The Middlebury men's hockey team dropped a 5-0 NESCAC decision at Trinity on Friday. The Panthers (1-5, 0-4) continue conference play on Saturday with a 4:00 p.m. road contest at Wesleyan.

The Bantams (5-4, 3-2) claimed a 1-0 lead 5:29 into the game when Gerrard Maretta swiped in a loose puck near the right post. The Panthers pressed for the equalizer minutes later on the power play, firing four shots on net, including a pair by Chris Garbe that Trinity goalie Patrick Pugliese turned away. The hosts later cashed in on their only man-advantage of the period, as Maretta deflected a shot from the point by John Campomenosi for his second tally of the game with 3:27 on the clock.

Middlebury came close to cutting the difference in half with 7:40 remaining in the second stanza following a faceoff in the Trinity end of the ice. Bret Pastor directed a shot on goal from the left point that hit teammate Cole Joslin, who quickly found the puck and lifted a backhanded shot that Pugliese steered aside. Panther goalie Adam Wisco was perfect in the middle frame, stopping all 15 shots he faced to keep it a 2-0 margin.

Matt Myers had a quality opportunity for Middlebury in the first minute of the final period, pouncing on a free puck in the slot and firing a shot just wide. The Bantams countered moments later with their third marker of the game, as Paul Selleck beat Wisco with a shot from the bottom of the right circle at the 2:33 mark. Trinity's Devin Tongue tallied seven seconds into a power play with 15:28 on the clock, extending the cushion to 4-0. The hosts closed out the scoring when Nicholas Siffringer converted from the left circle on a 3-on-1 with 7:34 remaining.

Wisco finished with 38 saves for the Panthers, while Pugliese stopped all 29 shots he faced for the Bantams.

Trinity held a 43-29 advantage in shots and went 2-3 on the power play.