCAC finals last year. But it is also a huge confidence booster and it gives the younger players some experience in close games," commented defensewoman Jackie Cohen '05.
Currently, the Panthers sit on top of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) standings, tied with perennial powerhouse Bowdoin (8-0-1 overall, 6-0-0 NESCAC), a team they will take on this weekend, along with third-ranked Colby (6-3-1 overall, 4-1-1 NESCAC).
"Those games are important because they will set the pace for the rest of the year," commented Cohen. Despite the NESCAC standings that are at stake, the Panthers would like to avenge a season-ending 2-1 overtime loss to Bowdoin in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year.
This weekend's games will provide the Panthers with an opportunity to not only test their strength against top NESCAC teams, but also prepare for a string of non-conference nationally ranked teams that will be travelling to Middlebury at the end of January. The victory over Williams will act as a springboard from which the Panthers can now jump into the second half of their season.