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(01/21/15 3:01pm)
The Middlebury men’s hockey team had their best showing of the season, displaying a true commitment to defense in their victories over third-ranked Plattsburgh (3-1), and second-ranked Norwich (3-0).
The Panthers started off the weekend on the road with a tough matchup against the Plattsburgh Cardinals on Friday, January 16. Earlier in the season, Plattsburgh beat Middlebury 4-2, but things went differently this time around. The Panthers took the lead 8:49 into the first period when Ronald Fishman ’16 scored off a pretty cross-ice pass from Max Greenwald ’16. Fishman’s goal was, according to Captain George Ordway ’15, the goal that “set the tone for the course of both games and [the team] really never stopped working after that goal.”
The Panthers then doubled their lead a quarter of the way through the second period when Cameron Romoff ’17 fired a quick wrister past the Cardinals’ goalie on a pass from Evan Neugold ’16. 11 seconds later, Plattsburgh cut the Middlebury lead in half as a puck just barely managed to slip past Stephen Klein ’18. Middlebury sealed the game with more exceptional play by special teams. While on the penalty kill, Ordway stole the puck and sniped a shot glove side to give Middlebury the 3-1 lead. Klein stopped 19 of 20 Plattsburgh shots to pick up his fourth win of the season, while Middlebury outshot Plattsburgh 22-20.
On Saturday, Jan. 17, the Panthers squared off against the Norwich Cadets. After an early chance by Norwich went off the pipe less than a minute into the first period, Middlebury took control. Just 30 seconds after Norwich’s missed opportunity, Mike Najjar ’17 dished a pass to Ordway from behind the net and Ordway rifled it in on a one-timer.
From then on, Middlebury continued to dominate the period, keeping the Cadets’ offense at bay by outshooting them 11-5. Middlebury’s efforts paid off three quarters through the first period, when Brendan McGovern ’16 grabbed a loose puck in the Norwich slot, made a quick move to the left, and shot it past the Norwich goalie. A packed Kenyon Arena went crazy.
After killing off a Norwich power play and failing to convert on a power play of their own, the Panthers struck again 12:25 into the second period. Zach Haggerty ’16 won a puck battle along the boards and found Greg Conrad ’17 in front of the goal. Conrad stuffed it in for his second goal of the year to seal Middlebury’s 3-0 lead.
The third period proved a stressful one as Norwich went on the attack, looking to come back from their three-goal deficit. Middlebury goalie Klein was up to the task as he made a number of key saves, including an acrobatic diving save which closed off what looked to be an easy empty-net goal for Norwich. Not a single of Norwich’s 25 shots made it into the Middlebury goal as Klein picked up the first shutout of his college career.
This victory snapped a nine-game Middlebury losing streak to Norwich that has stretched back to the 2008-2009 season, and helped Middlebury improve its record this season to 6-6-2.
The Panthers were dominant on the penalty kill all weekend, killing off all 10 extra man opportunities and scoring a shorthanded goal in the process. The team applied constant pressure on the puck, blocking shots and limiting Norwich’s access to the Middlebury zone.
Up next for the men’s hockey team are two key home NESCAC games. The Panthers will face Bowdoin at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, and then play Colby at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday in Kenyon Arena. According to Ordway, the team will need to “prepare with intensity and determination to be even better than we were this weekend.”
(01/14/15 4:32pm)
The Middlebury men’s hockey team has begun to turn things around. In their last two home games of the fall semester the Panthers lost 5-3 to Amherst and then shelled Hamilton in a 6-2 victory. The team then returned to action on Jan. 2 in the New Years College Hockey Classic in Lake Placid where they beat St. Michael’s 2-1 and lost to Hobart 4-1. A week later the Panthers lost to Trinity 3-1 and then beat Wesleyan 3-2 in overtime.
