The top-ranked Middlebury women's ice hockey team tied #3 Amherst 1-1 following overtime to force a shootout. Netminder Sophia Merageas stopped two-of-three attempts by the Mammoths for a 2-1 edge as the teams shared points in the NESCAC standings.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The Panthers came out strong, scoring with 8:30 expired in the opening period. Raia Schluter sent a pass to Avery McInerny who tucked her one-timer under the crossbar for the 1-0 edge.
• Amherst responded nearly five minutes later when Anna Baxter's point-blank attempt slipped past Merageas to make it 1-1. 
• The Mammoths earned a power play with 4:33 elapsed in the second frame, but Middlebury clamped down, only allowing one shot during the span, while sending Amherst chasing after several end-to-end clears.
• The visitors had another extra-skater opportunity midway through the period and peppered the Panthers with shots. The hosts stood up, denying all eight attempts to keep the contest knotted at 1-1.
• With just under five minutes remaining, Middlebury had a quality opportunity. Schluter grabbed the puck in the defensive zone and sent it up to Kate Flynn on the right boards. Flynn dished it back to Schluter who was barreling toward the goal, but her one-timer skidded just wide.
• Schluter looked for the golden goal again with 2:55 off the third-period clock. A bang-bang sequence from McInerny to Flynn setup Schluter for a doorstep tip-in attempt, but goalie Natalie Stout sprawled out to deny the chance.
• Schluter would not go away, testing Stout again at the 13:22 mark. Flynn sent a backhanded pass from the left pipe to Schluter on the right, but Stout butterflied to thwart the bid and keep the game tied.
• Middlebury appeared to put the game away for good with 1:12 left in overtime. An initial bid by Schluter was stopped by Stout, but Sabrina Kim grabbed the rebound. With her back to the goal, Kim spun around and deposited her shot perfectly inside the right pipe. The crowd erupted, but as the puck squirted back out of the goal, the officials waved it off.
• Amherst's Cara Mancini and Cece Ziegler traded tallies to start the shootout, before Merageas thwarted Alyssa Xu's attempt. Britt Nawrocki put the Panthers up 2-1 and Merageas secured the session denying Ayla Abban.

NOTES

• The teams played for the 66th time in a series which Middlebury owns a 38-12-16 advantage.
• This marked the second-straight tie between the programs.
• The Panthers owned a 37-29 advantage in faceoff wins.
• Merageas tallied a season-high and tied her career high with 35 stops during the contest. 

Middlebury and Amherst are back at it on Saturday with a 3:00 p.m. puck drop.