The Middlebury men's ice hockey team saw its comeback bid fall just short to Manhattanville, as the Valiants hung on for the 4-3 victory. The Panthers will play in the consolation game on Sunday at 2:00 p.m., while Manhattanville will compete for the Middlebury Holiday Classic crown at 5:00 p.m. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The Panthers came out strong, firing three shots on goal in the opening 49 seconds. The best attempt came with just 25 ticks off the clock, but Valiant goalie Sebastian Woods thwarted EMack Bentley's wraparound bid.
• Middlebury broke through with 8:36 elapsed after an initial shot by Cole Joslin was denied by Woods. Kevin Golden grabbed the rebound and sent the puck to Tucker Lamb, who pinged his shot under the crossbar for the 1-0 edge. 
• Manhattanville knotted the contest with 16:04 expired when Hayden Taylor intercepted a pass and skated two-on-one toward the goal before shoveling his shot into the upper shelf to make it 1-1.
• The Valiants struck again exactly one minute later. Mitchell Watson sent a cross-ice pass to Lane Paddison, who flipped the puck into the net for the 2-1 edge.
• With eight seconds remaining in the opening period, Manhattanville's AJ Bella tallied a power-play marker for the 3-1 lead. 
• Middlebury looked to cut the deficit down to one over the initial four minutes of the middle stanza, but a strong Valiant defense denied all five attempts.
• The Panthers had a great chance to score with 7:24 elapsed, but Tyler Little's bid from the top of the right faceoff circle hit the right pipe and careened away. 
• Middlebury broke through at the 14:36 mark during a three-on-one. Joslin received a cross-crease pass from Lamb and blasted the shot into the goal to make it 3-2. 
• Manhattanville's Josh Fletcher redirected an initial shot by Tristan Frese at the 6:25 mark of the final period to increase the lead to 4-2. 
• Jin Lee collected the loose puck near center ice, skated toward the goal and wristed a shot into the net to make it 4-3 with 7:09 to go.
• The Panthers had 11-consecutive shots over the ensuing five minutes, but were unable to find the equalizer as the Valiants hung on for the 4-3 victory.

NOTES

• Middlebury won 39 of 62 faceoffs and held a 46-16 advantage in shots. 
• Joslin and Lamb's tallies were the first of the season for each Panther.
• The teams have played each other three times, with Middlebury owning a 2-1 edge in the series.