The top-ranked Middlebury women's hockey team downed Hamilton 5-1 on Saturday to complete the weekend sweep over the Continentals and improve to 15-0 (10-0 NESCAC). The Panther's 15-straight victories are the best start to a season since the 2005-06 campaign when they rattled off 18 consecutive wins. Middlebury is back in action on Tuesday night when it hosts ninth-ranked Norwich at 7:00 p.m., while Hamilton (8-6, 5-5) hosts Colby in a two-game series beginning on Friday.
 
The Panther's best chance to get on the scoreboard in the opening frame came at the 10:36 mark. Madie Leidt carried the puck from the defensive end through center ice before sending a pass to Jenna Letterie on the left point. Letterie shot the puck from point-blank range, but the shorthanded attempt was thwarted by Hamilton netminder Sidney Molnar. The Continentals had a great opportunity to score with 11:11 expired. Maura Holden one-timed a centering pass from Katherine Solohub, but the attempt went just wide right of the goal.
 
Hamilton opened the scoring 2:37 into the middle frame during a power play. An initial shot by Nancy Loh was denied by Middlebury's Sophia Merageas, but the rebound popped out to the slot. Holden was there with her back to the goal, spun around and slipped the puck inside the right pipe for the 1-0 edge. The Panthers answered immediately, knotting the game 1-1 just 23 seconds later when Ashley McDonald cashed in on a give-and-go with Maddie Bayard for her first marker of the season. Middlebury took the lead just 1:05 later and never looked back. Cece Ziegler took advantage of the Continental goalie falling, firing a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that trickled by Molnar as she attempted to get up, making it 2-1. The tally was Ziegler's first goal as a Panther.
 
Middlebury exploded in the third period, scoring a trio of goals. McDonald dropped the puck back to Ellie Barney in the high slot, before Barney went bar down to make it 3-1 with 1:14 expired. Claudia Vira nearly scored at the 5:51 mark, but her slap shot from the left point hit the right pipe and pinged away. The Panthers increased the lead to 4-1 during a power play with 9:32 elapsed when Leidt tallied her conference-leading 12th goal of the year. Middlebury capped the scoring at the 16:02 mark when Kylie Quinlan redirected an initial bid by Sabrina Kim, tucking the puck inside the left pipe for the 5-1 final. 
 
Merageas earned the victory in goal with 17 stops, while Molnar had 41 saves for Hamilton. The Panthers held a commanding advantage in shots (46-18) and faceoff wins (39-18).