Before going on break the team hosted Amherst and Hamilton in back-to-back games at home. Going up against the 15th ranked Lord Jeffs, the Panthers kept it close, erasing successive two-goal and one-goal deficits on two goals from Jake Charles ’16 and a goal from Mark McLellan ’18. It seemed like Middlebury finally took the lead just over halfway through the third, but it was ruled that the goal had come off of its moorings, negating the score. Amherst took the 4-3 lead three minutes later on the power play and sealed the victory with an empty-netter in the final seconds.
Middlebury finished the semester exactly as they hoped. In their last game of 2014 the Panthers were able to shake off the tough loss to Amherst from the previous night and beat Hamilton 6-2. Middlebury was up 3-0 just 12 minutes into the first period as Paul Falvey ’16 scored his first career goal shorthanded 5:10 in, Vincent Gisonti ’18 scored at even strength, and Jake Charles redirected a shot for a power play goal. Hamilton countered the Middlebury attack with two goals of their own, but were never able to equalize. 8:49 into the second period the Panthers scored again when Evan Neugold ’16 intercepted a Hamilton pass and found Mike Najjar ’17, who fired a wrister past the Hamilton goalie. Middlebury sealed the victory with two goals in the third, one from captain George Ordway ’15 and the other from Charles, who scored two power play goals in the game. Goaltender Stephen Klein ’18 played well in net, stopping 22 of Hamilton’s 24 shots, and picked up his first collegiate victory; an experience that Klein feels he “will always remember.”
The Panthers returned to action at the New Years College Hockey Classic in Lake Placid. Middlebury was able to start the New Year on a positive note as they defeated St. Michael’s 2-1 on Jan. 2. Greg Conrad ’17 scored his first goal of the season three-quarters through the first period on the assist from Paul Falvey. The Panthers then took a 2-0 lead with just under three minutes left in the second period when Ronald Fishman ’16 cashed in on the power play. Middlebury was then able to hold on for a 2-1 win, as Klein was once again solid in net, stopping 33 of 34.
In the second day of the tournament the Panthers faced off against the Hobart Statesmen. An early Middlebury goal was disallowed because of a high stick. The Panthers then fell behind 2-0 before cutting the Hobart lead to one on a power play blast from David Belluche ’18 with 31 seconds left in the first. Unfortunately, Middlebury ended up losing 4-1. Middlebury was outshot 35-28 in the loss.
In the first weekend of Winter Term the Panthers had back-to-back road games against the best and worst teams in the NESCAC, first ranked Trinity and bottom seeded Wesleyan. These games provided, as Klein put it, “a measuring stick” to “see where we are at this point in the season.”
The Trinity game was a close fought affair. After falling behind 2-0 in the first two periods, the Panthers were able to cut the deficit to one when Evan Neugold scored through the legs of the Trinity goaltender in the third period. Trinity converted on the power play three and a half minutes later and then held on for the win. Trinity converted on two of their six power plays.
After their tough loss against Trinity, the Panthers squared off against Wesleyan. Middlebury once again found themselves in a 2-0 hole after two periods, but this time they were able to equalize. Driven by the play of captain Derek Pimentel ’15 and leading scorer Ronald Fishman, the Panthers struck twice in the third. Middlebury’s first goal came 4:31 into the third period when Pimentel received a pass from Fishman and fired the puck past Wesleyan’s goaltender. Pimentel then scored again exactly twelve minutes later to tie the game at two goals apiece, this time on the power play, as he knocked a loose puck out of the air and into the Wesleyan goal. Middlebury dominated play in the third but were unable to come up with the game-winner, so play continued to overtime. With just 24 seconds left to play in the five minute overtime period, Fishman received a pass from Pimentel and fired a slapper home, capping a dramatic Middlebury comeback.
The men’s hockey team returns to action this weekend with two tough matchups: a Friday away game at 7th ranked Plattsburgh St. and then a Saturday home game against 3rd ranked Norwich.
(12/03/14 10:27pm)
It was a busy two weeks for the Middlebury men’s hockey team. After a disappointing first weekend of action in which the Panthers lost to Bowdoin 6-0 and tied Colby 2-2 on the road, the team opened up their home schedule with games against NESCAC rivals Tufts and Connecticut College. The Panthers tied Tufts 2-2 and picked up their first win of the season against Conn. College with a score of 3-2. A week later the team played host to the 17th annual PrimeLink Great Northern Shootout where they lost to Concordia (Minn.) 4-3 and then lost the third-place game to Plattsburgh 4-2.
