Panthers ran away with it once Curran '11 got things going

Author: Jeff Patterson

Seconds after letting loose a stick-bending slap shot from inside of the face-off circles, Charlie Townsend '10 let out one word that spoke volumes. The volume in the arena was such that the word went inaudible, but reading his lips, you could tell it rhymed with the "puck" he sent high and wide and his nickname "Chuck."

With his team already up 6-0, Townsend - with two goals to his credit - was still looking for more. In the playoffs, it is win or go home and the 6'3'' forward was not going to take any chances. At the Taft School his senior year he learned a lesson, one that he will not forget.

"We lost to Salisbury our senior year in the finals," he said. "We were up 3-1 after two periods and they came back and put in three goals."

Against Williams in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC tournament, Townsend was unable to notch his third goal - a hooking penalty with 2:37 left in the game put a damper on things when it left Townsend in the penalty box for two minutes - but his team still won, without allowing a goal.

And it was his former Taft teammates who helped him with most of the scoring. Bryan Curran '11 opened the floodgates midway through the first period, when he banged in a rebound, and then banged against the glass in celebration. The assist went to Taft alum Casey Ftorek '08.

The goal nullified a Williams penalty, but it was a trade the Panthers were willing to make.

"I was center back, the more defensive of the players," said Curran, "and as soon as I saw the ref put his arm up - I knew if they touched it, he'd blow the whistle - I just crashed the net and got a rebound."

Down a man 5:42 later, Taft graduate Tom Maldonado '08 beat Eph goalie Marc Pulde for his second career short-handed goal.

On the other end of the Kenyon '85 Arena ice, Townsend was credited for an assist on Mason Graddock's '09 second-period goal, and then scored his two lamp-lighters to give the Panthers a five-goal lead. Ftorek added yet another assist on Ian Drummond's '09 final score, and the score at the end read 6-0.

Ross Cherry '08 made 14 saves in the win, his eighth career shutout - but the team's first in 25 games this season. "Considering how good our goaltending is, it is a little bit surprising," said Graddock about how long the team, which had four shutouts during his first year as a Panther, had gone without one. "But it also comes down to defense."

Middlebury is now in the thick of its defense of its NESCAC title. The Panthers will play Amherst on Saturday, March 8 at 4:00 p.m. at Colby's Alfond Arena.

"You know, the playoffs are our time of year," said Graddock. "Teams know that, and when you put up something like 6-0, it just reaffirms that to other teams."