Seniors shine on Senior Night

Author: Seth Miran

Ninety-six wins, ten losses and three ties - that was the career record of the seniors on this year's women's hockey team heading into their final NESCAC regular season contest on Saturday, Feb. 18. When you add their two NESCAC championships and three NCAA titles, you have an impressive rÈsumÈ.

The Panthers padded that prestigious rÈsumÈ with an emphatic 7-1 victory over Hamilton on Saturday.

Senior Emily McNamara began the scoring on Senior Night a mere five minutes into the first period, firing a wrist shot into the top right corner. But Hamilton's Jodi Raymond tied the game at one 3:41 later.

Middlebury captain Shannon Sylvester '07 struck back less than a minute later with a goal of her own. The goal was Sylvester's 100th point of her storied Middlebury career.

The senior class continued to shine in the second period. Alison Graddock '07 slid a nice pass to Jess Bennett '10 in front of the crease for the Panthers' third goal. Sylvester notched her second goal of the game just four minutes later on the power play from a similar spot.

Erika Nakamura '09 closed out the scoring in the second frame, sliding the puck past Hamilton keeper Kathryn Manning on a breakaway.

Karen Levin '08 and Shannon Tarrant '07 each added a goal in the third period to pad the Panther lead. That lead proved to be more than enough for goalie Angie Todd '08, who made 21 saves in the victory.

The win was bittersweet given the emotions surrounding Senior Night, especially with so many family members in attendance. Five seniors from the 2003-2004 women's hockey team, when the current seniors were first-years, were also in attendance, adding to the night's sentimentality.

"It was obviously sad to realize that our last season here is starting to wind down, but we try not to get too caught up in all of that just yet," said senior Abby Kurtz-Phelan '07. "We hope to still have plenty of hockey ahead of us this season and plan to enjoy it for as long as we can."

Before hammering Hamilton, the Middlebury seniors earned win number 96 of their careers in similarly emphatic fashion with an 8-0 shutout of Trinity.

Kurtz-Phelan opened the scoring 35 seconds into the first period with Sylvester and Tarrant assisting on it. Annmarie Cellino '09 put the Panthers ahead 2-0 six minutes later.

After almost twenty-eight minutes of scoreless play, the Panthers went on a tear at the close of the second frame. Randi Dumont '09 beat Bantam keeper Helen McCarthy glove side with a beautiful shot into the top right corner of the net. Cellino notched her second goal of the game less than two minutes later. Then, with one second remaining in the period, Sylvester slammed the puck home to extend the lead to 5-0.

Dumont added her second goal of the game midway through the third period. Marjie Billings '10 made it a 7-0 contest with her first career collegiate goal. Ashley Bairos '10 scored the Panthers' eighth and final goal of the game with 46 seconds remaining.

Lani Wright '10 earned the shutout with 13 stops. Sylvester led the way with a goal and four assists.

Fittingly, every Middlebury senior notched at least one point this weekend. The seniors now look to win the third NESCAC championship of their careers when they host the NESCAC tournament as the number-one seed on March 3 and 4.

"With the regular season over, our accomplishments to this point do not matter," said Sylvester. "We need to look at the playoffs as a new season. The slate has been wiped clean. That being said, we need to continue to do the things that got us to this point: work hard, stay focused and play as a team."