The past two months have been tough for the men’s hockey team, who have garnered just two wins out of 14 games in that span. After falling twice to No. 12 Williams this weekend, the Panthers sit fifth in the NESCAC as they enter their final week of the regular season.
The Panther’s kicked off their back-to-back duel against Williams away from home, where they fell to the Ephs in Williamstown by a score of 3–2 in overtime. Paddy Bogart ’23 quickly put the Panthers ahead, scoring a minute into the game. However, his effort was quickly neutralized by Tyler Scott’s backhander for Williams, which tied the game at 1–1 deep into the first period. After a scoreless second stanza, Williams needed just 34 seconds to earn the lead, thanks to the Eph’s forward Wyatt Glover. After a frustrating third period for the Panthers, a breakthrough finally came with 17 seconds left in the game, after Danny Tighe ’20 knocked in a shot following an assist from Brendan Dawson ’20. Despite their remarkable effort to extend the game past regulation, the Panthers were put to bed just over 2 minutes into overtime, when Williams sealed the win through a goal by Mac Carso.
Both teams headed north for their tie the next day, this time taking place in Kenyon Arena. Despite having home court advantage, the Panthers failed to capitalize, which was consistent with an overall trend this season. While men’s puck have been satisfactory for away games — winning 50% of their matches — they have been dreadful on their home ice, winning just 20% of their duels. After gaining the lead following an effort from Alex Heinritz ’21 at the end of the first stanza, the Panthers proceeded to concede five consecutive goals, suffering a 5—1 deficit by the middle of the final period. The Panthers notched two consolation goals, with both Mitchell Allen ’20 and Owen Powers ’20 finding the back of the net for the struggling home side. With this goal, Owen Powers extended his point total to 17, good for most on the team. This mark includes 5 goals (T-2 on the team) and 12 assists (most on the team).
Men’s puck (8-11-3, 6-7-3) is set to play their final two regular season games next weekend, hosting Amherst (9-9-4, 7-6-3) on Friday and Hamilton (10-8-4, 9-5-2) on Saturday. Game times are marked for 7 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. Come out and support your Panthers!
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.