The Panthers’ home opener began exactly as the team hoped, after goaltender Liam Moorfield-Yee ’16 denied Tufts on a short-handed breakaway, George Ordway ’15 found Mike Najjar ’17 for a power play goal 13:50 into the first period, the team’s first power play conversion of the season. After dominating play throughout the first and second periods, Tufts scored with the two-man advantage three-quarters of the way through the second. Middlebury quickly countered just two minutes later when Vincent Gisonti ’18 scored his second goal of the season on a pass from Ronald Fishman ’16 to return the one-goal lead. Unfortunately, the Panther lead did not hold as Tufts tied it up with just over five minutes left in the third. Neither team was able to find a winner and the score remained 2-2 after the five minute overtime period. Middlebury outshot Tufts 41-25 in the game.
The next day, Saturday Nov. 22, the team was back on the ice at Kenyon Arena for an afternoon game against Connecticut College. Middlebury once again struck first as Najjar turned defense into offense by intercepting a Connecticut pass, skating it into the opposing zone, and wristing a shot into the top-right corner for his second goal of the season 11 minutes into the first. Following Najjar’s goal, the flow of play was firmly controlled by Middlebury as the Panthers outshot the Camels 26-13 in the first two periods. This dominance resulted in two quick goals in the second as Evan Neugold ’16 stuffed home a rebound from Max Greenwald ’16’s point shot and Ronald Fishman converted on the power play with a slap shot from just inside the blue line on a pass from Derek Pimentel ’15. The two goals came just 1:48 apart from each other, a third of the way through the second. Middlebury was then able to weather a strong Connecticut push in the third as goalie Liam Moorfield-Yee made a number of key saves and the team held on for a 3-2 victory, their first of the season.
Thanksgiving break was not as restful for the men’s hockey team as they had to prepare to host the 17th annual PrimeLink Great Northern Shootout that began just a day after Thanksgiving. The annual tournament features Middlebury, Plattsburgh, Norwich, and an invitational contender. This year’s invited team was Concordia College from Minnesota.
Game one of the tournament was closely contested, with great opportunities on both ends of the ice. Playing against the visiting Concordia College Cobbers, the Panthers fell behind early and were faced with a three goal deficit just 55 seconds into the second period. The game, however, was far from over as the Panthers struck three times in the second to tie it up. Co-captain Pimentel provided the team with a spark as he scored with a slap shot from the top of the right circle on the power play 2:10 into the second. Middlebury continued pressing and seven minutes later Brendan McGovern ’16 scored his first of the season with a well placed wrist shot into the top-right corner of the Concordia net. 55 seconds later, the game was all tied up. Ronald Fishman fed Mark McLellan ’18 with a pretty pass from behind the Concordia net and McLellan put it away with a one-timer. Concordia managed to regain the lead less than two minutes later on an unfortunate bounce as a Cobber pass went off of a Middlebury defender and past goaltender Liam Moorfield-Yee. The Panthers had several good opportunities to tie the game back up in the third but were unable to convert. After their 4-3 win Concordia went on to win the tournament.
There was no rest for the weary as the Panthers were forced to turn around and play Plattsburgh in the third-place game just 21 hours after their tough loss to Concordia. The team’s exhaustion was evident as they fell into a four-goal deficit by the midway point of the third period. When it seemed like the game was all but over, Middlebury rallied and scored on two straight power play opportunities two minutes apart from each other three-quarters of the way through the third. Jake Charles scored on a redirect of a Greenwald slap shot and Gisonti put home a rebound off the Concordia goaltender. The comeback fell short, however, and Middlebury lost 4-2.
Defenseman Fishman was named to the all-tournament team.
Fishman commented on the honor, as well as the team’s performance over the weekend.
“I can utilize this to perform to the best of my ability to help the team win games,” Fishman said. “I can see good things happening once we tighten up on our mistakes.”
