Middlebury extended its NESCAC unbeaten streak to 10 games (9-0-1), as the Panthers skated to a 7-2 triumph at Colby on Saturday. Fourth-ranked Middlebury (16-4-2, 12-1-1) concludes the regular season with a two-game series against Williams, starting Friday at 7:00 p.m. in Massachusetts.  

The Mules (7-12-4, 2-10-4) had a quality scoring chance to get on the scoreboard just over a minute into the contest, but Anna Cosentino's shot hit the post. The Panthers finished the opening period strong, netting a pair of goals in a span of 1:14. Jessica Young began the scoring with four minutes showing on the clock, when Janka Hlinka slid a pass to Young at the right post for a power-play tally. Ellie Barney recorded her second goal in as many games moments later for a 2-0 lead, poking the puck through Colby goalie Cierra San Roman off a scramble in front of the net.

In the middle stanza, Middlebury cashed in on another power play at the 2:09 mark. Anna Zumwinkle took a pass at the left point, skated to the high slot and fired a shot through traffic for her third goal of the season. The Panthers nearly made it a four-goal difference just nine seconds later when Katherine Jackson rang a shot off the post.

The Mules got on the scoreboard at the 14:22 mark when Lauren King knocked in a centering pass from the right wing by Elizabeth Brashich. The goal came while the Mules were on a power play and trimmed the difference to 3-1 after two periods.

Madie Leidt added a power-play goal for the Panthers 1:08 into the final 20 minutes, wristing a shot from the right circle past San Roman for her seventh of the year. Katarina Shuchuk made it 5-1, one timing a pass from Elizabeth Wulf from close range. After the Mules cut the margin to 5-2 with a power-play goal, Hlinka scored with a Mule in the penalty box with 7:34 expired, while Shuchuk tacked on her second of the contest in the latter stages, giving the Panthers a season-high seven goals.

Julia Neuburger recorded 16 saves in goal for Middlebury, while San Roman made 34 for the Mules and Savannah Shaw had 11 over the final 10:50 of the contest. The Panthers held a 52-18 advantage on shots, while going 3-6 on the power play with the Mules scoring twice on six opportunities.