- Ryan Deane ’11.5 kept the Panthers alive with 19 saves in Friday’s game against Williams. / Andrew Ppdrygula
Before these games, the Panthers were 8-4 and just 4-4 in conference play, a sub-par performance for a team used to finishing in the top echelons of the competitive NESCAC conference. However, the season has reached its turnaround point, where failure spells elimination and victory leads the team one step closer towards the NCAA Tournament, in which the Panthers have participated for the past 12 seasons.
This high-stakes atmosphere seems to have rejuvenated the team. In Friday afternoon’s game at Williams, the team refused to let up the pressure on the Ephs in what proved to be an incredibly close defensive showdown –– both the Ephs’ goalie and Ryan Deane ’11 made 19 saves on the day.
“In the Williams game we had a great defensive effort,” said David Hild ’11.
“It started with our defensemen and D middies being aggressive and not giving up good opportunities for them, and ended with our goalie, Ryan Deane, playing extremely well, which he’s been doing for us all season.”
Williams opened up the scoring in the first period after a flurry of shots on the Panther net, but Hild quickly countered with a goal of his own to put Middlebury on the board. Although Williams would take 11 more shots in the period, Deane and the solid Panther defense thwarted these attempts, and the score remained knotted at one goal apiece.
The second period followed a similar pattern of Williams going up by a goal and Middlebury answering soon after. The Panthers final score of the period was an exciting last-second goal off of an Eph turnover that allowed Middlebury to enter the half tied with Williams 3-3.
After a scoreless third period, Middlebury took the lead for good with 8:15 remaining in the fourth after Eric Pfeffer ’13 beat his defender and fired a shot into the upper 90 of the net. The Panthers held on for an incredibly rewarding and hard-fought win that allowed them to enter the NESCAC tournament as the sixth seed.
With the beginning of playoffs, it’s a whole new season, according to Hild.
“We’re not thinking about the regular season right now because it isn’t important,” said Hild.
“All that matters is the next game, so that’s what we’re focused on -—winning the next game and continuing our time together as a team.”
The Panthers proved true to their word on Sunday afternoon at Amherst, where they travelled to the brink of elimination and back, and ultimately ended up living to fight another day.
While the Lord Jeffs, looking like a completely changed team from the one that suffered a 14-6 loss at the hands of the Panthers earlier in the season, jumped out to an 8-2 lead, their thoughts of victory would prove to be fleeting.
“I think the turning point was halftime when everyone realized we potentially only had 30 minutes left in our season,” said Hild.
“The biggest thing was not letting our seniors finish their time at Middlebury the way that we were playing, and leaving it all on the field. From then on it was a very different game.”
The Panthers, led by Hild and Tim Cahill ’12, who each netted four goals, surged on a 7-0 run to regain the lead, and never looked back, finishing the game with a score 15-12 in their favor.
The team now looks towards the NESCAC semis and beyond. Their focus is on extending their season as long as possible, and continuing far down the road to NESCAC and NCAA prestige. Bowdoin is currently standing in their way, and should be prepared to stand up to the full force of the Panther drive and determination.
