The Middlebury men's hockey team (3-12-3, 2-11-2) utilized a hat trick from Jin Lee on Saturday afternoon, earning a 4-1 NESCAC victory at Williams (9-10-0, 9-7-0). Middlebury returns to the ice on Tuesday when it travels to Connecticut College for a 5:30 p.m. start.
Nearly six minutes into the opening period, Eph Owen Stadheim gathered a loose puck inside his offensive blueline and wristed a shot that Middlebury goalie Jake Horoho turned away with his body. The Panthers gained a 1-0 edge when Lee collected a bouncing puck at center ice. He skated in from the right side, ripping a wrister over netminder Evan Ruschil's shoulder and into the top-right corner of the goal.
Faisal Alsaif looked to get the Ephs even on the scoreboard, tipping an attempt with 2:15 elapsed in the middle period that Horoho saved. Williams continued its offensive pressure, tying the contest at 5:40 with a power-play tally. An initial shot in front by Alsaif was stopped by Horoho, before Jack Forrest lifted the loose puck over the sprawled out Panther goalie to make it 1-1. The visitors regained the lead with 9:39 left when Paddy Bogart wristed a rebound from between the circles that found space just under the crossbar for the 2-1 lead. The score was Bogart's fifth of the season and fourth in the last four contests.
Just over two minutes into the final frame, Middlebury's Matt Myers had a chance from the right side of the crease that Ruschil saved with his pads. The hosts looked for the game-tying goal on three separate occasions in the ensuing minutes. The best scoring chance happened with less than eight minutes left to play, as Horoho made a trio of stellar saves from point-blank range to keep the Panther lead intact. Lee made it a 3-1 game at the 13:52 mark after gathering a free puck in his defensive zone. He skated the length of the ice and sent a hard, low shot that went through the five hole of Ruschil. After taking a timeout with 3:14 left, the Ephs pulled Ruschil in favor of the extra skater but were unable to muster any quality scoring opportunities. Lee completed his hat trick with an empty-net score with 39.6 seconds left for the final 4-1 score.
Horoho earned his third victory of the season, finishing with 35 saves for Middlebury, while Ruschil recorded 23 stops for the Ephs.
