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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Women’s Hockey Hands Lake Forest First Loss

The Middlebury women’s hockey team skated to three wins, two ties and two losses over winter break, bringing their overall record to 7-3-3 and placing them at third in the NESCAC, behind first-ranked Amherst and second-ranked Williams.

Middlebury’s tense first matchup against Castleton on Saturday, Dec. 12, driven into overtime by a late Castleton goal with three and a half seconds left in the third period, marked the second loss of the season. Kelly Sherman ’17 placed her third goal of the year to give Middlebury the early lead 3:50 into the first period, and the Panthers went unanswered for the rest of the period. In the second, Maddie Winslow ’18 made two quick attempts at goals but was denied by Spartan netminder Jess Cameron.

Middlebury took a 2-0 lead on the power play at 9:51 with a rebound shot by Anna Van Kula ’16. But with just 28 seconds left in the second, Castleton struck back to make it a one-goal game. The Spartans dominated the third period, with goalie Cameron blocking a formidable shot by Janka Hlinka ’18 on a three-on-none break. With Cameron pulled in favor of an extra attacker, the Spartans tied the game with seconds remaining, forcing overtime. Only 1:53 into the extra session, Castleton went on the power play, and with an innocent shot at 3:18 that slipped past Middlebury goalie Julia Neuburger ’18, took home the win.

After a break from NCAA play, the women’s squad returned on Tuesday, Jan. 5 to host a formidable Lake Forest team in Chip Kenyon ’85 Arena, where the Panthers handed Lake Forest their first loss of the season in a spectacular showing of grit. Lake Forest entered the game with the nation’s top power play — at 41 percent — and was only one of four teams without a loss.

Ten minutes into the first period, alternate captain Katie Mandigo ’16 placed a loose puck into the slot to give Middlebury an early lead. Netminder Neuberger blocked three attempts by the Foresters in the final five minutes of the period. But 2:34 into the second, the Foresters answered.

The deciding goal of the game came 7:57 into the third, when Van Kula placed her third shot of the season off the rebound. The Panthers tried to bolster their lead on three power plays in the final eight minutes — including a five-on-three — but Lake Forest netminder Allie Carter did not falter. The Foresters pulled Carter with 49 seconds left and sent two aggressive attempts to the slot, but a blocked shot by Winslow and a crucial save by Neuberger preserved a Panthers’ victory.

“Beating Lake Forest was a good start for us coming back after break,” Van Kula  said. “We played well for a full 60 minutes and were able to hand them their first loss of the season.”

The Panthers returned to NESCAC play on Jan. 8 for a two-game matchup in Amherst, Mass., against Amherst. A scoreless first period came and went, but early in the second Winslow redirected an attempt from Shanna Hickman ’19 to score her team-leading fourth of the season. Winslow was named NESCAC player of the week earlier in the season.

The Lord Jeffs were quick to answer just a minute later, as Katelyn Pantera led a power play drive to the Panther slot. And later, Sara Culhane finished a valiant drive from Amherst after a Panther turnover turned into a three-on-one play, giving Amherst a 2-1 lead. Early in the third, though, Allie Aiello ’17 scored her first goal of the season to force overtime and ultimately to secure a tie after a scoreless extra session.

A day later, the two squads returned to the ice, hoping to secure a win in the series but tying again, this time with a 3-3 score. Late in the second period, Jessica Young ’18 placed the first point on the board after intercepting a pass from an Amherst defender in the offensive zone and firing a point-blank shot. Just a minute later, Jocelyn Hunyadi responded for the Lord Jeffs on the power play.

The third period was high-scoring as Amherst scored two goals in the first nine minutes, one of which came when Erin Martin won a faceoff in her defensive end, skated the full length of the ice, and sent the puck past Neuberger. Trailing 1-3, Middlebury staged a comeback with shots by Victoria Laven ’17 and Elizabeth Wulf ’18. The Panthers put six shots on the Amherst frame in the overtime period, including hitting the pipe in the final minute, but neither team scored leading to the 3-3 tie.

In Plattsburgh, N.Y., on Jan. 12, Middlebury suffered a 3-0 loss against top-ranked Plattsburgh State (13-0). Melissa Sheeran converted on a rebound of an initial Erin Brand slapshot from the point to give Plattsburgh State a 1-0 advantage 1:07 into the second period. Brand would be on the receiving end of another primary assist to give Plattsburgh a 2-0 edge at 11:27 of the same period. Brand took a slapshot from the point that bounced off Panther goaltender Neuburger over her shoulder and into the crease where Kayla Meneghin knocked it in. Capitalizing on an empty Panther net, Kayla Meneghin scored her second of the game coming via the empty netter with 10 seconds left in regulation to seal a tough, but expected, loss for Middlebury.

Coming off the loss, the Panthers hosted Utica on Jan. 15 in Kenyon Arena and posted a 2-1 win with a strong debut by the freshman squad. Rachael St. Clair ’19 and Katarina Shuchuk ’19 each scored their first career goals and Kiana Verplancke ’19 made 25 saves for her initial collegiate victory. The Panthers made two early scoring bids in the first period on two power plays, but Utica goalie Amanda Lupo blocked both shots.

The Utica Pioneers took their turn on the power play midway through the period, with Elizabeth Dohner placing a rebound into the top corner of the Panther net. But the Panthers pulled even late in the period, when St. Clair collected a rebound on a shot by Katherine Jackson ’19 and tied the game at 1-1.

Middlebury scored the game-winning goal at the 17:08 mark of second, when Jenna Marotta ’19 directed a shot on goal, which was tipped in by Shuchuk to give the Panthers an unanswered 2-1 lead. Utica twice pulled the goalie in the final 1:09 to get the equalizer, but the Panthers held strong to prevent the Pioneers from setting anything up.

“We have a very young team this year but have seen lots of improvement since we started in November,” Van Kula said.

Bolstered by the victory, the women’s squad returned to Kenyon Arena to crush Endicott College 5-0. The Panthers were aggressive in the first period, and Winslow made the first goal on the power play for her fifth of the season.

Middlebury broke through for three goals in the middle period, one each by Jackson, St. Clair and Haley LaFontaine ’18. The goal was LaFontaine’s first as a Panther.

A breakout pass created a two-on-one advantage for the Panthers as Winslow set up Jackson for her second of the game and a 4-0 lead (14:33). Young netted the final goal 5:00 into the third period, bringing the score to 5-0.

“The team is working hard to improve on a daily basis,” Head Coach Bill Mandigo said. “We have had three good weeks of practice and have played some very good teams. We played well against Lake Forest and Plattsburgh, but only came away with the victory against Lake Forest. Different players are having an impact and I have been very impressed with our freshmen.”

Van Kula is excited for NESCAC play, stating “we have had a good start to the new year and are looking to build on that in our upcoming NESCAC games.”

The Panthers (3-0-3 in conference) will host a two-game homestand this weekend against the Bowdoin Polar Bears (3-3), beginning Friday at 7 p.m. and ending Saturday at 3 p.m., and then will face the Hamilton Continentals (2-2-2) in Clinton, N.Y., on Jan. 29 and 30.


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