The Middlebury women’s ice hockey team has been one of the most dominant programs in the country since becoming a varsity sport in the 1970s. Over the last 50 years, hundreds of players have donned the Middlebury “M” and have memories to last a lifetime. In August, many of those Panthers returned to campus for a weekend of celebrating the half-century milestone, while reminiscing on the stories that brought them together.

THE 1970s: CLUB ORIGINS

In 1975, Middlebury established its first women’s ice hockey club team. Sandy “Buzz” Whalen ‘79, who helped start the women’s ice hockey program at the Taft School in Connecticut as a player, wanted to do the same when she arrived on campus at Middlebury.  Still in the early days of Title IX being passed, it was not an easy feat to establish a women’s team.

The players practiced in Memorial Rink, wearing red sweaters and blue sweatpants; the only matching garments they could find to create a somewhat unified look. Games were scheduled by the players themselves, who sat in their dorms and wrote letters requesting competitions to opposing athletic directors on typewriters. The late Tom Lawson, Director of Athletics at the time, allowed players to use the telephone in his office to call and schedule games. The program received Middlebury jerseys and some equipment, including Cooper shoulder pads. Whalen, who donated her original pair to the program at this summer’s celebration, says the players on those teams would never forget them.

The second season came with a new arrival in Mike Karin. The 2019 Middlebury Athletics Hall of Fame inductee coached the team for four years without receiving a dime. The team would even pack in his Ford Bronco for away games. For Whalen and her teammates, it was a rewarding experience.

As the 1970s came to a close, the program gained traction around campus. During the 1978-79 campaign, the team posted victories over New England rivals Wesleyan, Williams and Exeter Academy. 

THE 1980s: VARSITY STATUS

In their final season as a club sport, the Panthers grabbed four victories, including a 16-0 win over Williams. With four losses coming by a single goal, the squad was well-positioned to take the next step: becoming a varsity sport.

The 1981-82 campaign marked the first as a varsity program at Middlebury. Jean Flemma ‘85, despite her mother wanting her to play squash, landed a spot on the ice hockey team. Although she had not laced up a pair of skates until her sophomore year of high school, Flemma dove right in, convincing people to join the team. The late Duke Nelson, at the ripe age of 74, became the squad’s first paid coach.

“I do not think any of us knew what and how historic that first season would be,” said Flemma. 

That first campaign opened with a 3-2 overtime loss to in-state rival the University of Vermont (UVM). A week later, the program achieved its first varsity victory, taking down Skidmore 5-2. Overall, the Panthers posted a 7-8 record and tallied wins in four of their last five contests.

Bob Ritter ’82 took over the helm in January of 1983, guiding the team to a 10-5-0 mark, including a sweep of Williams (9-2, 5-0) and an 8-2 record over the final 10 games. 

Besides winning, the practice schedule started to shift. Fighting for better ice time, the team went from practicing from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. every night to 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. twice a week, which was the ideal practice slot. From 1981-1987, the Panthers tallied a 59-33-3 mark and averaged 4.86 goals per game.

In 1988, Bill Mandigo, who had coached the Wesleyan men’s ice hockey team as an assistant three years prior, stepped up to the helm of the program and has been the head coach ever since.

For Mandigo, coming to Middlebury was appealing because he was going to not only coach hockey, but serve as an assistant coach for Hall of Famer Mickey Heinecken’s football program.

Sam Chapin ‘89, who was a senior on the team, had mixed feelings about the change.

Mandigo’s first order of business was naming a captain. He chose Chapin, something that she still cherishes.

Mandigo knew he had made the right choice, recalling, “I always credit her because she said you didn't push us hard enough, and we can do more. So it was a good group, but having her as my first captain was a blessing in many ways.”

In Mandigo’s first season, the team went 10-5-0, capped by a 3-2 win over UVM to close the season.

THE 1990s: ECAC POWERHOUSE

After years of playing amongst Division I teams, the ECAC split into two divisions in the early 1990s. Middlebury, which had played in the top division, dropped down to Division III. 

Then sophomore and 2017 Middlebury Athletics Hall of Famer Jennfier Hefner Carbone ‘97 recalls the divisional shift as an adjustment.

The shift lit a fire under the Panthers, who opened the 1995-96 season with a four-game winning streak. Eventually, the squad reached the ECAC Championship against Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), whom they had beaten 5-1 weeks earlier. Inside Duke Nelson Arena, the program capped its season with a 5-0 victory over the Tigers to claim its first championship. Middlebury finished the campaign at 19-6, with a 17-0 mark in conference play.

