Overtime thriller was a killer for the Panthers

Author: Seth Miran

The game was supposed to be played a week earlier, but two feet of snow fell from the sky on the original game day, postponing it until last Tuesday evening. The match-up was worth the wait, as the top-ranked Plattsburgh State Cardinals traveled across Lake Champlain and topped the second-ranked Middlebury Panthers 5-4 in overtime.

It certainly did not appear as though the game would be close - let alone go to overtime - at the outset of the game. Middlebury came out sluggish and sloppy, making mental mistakes as they struggled to keep up with the larger, more physical Cardinals. Plattsburgh showed no mercy as it played like the country's top team throughout the first period.

With a 5-on-3 advantage after two Panther penalties, the Cardinals' Ainsley Brien fired a shot from the left point that ricocheted off the right post to Claire O'Connor. O'Connor slid a pass to a wide-open Jessica Moreau who tapped the puck in the net for a 1-0 Plattsburgh lead.

Moreau's goal came with five seconds remaining on the first Panther penalty, meaning that the Cardinals still had a 5-on-4 advantage. Less than 21 seconds after the first goal, Danielle Blanchard skated in on Middlebury goalie Lani Wright '10 nearly uncontested. Blanchard slipped the puck past Wright to give Plattsburgh a 2-0 advantage.

The momentum briefly swung back in Middlebury's favor, however, when Shannon Tarrant '07 ripped a slap shot from the blue line past Plattsburgh goalie Breanne Doyle four minutes later. The goal was Tarrant's 100th career point, joining Captain Shannon Sylvester '07 as the second member of this senior class to achieve the remarkable feat.

But the emotional lift that Tarrant's goal provided was short-lived.A Panther turnover in the defensive zone led to a loose puck in front of the net that Amber Ellis slammed home for a 3-1 lead.

The end of the first period was welcome news to the Panthers, who seemed to lack confidence in the first against a Plattsburgh team that was playing exceptional hockey.

"The first period has been a weakness of ours all year," said Sylvester. "We've been getting away with not playing our best in the first up until Tuesday. There's no way we can play the best team in the country and beat them without playing a full 60 minutes. We learned that the hard way."

The Panthers regained their swagger in the second period, but not before a fourth Cardinal goal that led to Angie Todd '08 replacing Wright in net.

Good teams respond positively to adversity, however, and by that measure the 2007 women's hockey team is a great one. Heather McCormack '10 sparked the comeback by forcing a turnover and sliding the puck to classmate Ashley Bairos '10. Bairos then slipped a nifty pass to Annmarie Cellino '09, who hit a slap shot that trickled off Doyle's pads and into the net to make it 4-2.

One of the turning points of the game came when Todd made a spectacular save on a point-blank Plattsburgh shot from five feet away - it was one of her eight well-earned saves in what was a brilliant relief appearance.

The Panthers rode the momentum from Todd's save to close the gap to 4-3. Abby Kurtz-Phelan '07 floated the puck above the Plattsburgh net. It caromed off the glass to an eager Karen Levin '08, who slammed it home 8:57 into the second period.

The third period was mostly quiet until what can only be described as a fantastic individual effort by Cellino with 3:41 left in the game. Shorthanded, Cellino blocked a shot at her blue line, chased it down, took the perfect angle and deftly placed a chip shot gloveside over Doyle's shoulder with a calm and confidence that said, "I know I'm going to score and I dare you to stop me."

The game headed into overtime in spite of a few excellent scoring opportunities in the last three minutes for Plattsburgh. Unfortunately for Midd, Cardinal Shay Bywater snapped a shot into the top right corner past Todd 44 seconds into overtime to give Plattsburgh a 5-4 victory.

The game showed the Panthers that they can come back from a huge deficit, even against the best. They will come into this weekend's NESCAC tournament, which they will host, with a renewed focus.

"Hopefully the loss will increase our intensity for the upcoming NESCAC games," said Cellino. "A NESCAC championship is our only goal right now, and we just want to keep our minds on the game ahead of us."