Bantams blitzed as Panthers cruise to semis

Author: Tom McCann

Following 7-1 and 8-1 victories against Trinity earlier in the season, one might have been forgiven for thinking that the Middlebury women's hockey team would just have to show up to claim a place in the NESCAC semifinals next weekend. As it were, the women took to the ice in their final home game of the season knowing that one poor performance and it could be curtains for their post-season aspirations. Determined not to let this happen, the Panthers set about dismantling their visitors, but not before almost falling behind in the opening minute.
A Panther team that has tended to start slowly in recent games gave up a breakaway before the first 45 seconds had elapsed, but Kate Kogut '05 was as alert as ever and stifled the attack.
It didn't take long for the women to get into their stride, and when they did, Trinity did not seem to have an answer. After a shade over six minutes, senior Lorna Gifis, playing in her last game at Kenyon Arena, got Middlebury on the board first, knocking the puck in after Shannon Tarrant '07 had forced a rebound with the initial shot. Just 64 seconds later the Bantam rearguard was punctured once more as Lacey Farrell '08 fired a shot into the top corner, and the scoring blitz continued when Allison Graddock '07 pounced on the puck while it was still in the air after a rebound to knock it past goaltender Courtney Burgh. In just over four minutes the Panthers had blown the game open, and even the most optimistic of Trinity fans might have concluded the game was beyond their reach.
Certainly by the time Emily Quizon '06 beat the goaltender with a one-timer on a powerplay with 1:56 to play in the third, Trinity must have been looking at damage control and as the players skated off at the end of an absorbing first period, there were few doubters in the crowd as to which way the game was going to go.
The second and third periods did not provide the heart-stopping drama playoff hockey can involve as the damage had already been done. Maggie MacDonald '08 scored the only goal of the second period after receiving a pass from Gloria Velez '06. The Panthers had their sixth different scorer of the day when Emily MacNamara '07 ripped a laser past Burgh with just over five minutes to play in the game.
After being called upon to turn away a Trinity chance in the first minute, Kogut was required to make just eight more saves, notching her sixth shutout of the season's campaign. Captain Jackie Cohen '05 commented, "It was a good game to start the playoffs with. We played pretty well but could have moved the puck up the ice better. Overall I think we played well as a team though."
With the Trinity game dealt with, the Panthers now turn their attention to the NESCAC semifinals and final at Bowdoin this coming weekend. The Panthers first take on Williams, for the right to play for the Championship, a game that Cohen is not taking lightly. She noted, "We really have to treat it like it could be our last game because we tied last time we played them. They're a good team - much better than they have been in the past." Should the Panthers overcome the Ephs, a showdown with Bowdoin could be on the cards, assuming there are no shocks in the Bowdoin vs. Hamilton semifinal.
Cohen pointed out that Middlebury actually lost to Bowdoin in last year's NESCAC final before rallying to win the National Championship. Bowdoin may believe it's a better team than Middlebury because of last year's NESCAC result and the Pantherrs' loss to Bowdoin 5-2 at Kenyon a few weeks ago.
In preparation for the game, Cohen said, "We're going to be doing a lot of one-on-one and two-on-two battling in practice. We'll be working on getting in front of the net and getting our sticks on the puck. Our powerplay will need to be good too because Bowdoin tends to get a lot of penalties." Arriving as National Champions, the Panthers will be expected to bring back the NESCAC Championship they were denied last year, which could provide the platform for another run at the NCAA crown later in the month.