The men’s hockey team is back in action on home ice for their last two games of 2014 this week. The Panthers play rival Amherst at 7 p.m. on Friday Dec. 5 and Hamilton at 4 p.m. on Saturday Dec. 6 in two important NESCAC divisional games.
(12/03/14 10:02pm)
2013-14 record: 11-11-3
Captains: George Ordway ’15 & Derek Pimentel ’15
The Middlebury men’s hockey team is looking to improve upon their .500 record from last year. The 2013-14 season could only be described as up-and-down, with three three-game losing streaks and two three-game winning streaks, one of which came at the very end of the season, which earned them fourth place in the NESCAC. After qualifying for the conference tournament a year ago, the Panthers fell 6-3 at home in the quarterfinal game against Bowdoin.
The men’s hockey team returns this year with a young core. The six seniors who graduated last year left space on the team for nine incoming first-years this season.
Three seniors return to the team this year, with co-captains George Ordway and Derek Pimental, the team’s top scorer from last year, leading the way along with goaltender Mike Peters.
Other significant returning players include forward Jake Charles ’16, who registered 17 points in 15 games played last season, defenseman Ronald Fishman ’16 and goaltender Liam Moorfield-Yee ’16.
Unfortunately, the team has not gotten off to the start that they hoped for.
After six games, the men’s hockey team sits with a 1-3-2 record in 5th place in the NESCAC standings. The season is still young, however, as there are at least 18 games left to play.
With many key NESCAC games still on the schedule, including a late home-and-home against rival Williams in February, the team’s fate remains very much in their hands.
(11/20/14 3:59am)
Jerry Seinfeld has Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. I have “Broke College Students in Cars Getting McDonalds.” The premise is pretty straightforward: you let me drive your car, we go to McDonald’s, I buy us a magnificent feast and I write a “thorough” and “well-researched” review of your car using the authoritative Liebowitz-o-Meter. Seriously I don’t know why I don’t have a TV contract already with this idea.
The Car: Silver, Automatic Transmission, Eighth Generation Honda Civic
Car Name: Silver Linings
The Owner: Erin Winseman
Styling: So, umm yeah, it’s a Civic. Guys at one point this design was considered pretty revolutionary. With a front that resembles a futuristic robotic hamster that’s very serious about his job of driving you places (or is that just me?) and shapely sides best described as “curved” and “definitely not square, ” the Civic screams class and sophistication. Ok, so the Civic isn’t going to cause that Intro Italian kid who’s maybe just a little too into it to break into a hand gesticulating rant about, “Le Belle Macchine,” but it isn’t a bad looking small car.
Liebowitz-o-Meter: 3.5/5 Rons
Interior: It’s got seats! It has a steering wheel! You’re a college student so you don’t care about anything else! The front seats are comfortable and reasonably supportive and all the controls are easy to reach. I tested out the volume knob, and while it doesn’t get to full on Atwater levels, it can get loud enough so that you can’t hear yourself think (just like Atwater!) … if you’re into that sort of thing. My tall and gangly 6’2” frame fit easily into a comfortable driving position. The only concern about fitting is that there isn’t too much vertical travel in the seat, so if you have truly gigantic thighs from all the squats you’ve been doing or your torso is roughly twice the length of your legs, you may have issues.
Liebowitz-o-Meter: 4/5 Rons
Handling and Performance: Roaring out of ADK I press the gas pedal at-least a quarter of a way through its travel and rip Silver Linings all the way up to a scintillating 25 miles-per-hour on College Street. The Civic drives like an accountant whose hobby on the weekends just so happens to be underground and aggressive slam poetry; it’s boring most of the time, but come Saturday it likes to tell itself that it’s wild, but it really isn’t. It’s a Honda Civic; please tell me you weren’t expecting it to be a performance monster. But, when you actually do decide to get racy and plant your foot down, the acceleration isn’t too shabby and it purrs exactly like the serious futuristic robot hamster that it is. It’s a four-cylinder, front-wheel drive mass-market sedan geared towards fuel-economy, so all in all it handles pretty well for what it is.
