The sixth-ranked Middlebury women's ice hockey team tallied a pair of goals in the middle period, shutting out #9 Colby 2-0.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The Mules had a good chance to score with 3:07 expired in the opening period, but Panther netminder Sophia Will made a split save to deny Abby Wick's bid from the left dot.
- The Panthers had a pair of quality opportunities in the final seven minutes. The first came with 6:47 left after Liv Fernandez carried the puck around the net and sent a pass to Callia Ferraris in the low slot. Goalie Grace Caligiuri was there to deny the one-time attempt by Ferraris. Just three minutes later, Sabrina Kim sent a long pass from the defensive zone that gave Kate Flynn a breakaway chance, but Caligiuri made a point-blank stop to keep the contest scoreless after one period of action.
- Middlebury broke through at the 15:36 mark of the middle frame. An initial attempt by Ferraris was thwarted by Caligiuri, but Raia Schluter was there to sneak the rebound into the goal for the 1-0 edge.
- Nearly two minutes later, the Panthers struck again. Rachel Neyman sent a pass from the top of the right faceoff circle to the left, and Kim saw her one-timer tuck under the crossbar for the 2-0 advantage.
- Colby threatened to cut the deficit in half with 5:47 elapsed in the third period. Kiara Jandusikova blasted a hard shot from the doorstep that Will sprawled out to save, using her body to keep the puck from crossing the goal line.
- The Mules earned a power play with just under 10 minutes remaining, but Middlebury did not allow Colby to get a single shot off during the two-minute span.
- With 2:22 to go, the Mules called a timeout and pulled their goalie in favor of the extra skater. The Panther defense stood tall, with Will stopping all six shots faced to preserve the 2-0 shutout.
NOTES
- Will made an impressive 36 saves in goal to earn her third shutout of the season.
- Kim and Schluter both scored their second markers of the campaign.
- Middlebury and Colby played for the 65th time in a series where the Panthers own a 52-12-1 mark. Middlebury has not lost to the Mules since the 2018-19 season.
The Panthers hit the road next weekend, traveling to Bowdoin for a two-game weekend series.
