The Middlebury women’s hockey team, now 15-4-3, continued their perfect record in the NESCAC, winning two victories each against Colby, Hamilton and Wesleyan. However, they were unable to carry the momentum outside the conference, falling to Norwich in a tight 3-2 matchup.
On Friday, Jan. 29, the team traveled to Clinton, NY, to take its first victory against the Hamilton Continentals, going 1-0 on Friday. Katherine Jackson ’19 made the early game-winning goal at 15:30 of the first period, latching on to the rebound off two failed attempts by Shanna Hickman ’19. The goal was made entirely by first-years, with both Rachael St. Clair ’19 and Hickman being credited for the assist.
With just under a minute left in the game, Hamilton pulled goalie Sam Walther for an extra attacker, but could not sink a shot against Neuberger, fixing the final score at 1-0. Hamilton could not convert on their one power play, but neither could Middlebury on their two. The Panthers more than doubled the Continentals in shots on goal, 23-11.
Middlebury returned to Russell Sage Rink the next day on Jan. 30 to shut out Hamilton 2-0. Grace Jennings ’19 scored her first collegiate goal 16 minutes into the first period after ripping the puck from a Hamilton defender near the blueline. Nearing Hamilton goalie Walther, Jennings wristed a shot that Walther nearly stopped. The Continentals had no answer for the second period.
The Panthers furthered their lead to 2-0 at 12:26 of the third period on the power play, when Kelly Sherman ’17 made her fourth season goal from an assist from Anna Van Kula ’16. A pulled goalie and a Panther penalty in the final two minutes gave Hamilton a six-on-four advantage, but it proved fruitless, handing Middlebury a 2-0 victory.
A battle of top-10 women’s hockey foes went down in Northfield, Vt. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, when a late goal by the Norwich Cadets earned them a 3-2 win over Middlebury. The game was also a battle of sisters — Katarina Shuchuk ’19 for Middlebury and her twin Maki Shuchuk for Norwich — who squared off after playing on many of the same teams growing up. Both sisters were on the ice for the opening faceoff of the game.
The Cadets took a promising lead just 56 seconds into the game with dual-assist shot taken from a Middlebury skater and one-timed by Erin Joyce, who was waiting in the slot for the puck. Though dominating 5-2 in shots on goal in the first period, Middlebury could not provide an answer. In the second period, Norwich locked a 2-0 lead after the Panthers lost a face-off and Adelle Murphy notched a goal just four seconds into a power play.
Outshooting the Cadets 8-4 in the second, the Panthers finally posted an answer halfway through the period, with Janka Hlinka ’18 tipping a blueline shot by Julia Wardwell ’16 into the net. And at 13:48 of the third, Katherine Jackson ’19 hooked a loose puck on a wraparound move to tie the game, with assists from Elizabeth Wulf ’18 and Jennings. With three minutes remain- ing, though, Norwich’s Bryn Labbe shot a wrister from the middle of the slot straight past netminder Julia Neuburger ’18. The Panthers, who were outshot 2-4 by the Cadets in the third, could not force a tie, and Norwich won the game 3-2.
“The loss was a wake-up call,” Hlinka said. “If we are going to have a chance at be- ing the best, we are going to need to find a way to win against teams outside of the NE- SCAC.”
The Panthers returned to Kenyon Arena on Friday, Feb. 5, to take on Wesleyan in a two-game homestand. Wesleyan made the first statement seven minutes into the first off a wrist shot that was tipped in by Cici Frattasio. The Panthers nearly answered a minute later with a shot from the right by Jenna Marotta ’19, but the puck hit the crossbar. Jessica Young ’18 redeemed that attempt at 14:37 in the first by taking a loose puck from the neutral zone, racing up the left side, and launching it past Cardinal goalie Laura Corcoran.
The Panthers took the lead at 9:30 in the second when top-scorer Maddie Winslow ’18 placed the puck behind Wesleyan’s goalie and Hickman tipped it in. Winslow scored again in the third period to make it 3-1, bringing her season total to a team-leading nine goals. Wesleyan responded shortly on a power play after a scramble for the puck in front of the Panther net left a loose puck open for a Wesleyan attack. But with 35 seconds remaining, Young placed an insurance goal into Wesleyan’s open net to seal the game 4-2.
Middlebury took 33 shots on goal com- pared to Wesleyan’s 14, though Wesleyan went one-for-one on the power play and Middlebury oh-for-two.
The Middlebury women recorded a 5-0 shutout the next day against Wesleyan, their 50th victory against the program, bring- ing the overall series record between the teams to a staggering 50-0-3. Wulf scored on the first shift for the Panthers off a short pass behind the net from classmate Jessica Young ’18. With 3:35 left in the opening period, Grace Jennings ’19 placed a drop pass from Katherine Jackson ’19 over Cardinal goalie Corrine Rivard’s left shoulder.
The Panthers added two more goals in the second period to extend their lead to four. Hickman tallied the first of those, as she swatted in a centering pass from Winslow at 5:11 into the middle frame. Winslow made it 4-0 after Young created a turnover just inside the Wesleyan blue line, using a backhander to beat Rivard with 27 seconds left in the period.
Middlebury finished off the scoring in the third period, as Winslow collected a puck in the slot and fired a hard shot under the crossbar for her second goal of the game. The Panthers nearly doubled the Cardinals in shots on goal, 32-18, and Wesleyan could not capitalize on their one power play. Ver- plancke earned her first collegiate shutout with 17 saves. Wardwell played in her 100th career game for the Panthers and earned the primary assist on the team’s goal in the third period.
“Our games against Wesleyan were a great test of our grit and or progress. Our underclassmen really stepped up and got us some crucial points for the win,” Wardwell said. “Playing in my 100th game was sur- real.”
The team took to Waterville, Me., on Friday, Feb. 12 to face the Colby Mules, leaving with two victories, 2-1 and 1-0. The game on Friday went scoreless for the first pe- riod, with Neuburger making 16 saves. The Mules had the first goal at 11:58 in the second by Katie McLaughlin, to which the Pan- thers had no immediate answer despite 10 blocked shots in that period. But at 13:08 in the third, Winslow netted her team-leading 12th goal of the season, and three minutes later Hlinka brought the score to 2-1 for her second goal of the year. The Mules’ aggressiveness — with 30 shots on goal compared to Middlebury’s 23 — did not translate to the scoreboard.
On Saturday, the Middlebury women ran their NESCAC regular-season unbeaten streak to 27 — having only tied five times — with a 1-0 shut-out against Colby. The lone goal came on a power play at 17:58 in the middle period, when Young one-timed a pass by Wulf for her eighth of the
season. With the goal, Young extended her point streak to four games, recording three goals and seven assists (3-7-10) during that stretch. The Panthers held a 27-18 edge in shots on goal, after having been outshot 5-8 in the first period.
With their impressive conference record (11-0-3), matched only by Amherst’s 11-1-2, the Panthers have secured home ice for the NESCAC quarterfinal game, to take place on Saturday, Feb. 27 in Chip Kenyon ’85 Arena. Middlebury will secure the top seed if the ladies manage not to lose either of their final two games against Williams (8-6-0). Even with two ties against Williams, Kenyon Arena would become the site of the NESCAC semifinals and finals on March 5 and 6. The question is whether the lossless streak of 22 wins and 5 ties can last just two more games.
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