Over the next three years, the Panthers posted a 64-11 record and outscored opponents 442-111. The program hoisted three more ECAC Titles and was unbeaten in conference action with a 45-0 mark.

With the 1998-99 campaign ending with another ECAC crown, the Panthers closed the 1990s with an impressive host of accolades. Over 10 seasons, the squad scored 979 goals, tallied 138 victories, and won four championships.

THE 2000s: PILLARS OF SUCCESS

As the calendar flipped to a new century, the success continued for Middlebury women’s ice hockey. The program opened the 1999-00 campaign with eight-straight victories before falling 4-3 against Boston College. 

The Panthers shook off the tight loss and continued their march to the postseason, claiming 12 out of the next 13 games to roll into the ECAC playoffs with a 14-0 mark in conference action. Earning hosting rights for the playoffs, Middlebury surrendered just one goal over three games to claim its fifth-straight ECAC Championship. This year was different, as the Panthers were able to continue their season.

Nineteen days later, the Panthers met the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Champion Augsburg in a best-of-three series hosted by Northeastern University in the American Women’s College Hockey Alliance (AWCHA) playoffs. The organization was funded through the United States Olympic Committee and the NCAA Conference Grant Program and was created to promote NCAA women’s ice hockey across all divisions. The new stage did not deter the program, as it outscored the Auggies 13-2 to claim the inaugural AWCHA crown and finish the season at 24-2.

The support from the program extended outside of the greater Middlebury community. Michelle Labbe-Hunter ‘01 remembers John Owen ’30, a World War II veteran who listened to the games on the radio and sent handwritten letters to the players, congratulating them on their success. After his passing, the program created the Captain John Owen Memorial Award, given to the player who exemplifies dedication and support of the Middlebury women's ice hockey team.

Middlebury continued its reign a year later, posting a 23-1-1 record alongside its sixth consecutive ECAC Title and a trip to Rochester, New York, for the 2001 AWCHA Championship. The Panthers came back from the Flour City victorious, earning a 3-1 win over St. Mary’s in the semifinals before a 6-0 triumph against Gustavus Adolphus in the title tilt.

During that timeframe, Labbe-Hunter dominated the stat sheet, racking up 103 points over two seasons, while being named the 2001 AHCA Division III Women’s Hockey National Player of the Year.

But for Labbe-Hunter, it was all about representing something bigger.

Prior to the 2001-02 campaign, the NCAA announced that it would sponsor a Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Championship. Middlebury appeared in the inaugural tournament, falling 2-1 to conference foe Bowdoin in the first round. A year later, the program raised its second NESCAC crown in three years, but lost 3-0 to the Polar Bears in the quarterfinals.

The Panthers came out with a vengeance a year later, winning 12 of their first 15 contests. Middlebury met Bowdoin again in the conference championship, falling 4-1. Earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, the program upset defending national champion Elmira 2-1 to advance to the program’s first national semifinals.

Chosen as the hosts, the Panthers defeated regional rival Plattsburgh State 2-1 to set up a showdown with Wisconsin Stevens-Point inside Chip Kenyon ‘85 Arena. Middlebury finished the job, as Liz Yale-Loehr ‘06 found the back of the net on a pass from Jean Butler ‘04 at the 15:32 mark of the opening period to secure the 2-1 victory and the program’s first NCAA Title.

One year later, the squad claimed the NESCAC Championship and secured a return trip to the NCAA playoffs. Making its second-straight national semifinals appearance, the Panthers downed Gustavus Adolphus 7-3 to set up a title tilt against Elmira. Trailing 2-1, the Panthers responded with three unanswered goals in the third period and held off a late Eagles’ surge to secure their second-consecutive NCAA Crown, 4-3.

Middlebury carried that momentum into the next campaign, opening the season with 18 consecutive victories. The Panthers hoisted their third NESCAC trophy in five years and earned their third consecutive trip to the NCAA Semifinals. After defeating Gustavus Adolphus 2-1, the program faced a rivalry bout against Plattsburgh St. Middlebury came out firing, tallying two goals in the opening 20 minutes, and added a penalty shot tally late in the second period to make it 3-0. Middlebury gave up just one goal en route to becoming the first Division III women’s ice hockey program to tally three championships in a row. The Panthers lost just nine games over that three-year sprint to history.

The program tallied three more NCAA appearances to close a run for the ages. From 1999 to 2010, the team posted a 240-37-19 record and a .794 winning percentage. The squad found the back of the net 1,311 times and tallied 4.43 goals per game.

