The Middlebury Campus

Issue date: 3/14/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jeff Patterson Alison Graddock '07 rips a wrist shot at Manhattanville's Karine Turmel in Friday's NCAA quarterfinal game. [Click to enlarge]

Four is the magic number. Four Frozen Fours in four years is not your everyday feat. Yet that is exactly what the women's hockey team accomplished on Friday night with its fourth NCAA quarterfinal victory in as many years, defeating the Manhattanville Valiants 3-1. And if history serves as any precedent, the Panthers' work is far from finished.

Energized by a record crowd of 755 spectators, the most ever to watch a women's hockey game in Kenyon Arena, the Panthers came out strong, dominating the first 10 minutes of play. Manhattanville failed to register a shot in the first 7:20 of the game. The Panthers, who outshot the Valiants by a count of 39-14 on the night, held a 13-4 advantage in shots on goal midway through the first period.

"As a team we had tremendous energy all day long," said Captain Shannon Sylvester '07. "There was a confidence and a look in each person's eyes that showed an understanding that we were going to win. That sense of communal trust is something we have been working towards all season and it was great to see it shine through on Friday."

Middlebury was unable to convert on any of those 13 shots and only registered one shot in the second 10 minutes of the first period as momentum shifted noticeably in favor of Manhattanville. The Valiants had two excellent scoring chances during that stretch, both of which were thwarted by Panther netminder Lani Wright '10. Wright finished with 13 saves on the evening while earning her 12th victory of the season.

The streaky play of both teams resulted in a scoreless first period, with both teams going 0-for-3 on the power play.

Clearly fired up following the first intermission, the Panthers again came out firing on all cylinders at the start of the second period. Middlebury finally cracked Manhattanville goalie Karine Turmel at the 11:36 mark.

With the Panthers up one skater after a Manhattanville penalty, a slap shot from the point by Shannon Tarrant '07 caromed off the right post. Abby Kurtz-Phelan '07 scooped up the puck and fed it back to Tarrant, who fired another slap shot from nearly the same spot on the ice. This time, Tarrant would not be denied, as she lit the lamp for the first score of the game.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools