Middlebury scored four goals in a 2:18 span in the second period, on its way to an 8-1 win over Hamilton in a NESCAC Quarterfinal game in Kenyon Arena. The Panthers (16-6-3) advance to the NESCAC semifinals on March 6th & 7th at Amherst. The host school will take on Bowdoin, while Middlebury will battle Trinity in the other semifinal match-up. The Continentals end their season with an 11-11-3 record.
Ashley Bairos threatened early for Middlebury, hitting the pipe with a shot at 16:30. Libby Miner made it a 1-0 game for the Panthers at 17:41, snapping a shot to the top right corner of the net after skating across the zone.
Miner scored her second of the game 2:32 into the second period, converting a drop pass from Heather McCormack. The goal marked the third straight two-goal game for Miner, after scoring one in her first 19 career games.
Leading 2-0, Middlebury went on a four-goal run to put the game out of reach. Bairos scored her 13th of the year in the slot at 9:18 to start the run, while Madison Styrbicki's wrister went in off a Hamilton defender at the 9:42 mark. Anna McNally scored her team-leading 15th and 16th goals of the season just 27 seconds apart to make it a 6-0 game at 11:36. Molly Downey closed the period with her second of the season, converting a nice feed from Bairos at 18:50.
Hamilton broke up the shutout at 5:43 of the third period, as Christie Sharlow scored her sixth of the season. After a shot from Stephanie Miguel had been saved, Sharlow finished off a rebound as the puck just crossed the goal line before being cleared away. MacKenzie Stevens scored the first of her career for the Panthers with 3:57 remaining, making it an 8-1 final.
Marjie Billings ended the game with four assists, while McCormack, Heather Marrison and Bairos each added two helpers.
Lani Wright (60 min., 1 GA, 13 saves) earned the win in goal for the Panthers, while Becca Hazlett (31:36 min., 6 GA, 11 saves) and Meg Shine (28:24 min., 2 GA, 11 saves) split time for the Continentals.
Box score
