The eighth-ranked Middlebury women's ice hockey team opened the 2023 portion of its schedule Wednesday with a 4-0 victory over Lake Forest (Ill.). The Panthers scored two goals in the first period and added a pair of power-play tallies in the third to earn the win.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Middlebury struck just 4:02 into the opening period. Cece Ziegler ripped a shot from the right dot that Forester netminder Hannah Turnage saved. Cat Appleyard pounced on the rebound just outside the crease, lifting the puck into the upper-left corner of the goal for the 1-0 edge.
• Lake Forest looked to tie the contest less than a minute later on consecutive point-blank shots by Danielle Selby, but both were saved by Panther goalie Sophia Merageas to preserve the one-goal lead.
• Middlebury doubled its lead with 18:39 elapsed in the first stanza, as Claudia Vira rifled a shot from through traffic over Turnage's shoulder for the 2-0 advantage.
• The Foresters had their best chance of the period when Abby Meyer laced a shot from the high slot that Merageas turned away with her right pad at 9:15.
• The Panthers continued to put pressure on Turnage, but the Lake Forest goalie denied all 20 bids during the frame. The best chance came when Middlebury skated five-on-three for 37 seconds, but a shot from Vira from the left point was blocked by Willow Poppleton.
• The hosts made it a 3-0 contest during a power-play opportunity when Avery McInerny poked in the loose puck just outside the crease at the 8:35 mark.
• The Foresters produced a quality bid with 4:23 remaining, as Lauren Wensel ripped a shot from the point that Merageas saw through traffic and caught with her glove to keep the shutout intact.
• The Panthers found the back of the net at 17:13 while on the power-play, as Raia Schluter one-timed a cross-ice pass into the right side of the goal for the final 4-0 score.

NOTES

• Schluter tallied her first goal of the season.
• Caroline Cutter was stellar at the faceoff dot for Middlebury, winning 17 of her 21 chances. She also picked up the primary assist on Vira's goal in the first period.
• Merageas stopped all 17 shots she faced, earning her first shutout this season and giving her seven for her career.
• The game was just the third meeting between the two programs, all taking place in Kenyon Arena with Middlebury being victorious in each contest.