Middlebury held Colby to just five shots on goal as the seventh-ranked Panthers (13-6-2, 8-4-1) picked up a 6-0 win over the Mules (0-18-3, 0-14-1) in Kenyon Arena. The teams return to action on Sunday with game two of the series at 1:00 p.m.

Middlebury jumped on the board 3:43 into the game with the eighth of the year from Maddie Winslow. Victoria Laven's shot from the right point was stopped, before Winslow scored on a rebound with a backhander. The Panthers had three power-play opportunities in the remainder of the first period, but were unable to capitalize.

Middlebury took a 2-0 lead 4:35 into the second period with Janka Hlinka scored her seventh of the season. Rachael St. Clair made a centering pass from the goal line to Hlinka, who scored from the slot.

The Panther defense continued to smother Colby, as Middlebury held the Mules without a shot for the game's first 33:25, while holding a 31-0 advantage.

The lead grew to 3-0 at 15:24 when Anna Zumwinkle scored her first career goal on a shot from the right point after a feed from Katherine Jackson. Zumwinkle struck again 3:12 later, netting a five-on-three power play goal with a blast from the right point, after working the puck with Carly Watson.

Middlebury added a pair of third-period goals to seal the 5-0 win. Laven skated to the top of the zone from the left point before wristing a shot into the back of the net for her first of the year at the 12:58 mark. Kelly Sherman scored the game's final goal with 2:14 remaining, breaking in all alone before netting her third of the year.

Julia Neuburger was forced to make just five saves in goal to earn her eighth career shutout. Halley Fine finished with 45 saves for Colby, as the home team held a 51-5 edge in shots.