Trailing 3-2 in the first quarter, Middlebury went on a 10-0 run, building a 12-3 lead in the third quarter en route to a 16-10 win over Colby on Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium. The Panthers' (11-2, 7-2) win secures a NESCAC quarterfinal home contest on Saturday, while a Middlebury victory over Williams on Wednesday in the regular-season finale ensures the top seed for the NESCAC tournament.

In the first quarter, both teams exchanged a pair of goals each before Colby's Greg McKillop notched his second tally at 6:06, giving the Mules a 3-2 lead. The Panthers started their 10-goal barrage with three in the first quarter as Jon Broome scored one and assisted on another, closing out the first stanza with a 5-3 lead.

Middlebury added five more goals in the second quarter as five different Panthers scored. Tim Giarrusso opened with a fast-break tally, as the hosts added two more on a pair of man-up goals during a two-minute non-releasable Colby penalty. Broome notched his second goal after a set-up from Mike Giordano at 2:19, as Andrew Metros capped the quarter with a nifty dodge for a 10-3 lead heading into the break.

The Panthers capped their 10-goal run in the third as Joel Blockowicz scored on a sweeping lefty shot at 13:21. Erich Pfeffer's man-up bounce-shot capped the burst as seven Middlebury players scored during the decisive run.

Trailing 12-3, Colby (6-8, 2-7) notched a pair of goals in 35 seconds as McKillop scored his third in transition at the 8:00 mark. Keith Fairbrother followed at 7:25 on a spinning lefty shot in traffic. The Panthers answered with a pair of their own as Pfeffer and Stew Kerr added goals for a 14-5 lead. The teams exchanged tallies in the final minutes of the third as the Panthers took a comfortable 15-6 lead into the fourth quarter. The teams again exchanged scoring tallies to open the fourth before the Mules closed out the game with the final three goals, for the 16-10 final.

Giordano finished with three goals and two assists, while Broome added two goals and two assists for Middlebury. Pfeffer and Metros collected hat-tricks, while Kerr finished with two tallies and a helper. Face-off specialist Brian Foster won 13-27 attempts, while sharing the team lead with Billy Chapman with six ground-balls apiece. Nate Gaudio played 59:15, making 10 saves for Middlebury, while reserve Jack Reilly played the final 45 seconds, allowing one goal.

McKillop led Colby with three goals and two assists, as Deveau notched a hat-trick and an assist, while Derek Youngman finished with a goal and one assist. Bjorn Knutson won 17-27 face-offs, adding a game-high eight ground-balls. Tyler Will played the entire game in net, making an impressive 21 saves.

Box Score