THE 2010s: NESCAC DOMINANCE

As the decade shifted to the 2010s, Middlebury women’s ice hockey continued to excel on the conference and national stages. The program posted back-to-back NESCAC Championships (2011-12) and a 28-3-1 conference record over those two seasons. The team returned to the national semifinals in 2011, falling to eventual runner-up RIT 5-2. A year later, a 4-2 loss to Plattsburgh State kept the Panthers out of the NCAA Semifinals.

Middlebury dropped just one contest over the initial 12 of the 2012-13 season. The Panthers tallied an 18-7-2 record through the NESCAC Tournament, finishing as runner-up in the championship to Bowdoin. Middlebury received an at-large bid to the tournament, knocking off in-state rival and top-seeded Norwich 3-2 in overtime to reach the final site of competition. A 4-1 victory over Plattsburgh in the national semifinals pushed the Panthers to the national championship against a familiar foe in Elmira. The Eagles, whom Middlebury had defeated twice earlier in the regular season, avenged both with a 1-0 victory in the title tilt.

Emily Fluke ‘15, then a sophomore on the squad, remembers the calls and texts she got from her friends hosting watch parties, as well as her family flying out to Wisconsin to watch the team compete

Over nine seasons, Middlebury claimed five NESCAC Crowns and made eight appearances in the NCAA Tournament. The program accumulated conference and national accolades, earning three Conference Player of the Year awards, three NESCAC Rookie of the Year honors, and 10 All-American nods.

As the decade closed, the Panthers looked primed for another championship run, scheduled to host Endicott in the quarterfinals. That week was one of the longest in the history of the program. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the team was alerted that the game would not have fans. Mere hours later, the season was cancelled, school was closing, and everyone was going home.

Mandigo recalled, “Going into that locker room and telling the kids that they were going home the next day and that the season was done was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do as a college coach. To see them have something taken away from them was crushing.”

THE 2020s: HISTORY & CONTINUED SUCCESS

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Middlebury women’s ice hockey team and countless others across the country did not have a 2020-21 season. Practices were very scattered, as health and safety guidelines were of the utmost importance.

Madie Leidt ‘22, who served as captain on the 2021-22 squad, took a year off from school. 

The Panthers came back with a vengeance, winning their first 21 contests and scoring three or more goals in 10 of those games. Cruising into the postseason, the hunt for an 11th conference title was on.

Leidt, who took home NESCAC Player of the Year and first team all-conference honors, could sense that something was different about this squad.

The Middlebury roar continued in the postseason, as a 2-0 victory over Amherst in the NESCAC Championship clinched the automatic qualifier and a date with #8 Endicott in the quarterfinals. The Panthers got the job done, cruising past the Gulls 4-0 to make the final site for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign. Middlebury would host the national semifinals and championship, something the community had not seen since 2009.

In front of a sell-out crowd, the Panthers used goals from Kylie Quinlan ‘25 and Leidt to secure a 3-2 win over #4 Elmira to reach the title game. Gustavus Alophus joined Middlebury in the championship, pairing the teams against each other for the first time since 2014.

Each side traded goals until Leidt put the Panthers ahead 2-1 with 2:47 remaining. It looked like destiny for Middlebury to hoist the trophy until a tally by the Gusties with just 0.1 seconds left in regulation was confirmed after a lengthy video review, knotting the contest at two apiece.

Rookie Sophia Merageas ‘24.5, Middlebury’s starting goaltender, remembers that moment like it was yesterday.

The celebrations were put on hold as Middlebury hit the reset button. The teams were told the goal was good, and they returned to the locker room to gear up for overtime. Eva Hendrikson sent an outlet pass to Ellie Barney on the Gustavus Adolphus blue line. The senior muscled a bid that was stopped, but her rebound sailed into the left corner of the goal to seal a perfect 27-0 season and an NCAA Championship.

The chase was complete, as Middlebury became the first program at the Division III level to achieve an undefeated season. Across the three NCAA Divisions, only four other teams have completed a campaign without a loss or tie, regardless of gender.

Since the undefeated campaign, the Panthers have appeared in the NCAA postseason in each of the last three years, including consecutive semifinal appearances in the last two seasons.

Looking ahead, Middlebury begins its 50th season on Friday, November 14 against Hamilton. But the memories of the past still remain, built on the foundation of determination and hard work.

“[Middlebury] is a special place, and I have been fortunate to coach a lot of great young women. We always tell [recruits] that you are not coming here because of the hockey, you are going to make the school a better place and you're going to leave better off than when you got here,” said Mandigo.