The #7/second-seeded Middlebury women's ice hockey team captured the program's 12th NESCAC Championship with a 4-0 shutout over #8/fourth-seeded Hamilton. With the win, the Panthers earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The opening minutes of the game were riddled with penalties, as three in quick succession created four-on-three and five-on-four situations for the Continentals. There were only two shots during the span, one for each team, with neither able to produce a quality look.
• Middlebury nearly got on the board with 11:06 expired when Rachel Neyman faked out a defender and fired a shot from the top of the left circle. Her attempt trickled through traffic and was saved by goalie Mac Donovan. The rebound came out, but Hamilton was able to clear it away quickly. 
• The Panthers took a 1-0 edge with 29 seconds left in the opening stanza. Jordan Hower sent the puck from the left boards to Cat Appleyard on the dot. Appleyard skated into the slot and tucked her shot under the crossbar. 
• Hamilton had a good chance for the equalizer midway through the second frame. Lydia Bullock skated from the left circle and wristed an attempt that netminder Sophia Will got a piece of with her glove. The rebound came out into the crease and Bullock nearly had another chance, but Will sprawled out to smother the puck.
• Middlebury doubled its advantage at the 14:05 mark during a power play. Avery McInerny sent a pass from behind the goal that Callia Ferraris one-timed, hitting the goalie's water bottle on the inside of the upper netting to make it 2-0.
• The Panthers increased their advantage just 35 seconds later. Raia Schluter sent a pass from the left boards just above the circle, finding Kylie Quinlan on the left pipe who snuck her one-timer into the goal for the 3-0 lead. 
• With 7:28 elapsed in the final frame, Hamilton's Cuora Sullivan had a great backhanded attempt from point-blank range, but Will fell on the puck to thwart the chance. 
• Middlebury sealed the victory with a goal at the 13:44 mark. Schluter brought the puck from the defensive zone and flipped it off the left boards to beat a Continental defender. The Panther raced past another blueliner, crossed the crease left to right and flipped the puck inside the right pipe for the 4-0 triumph.

NOTES

• The Panthers made their 22nd appearance in the NESCAC Tournament and claimed their second crown in the last three years. 
• Middlebury has appeared in 17 championship contests, winning 12 of those, which is the most for the sport in the conference. 
• The squad topped seventh-seeded Williams 4-1 in the quarterfinals and blanked #10/third-seeded Colby 3-0 in semifinal action.
• This marked the first meeting between the Panthers and the Continentals in the title tilt, as Hamilton made its second-straight appearance and second overall. 
• Middlebury is now 7-0 against the Continentals in NESCAC Tournament action and owns a 68-7-1 overall mark in the all-time series. 
• With the crown, the Panthers now have 116 NESCAC Championships among its 31 sports.
• The squad tallied 11 goals with a pair of shutouts, while Will posted 76 saves and allowed just one tally in the entire tournament.

 
Middlebury will learn its NCAA Tournament seeding and opponent on Sunday evening when the bracket is announced at 8:30 p.m. The first round of action begins on Wednesday, March 6 with five of 11 teams earning byes.