4/30/05 - Middlebury pulled ahead in the second quarter with five consecutive goals to ease past Bates 17-10 at Alumni Stadium. The Panthers are the top seed in the NESCAC and have earned a first-round bye for the conference tournament. They will host the semifinals and finals at Alumni Stadium next weekend. Bates finishes its regular season with an 8-4 record and will play at Bowdoin in a first-round tournament game on Sunday.

Trailing 4-3 in the second quarter, Middlebury's Dave Leach scored the first of five consecutive goals, tying the game at four all. Three other Panthers added to the scoring, including two by Aaron Herter.  Herter's second goal, with 26 seconds remaining, was the final goal of the half and gave Middlebury an 8-4  advantage.

After trading goals to begin the third period, the Bobcats cut the lead to 9-6 when Wes Couture netted a goal on a man-up. Led by two goals from Jamie Duke, the Panthers then tallied six straight goals to take a commanding 15-6 lead. Middlebury would add two more in the third quarter, and four straight to start the fourth to seal the win.

Duke and Henry Sheehan led Middlebury with three goals and one assist each. Couture and Peter Friedman had two goals apiece to lead the Bobcats. Alex Palmisano made five saves and Matt Levy had one for the Panthers in goal, while Paul Kazarian made seven saves and Peter Boston had six for the Bobcats.<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />