The men’s hockey team won both of their home games this past weekend, defeating Amherst and Hamilton in the final two regular season games of the year. With these two victories, the Panthers (10–11–3, 8–7–3) snatched the No. 4 seed in the NESCAC tournament, earning home court advantage in the quarterfinals this weekend.
The past week’s action kicked off on Friday, Feb. 24, when Amhest came to town for the first time of the season. The last time the two teams played, the Panthers narrowly edged out the Mammoths, 3–2. Men’s puck started off the game strong, gaining a 1–0 lead just 2 minutes into the first period. The goal was a career first for Paddy Mangan ’23, whose shot deftly evaded defenders. In the subsequent stanza, the Mammoths tied things up at 1–1, setting the stage for an intense third period. Neither team disappointed. Halfway through the third, Matt Danner ’21 snatched a loose puck out of the air and fed a pass to Mitchell Allen ’20, who beat a defender and skillfully tucked away a shot, giving the Panthers the 2–1 lead. Roughly five minutes later, however, the Mammoths responded, tying the game up at 2–2. The tie lifted the game into overtime, which only lasted a mere 23 seconds; after Antoine Belisle ’23 saw his shot saved by Amherst’s goalie, captain Owen Powers ’20 slid and knocked in the rebound, sending the Panthers into a celebration huddle.
The following day, the Panthers hosted the Hamilton Continentals, who entered the game having won six out of their last seven matches. Despite being outshot (29 to 20), the Panthers managed to tuck away a season-high six goals against the Continentals, while finding a way to maintain a clean sheet, credit to netminder Brian Ketchabaw ’20. The Panthers scored in clumps, netting three goals in the opening eight minutes and two goals in the final half of the third period. Powers was among the goalscorers for the Panthers, who ends the regular season with 22 points, the highest of any Panther.
The NESCAC tournament is slated to begin on Saturday, Feb. 29, when the fourth-seeded Panthers will host the fifth-seeded Wesleyan Cardinals. The Panthers are 1–1 against the Cardinals this season; despite falling 3–1 at home in January, they earned revenge in early February, edging the Cardinals, 4–1. Game time is set for 4 p.m.
Blaise Siefer ‘23.5 is a sports staff writer.
Siefer is majoring in Sociology and minoring in Spanish.
For three semesters in 2021 and 2022, Siefer served as Senior Sports Editor. He also co-founded a Middlebury sports recap podcast, PFL Weekly, which is released on all major streaming platforms every Tuesday.
Siefer is also the Co-Founder and Co-President of Middlebury Club Soccer.