Liebowitz-o-Meter: 4/5 Rons
Drive-through-ability: The Civic comes equipped with power windows, which are an essential feature when we’re talking about drive through. Christ, I’m trying to get my deep-fried happiness using as few calories as possible. Bonus points because the center console storage space perfectly fits a medium fry. Unfortunately, the Civic’s window is significantly lower than the drive through window, making it much more difficult for you to stare directly into the drive through person’s soul as you grab your bag in order to prove that, yes, you did want 60 Chicken McNuggets.
Liebowitz-o-Meter: 4.5/5 Rons
Final Verdict: Silver Linings the 8th Generation Honda Civic proved to be a perfectly competent McDonalds chariot. It’s roomy, comfortable, efficient, reliable and even a little bit fun. It passed the most thorough 25 minutes of testing it will ever receive with flying colors, becoming the first car that I have driven at Midd to not break down on me, a truly miraculous achievement.
Liebowitz-o-Meter: 4/5 Rons
Essential Stats:
Carrying capacity of 5 adults or 6 college students.
Approximate 30mpg average.
Trunk space for approximately 16 30-racks of Natty Ice.
McDonalds order: 20 piece Chicken McNuggets and a medium fry.
If the Civic were a song: “Technologic” Daft Punk.
There you have it, the first installment of “Broke College Students in Cars Getting McDonalds.” Take that, Seinfeld.
(11/19/14 10:03pm)
The Middlebury Men’s Hockey team did not start out the season the way they would have liked. The Panthers fell to Bowdoin 6-0, then tied Colby 2-2 in back to back away games on Nov. 15 and 16. Vincent Gisonti ’18, who scored the first goal of his collegiate hockey career, and Jake Charles ’16 tallied Middlebury’s only two goals of the weekend.
Middlebury drew a tough opening match-up against Bowdoin, last year’s NESCAC champions. Firing a flurry of shots early, Bowdoin took the lead two minutes and 45 seconds into the first period on a wrap-around goal that found its way past Middlebury goalie Mike Peters ’15. After the opening score the game remained firmly in control of the Polar Bears, as they proceeded to score two goals in each period. Peters stopped 25 of 31 shots in the loss, while the Bowdoin goaltender stopped 20 of 20 Middlebury shots for the shutout.
Co-captain Derek Pimentel ’15, while disappointed with the outcome of the Bowdoin game, remained confident in the team’s ability to adapt and recover. “We had a lot of young guys in the lineup, so it will take some time before they get used to the level of play and the new system this year.” There are nine first-years on the 27-man roster.
It took only 24 hours for the young team to start to adapt, as Sunday’s game against Colby started off much better for the Panthers, who were able to put a lot of pressure on Colby in the opening frame by outshooting them 16 to 7. Middlebury finally found pay dirt and scored the lone goal of the first when Gisonti stuffed a shot inside the left post and past Colby’s goaltender with just over five minutes remaining. Mike Najjar ’17 picked up the assist on the goal.
The first period represented, in Pimentel’s eyes, the best hockey the team played all weekend. Pimentel explained that “one of our team goals for this year is to win every first period, and out-shoot our opponents. We outshot our opponent on Sunday, and we did achieve one of our team goals by winning that first period.”
The strong Middlebury pressure continued into the second period as the Panthers went up two to nothing 30 seconds after a Colby timeout just over 12 minutes into the period. Charles took a pass from Ronald Fishman ’16 and put it past Colby’s goaltender to double the Middlebury lead. Unfortunately, the Mules were able to slip one by the Middlebury goaltender Liam Moorfield-Yee ’16 just over a minute later to bring the Panther lead back down to one.
Just seven minutes into the third, Colby was able to even up the score with a power play goal when their forwards crashed the net.
This lapse in the Panther defense highlighted an issue that plagued the Panthers all weekend: special teams play. Middlebury surrendered two power play goals over the weekend, and was unable to convert with the man advantage despite having fifteen minutes of power play time over the two games. Pimental believes that special teams success should come with more effort.
