Neumann suffers the peril of Farrell Senior defenseman scores two goals in 114 span

Author: Emma Gardner

In a showdown between the nation's top two teams, Plattsburgh - led by junior Danielle Blanchard - upset the top-ranked Panthers on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at Stafford Arena in Plattsburgh, N.Y. Blanchard has had a hand in 14 of the Cardinals' 17 goals against Middlebury in the last two seasons, during which Plattsburgh has won all five contests, including last year's national championship game.

Middlebury is not alone in struggling to defend Plattsburgh's captain - Blanchard leads the country in scoring with 23 goals and 17 assists - though, this defeat ended the Panther's 17-game unbeaten streak.

Before the loss, Middlebury took on 10 days of rigorous training over Feb Break. It produced great results, with two solid wins - a 7-1 victory at Lansing Chapman Rink against Williams on Feb. 6 and a 6-0 shutout of Neumann College on Feb. 9.

With stellar performances from goaltenders Lani Wright '10 and Emma Lennon '11, the win against Williams "helped solidify our standing in the NESCAC," said assistant captain Annmarie Cellino '09. "Williams has always been a tough team to play."

While Williams is assuredly an established rival, spectators of that day's game might have guessed otherwise from the way the Panthers dominated the Ephs to the end of the game. The difference in shots on goal was almost three-fold - Middlebury had 72, Williams 25.

Riding high off of their success at Williams, the Panthers geared up to face a non-conference opponent on Feb. 9. Skating cautiously around each other throughout the first period, neither team made it onto the scoreboard within the first 20 minutes of the game. After gaining confidence in their own offense, the Panthers uncovered their talent in the second frame with the game's first goal by Jessica Bennett '10, which was assisted by Marjie Billings '10, 9:48 into the period.

A little over two minutes later, Randi Dumont '09 netted a follow-up goal in a tried-and-true backdoor play with the help of Molly Vitt '09. The Neumann Knights began to see the skills of which their coach had forewarned them - and the Panthers were just getting started.

Less than halfway into the second period, defenseman Lacey Farrell '08 got in on the action with a pair of back-to-back goals within a little over one minute. Farrell scored the first goal with assistance from co-captain Karen Levin '08 and Bennett. The second came on the power play from co-captain Tania Kenny '08 and Erika Nakamura '09.

Shortly after Farrell's triumphant performance, Neumann head coach Matt Kennedy called a timeout at 14:56 in an attempt to refocus his players so they could strike back at the rallying Panthers. As soon as the players resumed their positions on the ice, however, Middlebury first-year Anna McNally served the Knights with a well-executed goal to bring the score to 5-0. It was McNally's 15th goal of her inaugural collegiate season.

The Neumann skaters remained in an offensive rut throughout the rest of the third period, getting only two shots on goaltender Lexi Bloom '11, while Vitt scored with 10 minutes remaining in the game to finish off the game's scoring.

"We hadn't seen Neumann yet this year, so we were not sure what to expect," said Cellino. "We got a good effort from everyone on the team and ended up with a solid win."