Women skate to perfection

Author: Ryan W. Reese

Many teams struggle with winning a championship and encounter a sluggish start to the following season or get knocked off by teams gunning to defeat the defending title-holders. There is always a danger of slacking off, looking down from the top of the polls or getting blinded by the bling of a commemorative ring.

Evidently, someone forgot to tell the women's hockey team that this trend existed. Someone forgot to tell them that some teams lose every now and then and that it's alright.

After the opening weekend and the Thanksgiving holiday break, the Panthers sit atop the national poll with a 4-0 record and wins over the second and third best teams in all the land. They hoisted the championship trophy during their home tournament with wins over Elmira and Plattsburgh before they steamrolled Trinity and Hamilton the following weekend after a little turkey on Thursday.

The season's first contest was a rematch of last year's national championship game. In a back-and-forth battle that saw the Panthers come from behind on two separate occasions, Middlebury iced Elmira's Soaring Eagles 4-3 as the always scpetacular Emily Quizon '06 left the goalie seeing stars on a shorthanded breakaway game winner.

The next day's win over rival Plattsburgh was one of the most bizarre games in recent memory. The contest saw Quizon score a goal before being ejected on a suspect call of checking from behind and game misconduct. First-year superstar Annmarie Cellino scored on a shothanded breakaway as well. The second period was just nuts. As the final buzzer sounded, there had been three shorthanded tallies, a power play goal and a puck put in during a four-on-four situation. When the dust settled, Middlebury had a 4-2 "W" under their belts.

The Panthers took a short break during the week and celebrated the Thanksgiving break with the traditional turkey, fixings and pie.

It was not long until they laced up their skates again, off to dominate two more overpowered and unsuspecting opponents. Middlebury took two wins from Trinity and Hamilton by a combined score of 15-2.

Trinity fell the hardest as the Panthers racked up five first periods goals and cruised through the remainder of the contest. Alison Graddock '07 had two goals and was matched by two talented first-years, Erika Nakamura and Randi Dumont. The 9-0 win was not a shock and the Panthers collected their things and headed off to trounce yet another NESCAC foe in upstate New York.

Saturday's victory was a display of the Panthers' new scoring threat and a wakeup call for the rest of the league. Cellino netted her first career hat trick at Middlebury and added an assist for good measure. The first-year earned Player of the Week honors and looks like a dangerous weapon in the deep and extensive Panther arsenal.

Amherst and Connecticut College appear next on the Panthers' schedule. Riding this wave of wins and behind this overpowering positive momentum, it would not come as a surprise if next week's article sees the Panthers at 6-0.