The seventh-ranked Middlebury women's ice hockey team earned the fourth seed of the NESCAC Tournament. The Panthers will look to defend their title from a year ago when it hosts fifth-seeded Connecticut College on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in Chip Kenyon '85 Arena. 
 
ABOUT MIDDLEBURY

• Middlebury is making its 21st appearance in the conference tournament.
• The program has won the most titles of any school (11) and has advanced to the championship game in all but four years since the tournament's inception in 2001-02. 
• The Panthers own a league-best 41 wins in tournament action, boasting a 41-10 overall record.
• Middlebury enters the contest with 699 program wins. 
• Special teams are quite special, as the Panthers rank 10th in the country with a power play percentage of .250. The team has only allowed seven power-play goals in 44 opportunities this season.
• The squad enters the contest ranking 13th in faceoff win percentage (55.9%). 
• The Panthers are 9-2-2 over the last 13 contests, including a 4-1-0 record against nationally-ranked opponents during that span. 

PANTHERS TO WATCH

• Middlebury's top line of Jenna Letterie, Avery McInerny and Britt Nawrocki has been productive on offense this year.
• Letterie leads the team in assists (14) and points (23) while ranking second in the conference with a .643 faceoff win percentage. 
• Nawrocki paces the team with 14 goals and six game-winners while sitting right behind Letterie with 22 points. The rookie is tied for second in the NESCAC with five power-play markers and has tallied at least one point in 18 of 24 contests. 
• McInerny is tied for third on the team with 14 points (5G, 9A). 
• Blueliners Sabrina Kim and Claudia Vira have been a dynamic duo, both tallying 14 points on the season. Vira leads the conference with 41 blocked shots. 
• The goal has been tended by a pair of Sophias this year, with Sophia Merageas and Sophia Will splitting time and owning .926 save percentages. Merageas is ranked eighth in the country with a .818 winning percentage in goal while ranking 17th with a goals-against average (GAA) of 1.56. 

ABOUT CONNECTICUT COLLEGE

• Connecticut College is making its 16th appearance in the NESCAC Tournament and seeking the program's first conference crown.
• The Camels have advanced to the semifinals on six occasions.
• Connecticut College ranks second in the conference in penalty kill percentage at .952. 

CAMELS TO WATCH

• Melanie Conca leads the Camels with 18 points (14G, 4A), with her 14 markers ranking third in the NESCAC. 
• Forwards Serena Seiple (5G, 6A) and Kelly Matthews (4G, 7A) each have 11 points this season, while Casey Chesner paces the team with three game-winning goals.
• Netminder Abby Wieczorek has played a majority of the minutes in goal this year for Connecticut College. Wieczorek owns a .926 save percentage and a 1.79 goals against average. 

SERIES HISTORY

• The Panthers and the Camels meet for the 52nd time in a series where Middlebury owns a 42-5-4 advantage. 
• Earlier this year, the teams battled to a 1-1 draw in the series opener, while the Panthers fell 2-1 in the second game.
• Middlebury and Connecticut College have met five times in the tournament, with the Panthers owning a 4-1 mark, including a 2-1 victory last year.  

TOURNAMENT INFO

• Tickets: The NESCAC Quarterfinal game is free and no tickets are required.
• Championship Central

 The rest of the tournament will be hosted on Saturday, February 25 (Semifinals) and Sunday, February 26 (Championship) at the highest remaining seed.