Women’s hockey faces two new teams and an old foe

`Picking up four points on the road over the past week, the women’s hockey team looks to be shaping up nicely for post-season play. After earning a 1-1 tie with number one-ranked SUNY Plattsburgh last Wednesday, the Panthers demolished SUNY Potsdam on Friday in an 8-0 shutout. The SUNY schools faced a supercharged Middlebury team, whose efforts to play a complete game and eliminate errors showed as the women charged fiercely down the ice. On Tuesday, Feb. 16, the women earned another tie, this time 2-2, against the Norwich Cadets — a rising powerhouse in Division III women’s hockey.

Despite Plattsburgh’s advantage in shots on goal — with 33 shots to Middlebury’s 25 — both teams managed only one goal each before the game ended after five scoreless minutes of overtime play. After Plattsburgh’s Laurie Bowler notched a point for the Cardinals five minutes into the first period, the Panthers went into the second period ready to score. As tri-captain Heather McCormack ’10 caught a shot from Anna McNally ’11 and lodged the puck successfully behind goaltender Mandy Mackrell at 8:24, the Panthers tied up the score. In Middlebury’s goal, Lexi Bloom ’11 displayed a strong performance, blocking 32 of the Cardinals’ shots for the tie.

“Lexi was unreal,” said tri-captain Marjie Billings ’10 of the goalie’s outstanding defense.

After losing 4-1 to Plattsburgh earlier in the season in the Panther-Cardinal Classic, the tie represented the Panthers’ season-long goal of putting together their potential to play a ‘complete game.’  It looks as though the team’s efforts are paying off.

“Our game against Plattsburgh last Wednesday was a great way to rebound from a tough weekend just before,” said Nora Bergman ’11.

Indeed, the women continued to rebound on Friday, attacking Potsdam with overwhelming force in the two teams’ first-ever matchup — one that the Bears will not soon forget. The game was an exercise in scoring for the women, as Potsdam’s weak defense afforded myriad opportunities to score. Grace Waters ’10 snagged a hat trick, while Lauren Greer ’13 scored a pair of goals and McNally, Bergman and rookie Maggie Woodward ’13 each notched a point for the team.

Tuesday night’s game against the Cadets resulted in another tie, one whose star was undeniably Ashley Bairos ’10. The forward singlehandedly lifted the Panthers out of a two-goal deficit after Norwich had successfully penetrated the Middlebury defense twice. With assists from Bergman, Maria Bourdeau ’12, Madison Styrbicki ’13 and Libby Miner ’13, Bairos’s goals came in the middle of the second period and again with five minutes left in the third. Control of the game shifted evenly between the two goals for most of the game, though Middlebury slightly outshot the Cadets 33-27. Overtime play revealed no winners, however, and the two teams, playing each other for the first time, left the ice in a stalemate.

“It was really fun to be able to play Norwich,” said Heidi Woodworth ’11. “The men’s team has a huge rivalry with them and its nice for us to have that now too. The [pace of the] game was really fast, especially in the second and third periods. We came back strong after a sloppy first period. It’s hard to come back after being down by two after the first period, but the fact that we fought back to tie it up says something important about our team.”

She added, “we wanted a win out of the game, but weren’t able to finish on our opportunities, both throughout the game and in overtime.”

Over the next few weeks, the Panthers are keen on keeping a few things in mind as they face some of their biggest competitors.

“Based on the ups and downs we have experienced over the course of the season, and as Coach Mandigo keeps reminding us, we all know that we are capable of beating any team in the country, but also that any team is capable of beating us, and we have to be 100% prepared for every single game,” said Bergman. “We are keeping this knowledge close at heart as we go into the final part of our regular season and beyond.”