MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Fifth NESCAC title for Beaney's men

Author: Jason Lockhart

Just one month ago, life was looking bleak for the men's hockey team. They had just finished up a pair of weekends that saw them lose to Hamilton, tie Babson and narrowly defeat a couple of lesser conference opponents. That string of games coupled with their three consecutive losses to Bowdoin, Colby and Williams in January was surely not the situation the usually consistent Panthers wanted to be in. However, Middlebury was able to turn things around, knocking off their Maine rivals on consecutive days, earning their fifth NESCAC Championship title in six years. Middlebury earned the title and an NCAA berth by defeating Bowdoin in the championship game 3-2.

Because of the Panthers regular season struggles, it was the first time in the history of the NESCAC tournament that it was not held at Kenyon Arena. This year, the honor went to the regular season champion, Trinity.

"It was something new, a challenge for us to play away from home for a change in some very big games," stated alternate captain Levi Doria '05. "The pressure was definitely there, but I have learned through four years here that we have learned to play our best games when it counts."

The Panthers were not only fighting to win the NESCAC title, but also for a chance to reach the NCAA for their 11th consecutive year.

After watching Trinity get defeated by Bowdoin in the first semifinal match, the Panthers knew they would have to overcome some demons to take the championship. They would need to pull off a weekend sweep against the dangerous Maine duo, only a couple of months after getting swept themselves by the same two teams. The players knew going into this weekend that they had something to prove.

"It has been kind of fateful that way, Hamilton then Colby and Bowdoin for the title; three of the four teams that had beaten us in the regular season," admitted Doria. "It was definitely a rallying point for the team."

On Friday, the Panthers took to the ice against Colby, who had held Middlebury scoreless in their previous meeting, defeating them 2-0. The Panthers, however, would not be shut down in this game, as first-year sniper Mickey Gilchrist found the back of the net off a wrister 4:46 into the second period for his 19th goal of the season.

Jocko DeCarolis '07 put the eventual game winner home on a low wrist shot with 3:20 left in the second period to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead. Ross Cherry '08 made 28 saves in the game to earn his sixth victory of the season, as the Panthers skated away with a 4-1 victory. The most startling stat of the game was the fact that Middlebury gave up nine power plays to Colby, but the Mules were only able to convert on one of their opportunities.

"Killing penalties is all about playing smart and working as a unit," explained Patrick Nugent '05. "Smart hockey players are often the best penalty killers and we are lucky enough to have guys with a great sense for the game as well as great speed to capitalize on our opponents mistakes."

The following day the Panthers had to continue their run-in with teams that had defeated them during the regular season, by taking on the number four seed, Bowdoin. The Panthers started things off well as Brian Phinney '05 scored 58 seconds into the second period off a high slap shot on the power play for his eighth goal of the season.

Bowdoin answered right back on the power play just over two minutes later, and put another one past Cherry on the power play at the 8:13 mark of the second period for a 2-1 lead. Middlebury, however, was not done yet, as they proceeded to score two more on the power play in the second period with contributions from Phinney and John Sales '07. The key to the Panthers power play success was decribed by Doria. "We got the puck to the net. Phinney had a couple of goals off simply throwing the puck to net with commotion in front."

From there, it was all Cherry, who ended the game with 46 saves, having faced 36 of them in the final two periods."Two big games brought out a lot in Ross. He is playing his best hockey at the right time," said Doria

The game produced drama until the end, as Bowdoin began to apply significant pressure on the Middlebury defense and with Bowdoin's goaltender George Papachristopoulos looking to his bench for the signal to be pulled with 1:58 on the clock a penalty was awarded against the Polar Bears-. Down a man and chasing the game, Bowdoin captain Nade Riddell was charged with a minor, followed by a 10 minute major for misconduct after confronting the referees. With Bowdoin down two men, Middlebury was able to play out the final minute deep in Bowdoin territory.

With the title in hand, the Panthers earned their NCAA automatic bid and the right to host Curry College on Saturday, a team Middlebury has never played.

"We are a completely different team than we were two months ago," indicated Nugent. "We have come together as group and found what has made us successful."