The seventh-ranked Middlebury women's ice hockey team shut out Suffolk 4-0 in an NCAA Tournament first-round contest. The Panthers were led by senior captain Jenna Letterie, who factored into all four goals (1G, 3A). The defending national champions advance to Saturday's quarterfinal round with a 3:00 p.m. matchup at #2 Plattsburgh State.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Middlebury looked to get on the scoreboard early, but a pair of shots by Molly MacQueen were saved two minutes into play by Ram goalie Lily O'Neil.
• Suffolk produced its best chance of the opening period near the midway point, as Sofia Scillpoti's spinning shot from right in front of the net was padded away by Panther netminder Sophia Merageas.
• The Rams nearly took the lead with 2:51 left in the frame as Scillpoti deked a defender and fired a shot from between the circles, but Merageas snatched it out of the air to keep the game scoreless.
• Middlebury tallied the lone goal of the first period with 35.4 left. Britt Nawrocki drove down the left boards and ripped a shot that whistled past O'Neil into the top-right corner for the 1-0 edge.
• The Panthers doubled the lead (2-0) on the power play 3:29 into the second stanza. Nawrocki's initial shot was saved, but Avery McInerny was on the left post to flick in the rebound.
• Suffolk looked to cut into the deficit at the 12:10 mark as Taylor Nowak entered the offensive zone with a head of steam, but her wrist shot was saved by Merageas and the Panther defense cleared away the rebound.
• The Panthers struck again with 16:19 expired to make the score 3-0 as McInerny rifled a shot from the slot that found the back of the net.
• The Rams mustered a chance with just over 10 seconds left in the frame on a two-on-one break, but Merageas denied Cassidy Gruning to maintain the three-goal advantage.
• Letterie pushed the score to 4-0 at the 5:47 mark of the third period. The captain juked a defender just past the blueline and blasted a shot into the top-left corner.
• The Panthers had a quality chance with 9:05 gone in the third stanza, as Sabrina Kim's shot from the point which was saved by O'Neil. The rebound caromed to Mollie Dalbey on the post, but O'Neil made a sprawling save to deny the bid.
• The Rams looked to spoil the shutout with 52 seconds remaining, but a rising shot by Shana Cote was snagged by Merageas' glove to secure the 4-0 victory.

NOTES

• The Middlebury line of Letterie, McInerny and Nawrocki accounted for 10 of the 11 points in the victory, paced by Letterie's four points.
• Merageas finished with 22 saves for her third shutout in the last four games and fourth of the season. During the four-contest span, Merageas has allowed just two goals with 90 combined saves.
• All three NESCAC programs won their respective NCAA first-round games on Wednesday night as the Panthers were the lone conference team to win via a shutout.
• The home victory was the 10th of the season for Middlebury, marking the third-consecutive winter the program has posted a double-digit win total in Chip Kenyon '85 Arena.  
• Wednesday's meeting between Suffolk and the Panthers was the first matchup in women's hockey and marked the first trip to the NCAA Tournament for the Rams.

POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE