Men’s hockey improves record to .500 on season

After battling to a series of ties in their games against Southern Maine and Hamilton, the men’s hockey team put together a great team effort in their weekend finale at Amherst to defeat the Lord Jeffs 4-1. Saturday’s big victory over Amherst gave the Panthers their second win in conference play and represented a critical step towards putting their season back on track. Amherst, currently leading the division, is a perennial NESCAC championship contender and Middlebury’s road win snapped a six game unbeaten streak for the Jeffs in addition to handing the Panther rivals their first division loss.

The men’s hockey team remains undefeated in 2011, as they have kicked off the new year to a more successful start than they did the season. With a New Year’s Day 6-3 victory over Skidmore, the two ties to Southern Maine and Hamilton and the win over Amherst, the Panthers have a 2-0-2 record on the year and are well on their way to climbing out of the early-season hole they dug for themselves.

“We are definitely off to a better start in the new year,” said junior defender Tucker Donahoe ’12. “This weekend was big for us, especially the win over Amherst.” Donahoe himself had several big games in the past week, contributing three goals to the Panthers’ offensive production.

The weekend opened with a Friday night away game at Hamilton, who the Panthers had beaten in their past eight meetings. Although the Continentals grabbed the first goal of the night late in the first period, Middlebury answered back in the second and jumped to a 2-1 lead. Mathieu Dubuc ’13 followed up a rebound for the game-tying score, and Donahoe powered in a first-time shot to make it 2-1 Panthers.

Despite this momentum-changing second period, Middlebury fell victim to some critical defensive lapses that allowed Hamilton back into the game. In the third period the Continentals picked up two goals off of rebounds and leaped to a 3-2 lead. The Panthers redoubled their attack in the closing 10 minutes of the game, but a Middlebury goal that was disallowed meant that the Panthers had to settle for a tie when Martin Drolet ’12 netted the equalizer with 6:25 remaining. Drolet received NESCAC player of the week honors for his numerous offensive contributions, as he netted two goals and delivered three assists on the week.

“Against Hamilton we had some mental mistakes, but played well otherwise and pulled out a tie,” said Donahoe.

In Saturday’s game, a new, take-charge Panther squad took the ice determined to control the game from the outset. Thanks in large part to a phenomenal, 39-save performance from rookie goaltender Nick BonDurant ’14, Middlebury was able to live up to its expectations and emerge victorious despite a 40-32 shots advantage for the Lord Jeffs. Michael Griffin ’12 scored the Panthers’ first of the game, putting the team in the more comfortable position of defending an early lead rather than battling back from a deficit.

Soon after, the captains took charge of the game, as co-captain Charlie Strauss ’12 extended the lead when he finished off co-captain Ken Suchoski’s ’11 rebound. While the Lord Jeffs cut it to 2-1 shortly thereafter, the Panther defense refused to let them back in the game.

Dubuc added another goal in the second period off of a Drolet slapshot, and Jak Knelman ’12 sealed the game with an open-net goal in the final minute to send the Panthers home with a convincing victory. The game was a true team effort and a testament to the depth of the Panther team, which is unstoppable when firing on all cylinders. Middlebury will host two home NESCAC games this Friday and Saturday, so come to Kenyon, wear white and watch the Panthers continue their climb in the standings.