Middlebury scored twice early in the third period to put the game away as the Panthers earned a 5-0 win over Skidmore at the 19th annual Middlebury College Holiday Classic. The 15th-ranked Panthers (5-3-1) return to action tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. when they host S. Maine, while the Thoroughbreds (4-7) will battle Potsdam at 1:00 p.m.
Middlebury took a 1-0 lead just 2:59 into the game with Martin Drolet scoring with a great move on the doorstep. Nick Dupuis rang the post for Skidmore at the 7:00 mark, before the Panthers took a 2-0 lead with a four-on-four goal at the 11:10 mark. Tom Cantwell sent a puck in from the point that was tipped down low by Chris Brown for his first of the year. The Panthers nearly took a 3-0 at 16:30, but Ben Wiggins was denied by Colin Bessey after a great feed from Michael Longo on a two-on-one break.
The Panthers looked to make it a 3-0 game early in the third period, but Darric White was stopped on a breakaway by Bessey. Middlebury's Tom Freyre scored the first of his career at the 12:34 mark, redirecting a pass in the slot from Brown.
Middlebury put the game out of reach early in the third with a pair of goals in 2:00. Louis Beslisle made a pass from behind the net to White in the slot, who potted his first of the year. Michael Griffin scored with a backhanded roof shot down low just 49 seconds later, making it a 5-0 game. Drolet carried the puck through the zone before making the feed to Griffin for his second of the season.
John Yanchek made 16 saves in goal to pick up his fourth career shutout. Bessey was pulled after Middlebury's fifth goal, earning 22 saves on the night in 42 minutes of action. John Bienkowski finished with 10 stops in 18 minutes.
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