The Middlebury Campus

Issue date: 3/30/06 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Will Costello After surviving a nailbiter against Elmira in the semifinal, the men cruised to the NCAA title.

Middlebury's dominance over Division III men's hockey has reached dynastic proportions…again. After a 22-2-2 regular season, a no-sweat NESCAC title and a solid first-round game, Bill Beaney's squad headed down to Elmira, N.Y. and played their way to a third straight NCAA National Title, Middlebury's eighth in the last 12 years.

This year's NCAA tournament included a new twist. Under previous rules, the Panthers, who finished this season ranked number one in the nation, would have maintained home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs (as they did during last year's championship run). Instead, the Panthers were forced to play the semifinal and final matchups at a "neutral" site. This year, that site was the First Arena in Elmira, home of the UHL Elmira Jackals. But the site turned out not to be quite so neutral as advertised, as the Panthers found themselves in a semi-final bracket with the hometown Elmira College Soaring Eagles. Beaney, however, was not at all upset at having to go up against a hometown team. "Having Elmira in the tournament will bring a lot of fans and a ton of excitement to the game," said Beaney before the weekend, "And that's what this sport is all about."

"It really gives our guys something to play for," agreed Assistant Coach Chris LaPerle. "There's no way we'll be getting too complacent in front of that crowd."

As it turned out, the Soaring Eagles gave their fans something to cheer about. Elmira came out firing against first-year goalie Doug Raeder. Raeder started in place of injured Ross Cherry '08, who hurt his knee after a record-setting run in the NESCAC tournament. But the Panthers were not overly distraught at the turn of events as Raeder's numbers this season were exceptional, ranking among the top five netminders in goals against average.

Huge underdogs coming in, Elmira took an early lead, beating Raeder on the powerplay just 2:40 into the second period. This would be the only goal that Raeder allowed the entire weekend, and the Panthers made sure that the goalie's stellar performances did not go to waste. Middlebury tied the game 12 minutes later when John Sales '07 grabbed his own rebound and forced the puck home. Sales's goal quieted down the Elmira crowd and seemed to swing the momentum back in Middlebury's favor.

Continued...

Page 1 of 3 next >

Article Tools