Middlebury scored six times in the final two periods, coming from a 2-0 deficit to defeat St. Anselm, 6-4. The win extends the Panthers unbeaten streak to four games (3-0-1) as they prepare to host N.E.C. on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. Middlebury held a 41-28 shots advantage on the night.
Zachary Feiden gave St. Anselm a 1-0 lead 5:08 in, with a shorthanded breakaway goal through the five-hole. The lead grew to 2-0 at 16:35, as John Penny scored with an odd-angled shot from the goal line just five feet away from the net. The Panthers ended the period with a slim 11-9 shots advantage.
Middlebury cut the lead in half just 2:53 into the second period as Charlie Townsend put home his own rebound after a shot from the left point by Ian Drummond was saved. The Panthers continued to threaten as both Mack Cummins and Martin Drolet hit the pipe in a 20 second span. Middlebury knotted the game at two when John Sullivan scored on the power play with some nice stick-work down low. The Panthers took their first lead of the game with 3:00 left in the period with another power play goal. Charles Nerbak made a quick cross-crease pass to Drolet on the far side for the tally. St. Anselm answered with 24 seconds left in the period as Coleman Noonan converted an end-to-end rush to tie the game at 3-3 after two periods of play.
Charlie Strauss gave Middlebury a 4-3 lead 8:16 into the third as he scored cutting to the goal after a nice feed from Jamie McKenna. Trevor Dodds gave the Panthers a two-goal cushion at 11:27 as he scored after a shot was mishandled by the Hawks' goaltender. Strauss scored his second of the game 1:47 later with a wrister from the bottom of the face-off circle. Connor Logan added a late goal for the Hawks to make it a 6-4 final.
John Yanchek earned the win with 11 saves in the third period, while Doug Raeder made 13 saves through the first two periods. Pat Gallagher made 35 saves between the pipes for St. Anselm.
Date: January 23, 2009 - 7:00 p.m. -
Venue: Kenyon Arena - Site: Middlebury, Vt.
TEAM 1 2 3 OT F
St. Anselm (4-7-1) 2 1 1 - 4
Middlebury (11-2-1) 0 3 3 - 6
SCORING
S-1st (5:08) - SH: Zachary Feiden (John Hennessey)
S-1st (16:35) - John Penny (Nick Wheeler, Matthew Lowe)
M-2nd (2:53) - Charlie Townsend (Ian Drummond)
M-2nd (13:22) - PP: John Sullivan (Jamie McKenna, Michael Kretchmer)
M-2nd (17:00) - PP: Martin Drolet (Charles Nerbak, Chaz Svoboda)
S-2nd (19:36) - PP: Coleman Noonan (Hennessey)
M-3rd (8:16) - Charlie Strauss (Jamie McKenna, Leonard Badeau)
M-3rd (11:27) - Trevor Dodds (Townsend)
M-3rd (13:14) - Strauss
S-3rd (19:26) - Connor Logan (Nick Wheeler, Hennessey)
GOALTENDING (saves)
Doug Raeder-M (40 min., 13 saves, 3 GA)
John Yanchek-M (20 min., 11 saves, 1 GA)
Pat Gallagher-S (60 min., 35 saves, 6 GA)
