Panthers Fall to Bantams in NESCAC Final

Author: Andreas Apostolatos

After a 5-3 victory over Hamilton in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) tournament semifinals on Saturday, the Middlebury men's hockey team managed a second-place finish in the tournament after a 4-2 loss to Trinity the following day. Despite being the NESCAC runner up, Middlebury was selected to the NCAA Division III bracket and will host Elmira on March 15 at 7 p.m. for a quarterfinal game.
"The [NESCAC] final versus Trinity was a challenging game," commented Panther interim Head Coach Neil Sinclair. "Trinity has an excellent team with very good speed, and they played very well in finals. We are looking forward to another week of practice and the NCAA tournament."
Against Hamilton, Middlebury struck first with an unassisted Kevin Cooper '04 goal just 1:14 into the first period. After that, both teams were scoreless until the second period when Captain Rob Chisholm '03 and Assistant Captain Adam Foote '04 each scored during power plays. Hamilton made a valiant effort to comeback with three goals in the final period, the first of which came five minutes in. However, Chisholm and Cooper each notched their second goals of the contest in the period to thwart Hamilton's hopes.
The following day things were different, as Middlebury seemed to be caught off guard by the same Trinity team that it had managed to outplay on Feb. 14. Despite doubling the Bantams' total shots on goal by 34-17, the Panthers were the team that pulled goalie Yen-I Chen '06 in the late stages of the third period and scrambled for last-minute goals.
Trinity managed to notch a point on the scoreboard first on a goal with 13:44 remaining in the first period. The Panther deficit was stretched to 2-0 on a power play goal with 7:56 to play in the second period. Cooper then managed a power play goal of his own 2:42 later, putting Middlebury on the scoreboard. Just when it might have seemed that the Panthers were on the rise, the Bantams scored to extend Trinity's lead to 3-1 only 43 ticks after Cooper's goal.
In the final 20 minutes of the game both teams were unable to find the mark until Middlebury pulled Chen with time running out. Instead of helping to erase the two-goal hole, the Panthers' empty net helped Trinity gain a 4-1 advantage on a goal with 3:23 left in the contest. Middlebury defensemen Patrick Nugent '05 did manage a goal during a late power play with 1:35 to play, but hopes for a comeback stopped there.
The loss to Trinity snapped Middlebury's 20-game undefeated streak, and was the first loss the Panthers have been dealt since Dec. 7. Middlebury's preeminent standing among NCAA Division III teams gives the Panthers a safety cushion, and a second chance.
"We're very excited to have a second chance after not coming out on top in the NESCAC final," commented Chisholm. "I think we've learned our lesson and will be ready to go on Saturday night. As a team we're just looking forward to coming together and having fun while we play our best hockey yet this year."
Middlebury can forget its NESCAC championship demons by capitalizing on their selection to the NCAA tournament.