The score stayed tied for the remainder of the third, and the two teams found themselves in overtime. Exciting moments occurred on both ends of the ice, with Moorfield-Yee turning back a rash of Colby shots, and the Panthers getting stymied by the Colby goaltender on a partial breakaway. Despite both teams’ best efforts, the game ended in a 2-2 tie. Middlebury ended the weekend with a record of 0-1-1, and one point in the standings.
The Panthers will work hard this week at practice now that they know where they stand in comparison to other teams. “We realize that we have to work a little harder,” said Pimentel, who is “excited for us to execute at the level that I know we are capable of.”
Men’s Hockey will have their home opener this Friday, Nov. 21 against Tufts at 7:00 p.m., followed by another home game on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 4:00 p.m. against Connecticut College.
(10/30/14 2:44am)
Let’s just say that in the time you are reading this article, you have five thousand dollars magically appear in your bank account. Rational college student that you are, you have to spend it, as your terrible fear of hyper-inflation is driving you mad. Good news, you’re logical: you should spend that five grand on some killer wheels for college.
Alright, maybe a car isn’t the most prudent of purchases, but if you do have five thousand dollars that you want to spend on a car, you have far more and far better options than you might think. Using an incredibly advanced, top-secret algorithm that combines fun, reliability, practicality and economics in perfect harmony, I shall produce a list of the three best cars for you, the Middlebury student, readily available for $5,000 or less.
Disclaimer: These cars are not necessarily going to be the three best options for you. I don’t need that kind of liability. These cars are also not necessarily going to be the most mainstream of options, but c’mon, you’re more interesting than a used Toyota Camry aren’t you?
Subaru Outback/Legacy Wagon. Do you have the desperate urge to blend in with approximately 50 percent of the drivers in the beautiful state of Vermont? Then a Subaru is the car for you! There’s a reason so many people buy them around here. The cars are well built, reliable and even a little fun. I’m recommending the wagon versions of the Subaru midsize platform because who doesn’t want to fit just a little more junk in their trunk? Seriously, I personally don’t get why anyone would pick a sedan over a wagon. But anyway, they all come with four-wheel drive and “I’m a Vermonter” basically smeared in massive letters all over. Most 3rd and some 4th generation Outbacks and Legacys should be available on EBay or Craigslist (especially VT Craigslist) for around $5,000.
Charlie’s ideal choice: Subaru Legacy GT Wagon (4th Generation) with manual transmission.
Essential stats: Carrying capacity of 5 adults or 7 college students. Approximate ly 24mpg (depends on the model chosen). Trunk space for approximately 49 30-racks of Natty Ice. Liebowitz-o-Meter: 4.5/5 Rons.
Mazda 3 Hatchback. If you find yourself favoring more of a smaller car, you really can’t go wrong with the Mazda 3. Get the hatchback version because I said so. The 3 has been one of the perennial favorite steeds of our friendly northern neighbors for a while now. It’s consistently ranked as one of the best small cars because it’s fun (for real, just check out the demonic smile it has glued on its front) and efficient. For whatever reason however, no one in this country seems to get the memo and buys worse cars instead. The previous generation hatchback is just starting to dip into the $5,000 range and a hatchback from two generations ago can be easily picked up with that money.
Charlie’s ideal choice: 2nd Generation Mazda 3 5-Door S with a manual transmission.
Essential stats: Carrying capacity of 4 adults and a child or 6 college students. Approximate 29mpg average. Trunk space for approximately 25 30-racks of Natty Ice. Liebowitz-o-Meter: 4/5 Rons.
Swagger Wagon (Volvo V70.) I, of course couldn’t go without recommending my own magnificent beast. This brick-shaped tour-de-force is in many ways the ideal college car. With space for a traditional sized black bear family and a box of Twinkies, the V70 is fully prepared to take your two-months worth of dirty laundry back to your mom on breaks. While not always the most reliable, it does come decked out with a luxurious dead-animal interior, and I mean really, what more could you want? A V70 in pretty good shape can easily be purchased with $5,000 or the rights to your first-born son.
