The Middlebury men's ice hockey team fell to top-ranked Hobart by an 8-1 score on Sunday. The contest marked the 2,000th game in the history of the Panther men's hockey program.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Middlebury had a quality scoring chance 5:53 into the first period. Max Noll skated into the offensive zone on an odd-player rush and ripped a wrister that Hobart netminder Damon Beaver saved with his glove.
• The Statesmen tallied their first goal with 11:20 elapsed in the period when Tanner Hartman lifted a shot from the right circle into the top-right corner just over Panther goalie Jake Horoho's shoulder for the 1-0 lead.
• Hobart increased its lead with 2:45 remaining. The hosts won a faceoff and Hartman rifled a one-timer that tucked inside the pipe for a 2-0 edge.
• The Statesmen made it a 3-0 contest when Tristan Fasig snuck a shot into the upper-left corner of the net with 40.3 seconds left.
• Hobart came out of the locker room in the second period peppering Horoho, but the Panther saved a trio of shots with 3:56 elapsed.
• Middlebury looked to cut into the deficit a minute later, but a rising shot from Wyatt Pastor between the circles was saved by Beaver with his blocker.
• The hosts scored at 6:44 with the extra skater, as Brandon Sacchetti fired a bid from the right point that found the back of the net. Tanner Daniels recorded a pair of goals in the period sandwiched around a tally from Chris Duclair for a 7-0 advantage.
• Middlebury nearly took advantage of a puck-handling miscue by Hobart with just over two minutes left, but Pastor's bid from outside the crease was saved by a sprawling Beaver.
• The Panthers produced a quality opportunity with 10:35 gone in the third period when Dante Palombo skated onto a pass, but his rising bid from inside the blueline tipped off Beaver's glove and sailed just over the bar.
• Middlebury kept the pressure on and broke through while shorthanded with 5:42 left. Jin Lee gained possession at the red line, and deked Beaver before shoveling his backhanded shot into the goal to make it 7-1. 
• Austin Mourar scored for the Statesmen with 1:09 remaining for the final 8-1 score.

NOTES

• Lee's goal is Middlebury's first shorthanded tally of the season. He has tallied a goal in each of the last three games and has a point in four of the last five contests.
• The programs met for the eighth time with the Statesmen winning for the fourth-straight time and grabbing a 4-3-1 advantage in the all-time series.

The Panthers start the new year with a home contest on Tuesday against New England College. The puck drop from Chip Kenyon '85 Arena is slated for 7:00 p.m.