The Middlebury men’s ice hockey team begins the 2024-25 campaign on home ice, hosting Bowdoin and Colby on Friday, November 15 and Saturday, November 16, respectively. After advancing to the NESCAC Semifinals a year ago, the Panthers are poised to seek the program’s ninth conference crown. 

Middlebury welcomes back several seasoned players as well as six newcomers. 

Captain Jin Lee paced the Middlebury squad a year ago in points (20) and goals (10). He was strong in the faceoff circle, leading the team and ranking third in the conference with 270 wins. Lee earned All-NESCAC Second Team and CSC Academic All-District honors a year ago. Wyatt Pastor joins the forwards up front after sharing the team lead in assists with 10 and ranking third with 14 points. Pastor tallied a pair of game-winning goals, including one to help Middlebury split the series with Williams. Jackson Morehouse (5G, 7A), Revy Mack (6G, 5A) and Dante Palombo (4G, 7A) also return to the offensive unit. 

John Burdett played in 25 contests last season, blocking a team-high 34 shots and contributing five points (1G, 4A). Jake Oblak, who will serve as a captain this year, played in 21 games and will join Burdett on the blue line. Andrew Heinze saw some time in the crease a year ago, posting a .906 save percentage over nine games and picking up a trio of wins. 

Jack Ceglarski begins his first season as head coach after serving as the interim a year ago. In that time, he led the squad to the most wins since the 2019-20 season and guided the team back to the conference semifinals for the first time since 2016. Ceglarski is joined again by assistant coach Jack Fitzgerald.