Charlie’s ideal choice: Volvo V70 R, good examples are hard to find for $5,000, but it’s just too cool not to put on the list.
Essential stats: Carrying capacity of 5 adults or 7 college students. Approximate 25mpg. Trunk space for approximately 55 30-racks of Natty Ice. Liebowitz-o-Meter: 5/5 Rons.
So there you have it, the authoritative answer on what you’ll spend your $5,000 on — if only that $5,000 existed.
(10/08/14 11:38pm)
Imagine you’re driving through the quaint little town of East Middlebury, fairly lost, but telling yourself that you’re totally going the right way. It doesn’t matter though, because you’re the only person in the car, “Beverly Hills” is on the radio, you’re singing along and are crushing it. “Damn, I should sing a cappella,” you think, before realizing that you were one of only two kids to be given a non-singing role in your middle school operetta. Also, your car happens to break down just as you pass East Middlebury’s own Pub Safe officer (apparently in the real world they call them police officers).
All right, clearly that whole scenario is probably too weird for it to involve you. I’m the weirdo who had this exact experience happen to me and I guess I should probably give a brief introduction to my column. Basically, I really like cars. I have a passion for all things four-wheeled and have been known to actually enjoy reading about, writing on, and lusting over resource-wasting, non-sustainable, liquid dinosaur burning devil machines (or whatever environmentalists are calling cars these days – I swear I actually care about the environment, too). Despite our decidedly eco image, a lot of students own cars. Cars matter on campus, so I figured I would use this column to discuss cars as they relate to Middlebury.
Back to East Middlebury and some further context: This drive just happens to be my first time driving my car in Vermont. The car is a navy blue 1999 Volvo V70. The Volvo is a performance beast that comes complete with such speed necessities as an engine, four wheels, and a steering wheel. The Swagon (short for Swagger Wagon) has even been proven through extensive and rigorous testing to be able to win a one-mile race against a Porsche going 50 miles an hour by going 60 miles per hour nine times out of 10 (how it lost the tenth race I don’t even know). The Volvo was my grandparent’s old ride and I had just finished making it into a pure, unfiltered chick magnet complete with a sparkling wax and shine. I even had it checked over at a local service station to guarantee that it was at least not going to combust at any point in time. Unfortunately — despite my extensive preparations that went so far as sprinkling the five-year-old contents of the bottle of holy water from the back of the glove compartment onto the hood of the car, making my Volvo a blessed transport of college students to McDonald’s at one in the morning — the car still broke down. Crap.
The whole car just shut down. No engine response, no power steering, no electricity, nothing. This is something all drivers should be prepared for. Cars aren’t perfect and there’s a good chance that, at some point in your life, you’re going to have a car break down on you. When you do break down, do whatever you can to get over to the side of the road while your car is still rolling. Don’t be that driver that panics and then ends up blocking the entire lane and don’t panic (unless of course there’s a massive fire coming from your engine compartment, in which case, yes, panic and get the hell out of your car). Once you’ve pulled over, put your hazards on and try to start your car again. If it doesn’t start right away, try turning the engine over a bit longer than you would normally, even feathering the gas a little bit. If you’re still not getting it started, pop the hood and make sure everything major is connected (the belts and the battery connections, first and foremost). If nothing seems to be working, call for help. If you’re somewhere in the Middlebury area, there’s a relatively good chance that there will be someone around willing to help (thanks Greg and Fran!) If worst comes to worst, you’ll have to arrange for a tow and have it sent to a garage that comes recommended. It sucks, I know, but just do it.
My car turned out to have a failed fuel pump, which is actually pretty tricky to replace on my particular Volvo. I got it towed by Mike’s Auto Towing and repaired by Randy’s Service Center, who were both reasonable and knowledgeable. The Swagger Wagon is good to go now. Realize, however, that the possibility of a breakdown is part of the cost of taking your car to college. Try to keep your car in as good a condition as you can and make sure you have a game plan in case it does die on you. You’ve got this.