Men’s hockey leaves Connecticut with a 10-game unbeaten streak

The Middlebury men’s hockey team continued their dominance this weekend, tying Trinity on Friday night and beating Wesleyan on the road.

The men remain unbeaten in their last 10 games and move to 6-1-4 on the season. The team is optimistic about their play in the past few weeks.

“Although we would have preferred to come home with two wins this weekend, we made some good strides as a team,” commented tri-captain Bryan Curran ’11.

“We are continuing to get better across the boards.”

The Panthers traveled to Hartford after a successful return to NESCAC play the previous weekend, hoping to improve their league record. Ken Suchowski ’11 started the game quickly for the Panthers, scoring less than four minutes into the first period to even the tally at 1-1. Neither team scored in the second period, but the Panthers came out strong in the third, as Chris Steele ’13 scored his second goal of the season off of a Martin Drolet ’12 assist.

The Bantams were able to fight back, however, eluding goalie Max Kennedy ’10 twice in the final minutes of the period to force the game to overtime, in which neither team scored.

The following day, the Panthers found themselves coming from behind after Wesleyan scored a quick goal in the first period. The comeback goals came not from a veteran player, but instead from first-year Chris Brown ’13.

Brown, who has only appeared in three of the team’s 10 games this season, took advantage of a power-play situation to find the net late in the first period. He continued his prolific play in the third period, scoring on a rebound after the Wesleyan goalie deflected a shot by Tucker Donahoe ’12. Middlebury hockey veteran and tri-captain John Sullivan ’10 iced the game by scoring on an open net late in the third.

The weekend was marked by impressive performances by both experienced Panther hockey players and talented newcomers. Brown’s showing in Saturday’s game showed the depth of the Panther bench and the aptitude of the first-years on the team.

The team was anchored by a strong goaltending performance by Max Kennedy ’10, who has had an impressive 2010 season and begun to see a lot of time between the pipes.

Curran echoed the team’s appreciation for leadership in goal.

“[Kennedy] has been outstanding in net,” said Curran. “We have really been able to rally behind his stellar performances.”

Kennedy netted 21 saves against the Bantams on Friday night and 14 on Saturday, allowing just three goals on the weekend.

The Panthers look strong moving into the final month of regular season play. The NESCAC title is still well within their grasp. They stand 4-0-4 in league play and their only loss on the season came in early tournament play to perennial powerhouse Plattsburgh.

“The league is still very much up for grabs so we hope to seize the opportunity at hand,” Curran said.

Middlebury is ranked sixth nationally in the U.S. College Division III Hockey Online Poll, making them the highest ranked NESCAC team in the poll.

The Panthers will contest a doubleheader with Williams, which is ranked 15th in the nation, in league play next weekend. The Ephs, who are 5-3 in NESCAC play, will be tough competitors and a win will be important in determining league standings.