The sixth-ranked Middlebury women's ice hockey team tallied a goal with 17.3 seconds remaining in Friday's first period and added two more in the third frame on its way to a 3-1 victory over Bowdoin.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The Panthers looked to get on the scoreboard just 46 seconds into the opening period. Following a faceoff, Kate Flynn fired a shot from the right point that Bowdoin netminder Sally Solotaroff-Webber kicked away with her pad.
• Nearly three minutes later, Middlebury goalie Sophia Merageas kept the Polar Bears off the scoreboard when she denied bids in quick succession from just outside the crease by Brett Stoddard and Meghan Montanaro.
• Bowdoin had a great opportunity to score at the 12:57 mark. Elena DiMagno broke into the zone one-on-one with Merageas, but the Panther netminder made a sprawling save.
• Middlebury turned up its offensive pressure in the latter minutes, finding the back of the net with 17.3 seconds left. Cat Appleyard ripped a shot that hit the right pipe before Avery McInerny muscled the rebound past Solotaroff-Webber for a 1-0 lead.
• The Panthers looked to increase their lead four minutes into second-period action, but back-to-back close-range shots by Appleyard and McInerny were thwarted by Solotaroff-Webber.
• Middlebury continued to apply the forecheck with their best chance of the frame coming at 8:36. Flynn corralled a cross-ice pass and rifled a rising shot that Solotaroff-Webber saved with the end of her stick.
• The hosts pressed for the equalizer with 12:41 elapsed, but a blocker save by Merageas denied Luna Lu's chance from a tough angle. 
• The Panthers killed off a power-play chance in the final two minutes of the period, not allowing a shot by the hosts to maintain the one-goal advantage heading into the final frame.
• With 27 seconds gone in the third stanza, Bowdoin's Anyi Sun collected a loose puck inside her zone and ripped a one-timer that Merageas denied with her helmet.
• Middlebury increased its lead with 7:05 gone when Appleyard shoveled a loose puck into the net from the doorstep for a 2-0 edge.
• The Polar Bears nearly cut the deficit in half a minute later, but diving saves by Merageas stopped shots from Gia Massari and DiMagno to keep it a two-goal game.
• Bowdoin broke through at 11:20 when Abigail Ainley wristed a shot that snuck through traffic and tucked inside the left post to make the score 2-1.
• Middlebury answered just 34 seconds later with an extra skater. Cece Ziegler fired a shot from the left point and Appleyard deflected the attempt before McInerny finished the play on the far post to regain the two-goal lead.
• The Polar Bears pulled Solotaroff-Webber in favor of an extra skater for the final 2:06 of action but were unable to find the back of the net for the final 3-1 score.

NOTES

• Appleyard (1G, 2A) and McInerny (2G, 1A) both finished with three-point contests. McInerny's two scores matched her career-high single-game output.
• Merageas stopped 31 of the 32 shots she faced to earn her first victory of the season.
• The programs played for the 78th time in a series in which the Panthers hold a 56-16-6 advantage and have won the last seven matchups.

The teams wrap up their two-game NESCAC series on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.