RIT says 'R.I.P.' to Midd women's hockey streak

Author: Andrew Deloach

The Middlebury women's hockey team split a pair of non-conference games last weekend to settle their record at 12-2-2. On Feb. 7, the Panthers took on Buffalo State (2-13-4) and won handily by a final score of 5-1, extending their unbeaten streak to 10 games. But the next day, head coach Bill Mandigo saw that streak snapped as Middlebury lost 4-2 to host Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) (17-2-2). This impressive win for the Tigers came just one day after defeating Amherst (14-4-0), who currently sits atop the NESCAC standings.

Annemarie Cellino '09 and Anna McNally '11 both had impressive games for the Panthers in the 5-1 victory over Buffalo State. The duo combined for two goals and four assists while leading the charge against the Bengals. Skaters Grace Walters '12, Ashley Bairos '10 and Molly West '10 also added to the mix, each netting a goal.

The game was close early on as Buffalo State tied the match at 1-1 halfway through the first period. Middlebury quickly fired back moments later to retake the lead as Bairos netted her fourth goal of the season. That goal proved to be the game-winner as the Bengals could not keep up with the Panthers' excellent play. After adding a goal in the second, the women scored twice more in the third period to put the game away.

The women continued to dominate the game on the offensive end, firing 30 shots on goal and converting two of four power plays. At the other end of the ice, the Panthers allowed only seven shots and one goal on five power plays. Unfortunately, they were unable to continue their winning ways on Sunday afternoon.

RIT jumped out to an early lead by scoring just one minute into the opening period. Sarah Dagg got her 15th goal of the season as she tapped a rebound after a shot was deflected by goaltender Lexi Bloom '11.

The Tigers added to their lead later on in the first when Missy Hall's slapshot was just out of Bloom's reach and landed in the back of the net. Middlebury was quick to answer back, however, and cut the lead to one later on in the first period. After turning the puck over in the neutral zone, the Panthers had a 2-on-1, and Heather McCormack '10 had a rebound goal of her own after Grant's shot was deflected by the RIT goalie.

The Tigers continued to skate well and increased the lead to 3-1 with 3:57 left in the second period when Kylie Mazzetta '11 netted her 10th goal of the season. But Nora Bergman '11 got Middlebury back on the board later in the second with a power-play goal.

Trailing 3-2 late in the third period, Middlebury began to pour it on offensively. The team fired 13 shots on goal, including a blast from just outside the crease by Grace Waters '12 with 1:55 left in the game. RIT goaltender Sandra Grant proved up to the challenge, though, saving all 13 shots in the third, and 30 on the afternoon.

The Panthers pulled their goalie late in the game but were unable to capitalize with the extra skater. RIT added an empty net goal to put the game away at 4-2. The Tigers continue to play impressively against top teams, improving their record to 3-2-1 against teams ranked in the top 25 in the nation.

"We need to get back on track after this last game and step it up against Williams and Amherst this week," said Bairos. The team has already beaten Williams but suffered a tough loss to the number-one ranked Amherst squad earlier in the season, so the Panthers are looking for a big win this coming Saturday.