“Resilient” is the word head coach Bill Mandigo uses to characterize his hockey team. It’s an apt description. Last weekend, Middlebury women’s hockey took down Connecticut College in two comeback wins, winning 2–1 on Friday night and 4–2 less than 24 hours later. Both games were close, but Middlebury was the better team throughout.
In the first game, Connecticut College made the first bid from a one-timer on the left side of the crease, but goalie Sophia Will ’26 responded with a sprawling save. Middlebury dominated but couldn’t score for the rest of the period, notching eight shots within the final three minutes.
A Camels player netted the first goal with 3:27 left in the second period, skating around a Middlebury defender and burying the puck top shelf. The Panthers entered the third down a goal, but it was familiar territory for a team that has clawed back to win in several games this season.
“They’ve been really good about not getting down if they don’t score first or if they fall behind,” Mandigo said. “I come back to being resilient; there’s no quit, they’re going to keep fighting.”
That’s precisely what happened: they kept fighting. Liv Fernandez ’27 tied the game early in the third off a feed from Olivia Gordon ’28. Ten minutes later, they claimed the lead from a shorthanded goal from Alison Giebler ’28 — her first goal in navy and white. Almost as soon as the penalty had started, Giebler intercepted a pass in the zone, chipping it off the wall and setting herself free. The crowd rose to their feet as Giebler dashed down the length of the ice. She faked right before slotting the puck into the net, and a chorus of cheers erupted from Kenyon Arena.
One of the arena’s most redeeming features is that it brings together people who might not usually find themselves in the same space. Like with most Middlebury competitions, students, staff, and parents are all there. But what’s special about hockey is that it also attracts many people from the town.
“The townspeople love coming to hockey games. It’s always been that way for the men, and I think the women have gotten more and more in the last 18 years,” Mandigo said. “There’s certain people who come, they love coming, they have their seats.”
On Saturday, the Panthers once again found themselves trailing by one in the second period.
“We’d love to not be in that position every time we play, but it seems to be a trend this year,” Assistant Coach Emily McNamara joked.
Regardless, a Middlebury comeback felt inevitable. With 2:15 remaining in the second period, the Panthers went on the power play. Avery McInerny ’26 picked up the puck behind the net, setting up Alyssa Frazier’s ’29 one-time effort into the bottom right corner. Not taking their time to capture the lead, Middlebury scored again 20 seconds later. Giebler skated over from near the Panther bench, evading a couple defenders before skillfully wristing the puck into the top right corner.
Undeterred by conceding two goals in quick succession, Conn tied it early in the third. Their forward battled through a couple Panthers before slotting the puck into the bottom left corner. It wasn’t a pretty goal, and even the Connecticut player seemed surprised that it had gone in. Panther goalie Will tapped her stick against the crossbar in frustration, a tactic she uses to refocus.
“It’s more of a mental reset. In the moment, you’re like ‘crap,’ but you’ve got to flush it and reset it,” Will said. Soon after, Conn skated down ice with a three-on-one, but Will smothered their attempt on goal.
After that save, Middlebury reclaimed control. Olivia McManus ’27 made it 3–2 with seven minutes left, making use of their one-skater advantage on the power player. Then, playing short-handed, Frazier picked off a pass and moved left across the ice. Making a cross-ice pass, forward Caroline Thomas ’29 then guided the puck into the empty net.
“We tend to kill in a pretty aggressive manner, and occasionally you get some positive bounces that come from that,” McNamara said about the team’s success on penalty kills.
Conn brought on an extra skater in an attempt to salvage the game, but was caught with too many players on the ice. Their coach, with frustration boiling over from effectively losing twice within 24 hours, started arguing with the refs and waved her clipboard wildly. She was relegated to watching Middlebury skate out the rest of the game.
The Panthers moved to 9–1–2 after the two wins and are now ranked fourth in the nation. Next weekend they face #2 Amherst College, possibly the biggest test for the team so far this season.
Despite the pending challenge, Will feels good about her team.
“I feel really confident in this group and what we bring every day…everyone shows up and tries to bring their all, even if it’s not their best day,” Will said.
As the Middlebury women’s hockey team approaches their pair of away games against the Mammoths, they might not even have a choice. Their best days will be needed to return home victorious.
