Knotted at 1-1 with 3.5 seconds left in regulation, Avery McInerny tallied a dramatic finish just inside the right pipe, lifting the fourth-ranked Middlebury women's ice hockey team to a 2-1 triumph in its season opener against Hamilton on Friday evening inside Chip Kenyon '85 Arena.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The hosts created their first chance with 5:29 expired in the opening period. Emma Hannah dialed up a bid from the blue line that Continental goalie Teagan Brown extended her left glove to guide away.
• Hamilton logged its initial opportunity at the 8:35 mark of the first session. Grace Crowley fired from the midline toward the center of the goal. Panther stopper Sophia Will lowered her right pad to deflect the attempt.
• The Panthers had an excellent bid with 12:23 gone in the stanza. McInerny and Trinity Walsh executed a give-and-go that created a one-on-one look between McInerny and Brown. The netminder kicked her left pad out to deny McInerny's shot from tucking inside the right pipe.
• The Continentals broke through with 17:21 elapsed. Crowley sent a sharp pass in front of the goal that Lydia Bullock deflected back to Sophie Berghammer, who plunked the lower-right corner to build a 1-0 edge.
• Just 2:26 into the second period, Grace Puskar nearly pushed a feed from Lila Snow into the lower-left side of the net, but Will snapped her right pad down to make the save.
• Middlebury had a plethora of chances on a second-period power play, the best coming with 9:27 played. Olivia McManus found Walsh near the crease, who redirected the pass toward the lower-left corner. Brown corralled the bid with her stick to keep the Panthers off the board.
• The visitors nearly doubled their edge on another quick build-up. Puskar pushed the pace and wristed a feed to Hazel Hughes for a one-timer that Will read the whole way and snagged with her left glove almost two minutes into the final stanza.
• McInerny and Walsh forced consecutive stops from Brown just 15 seconds apart. The assistant captain met the puck following a ricochet off the boards and fired into the Hamilton goalie's left pad at the 3:34 mark. Walsh gained possession following a faceoff and sent a shot toward the left corner that Brown ushered away with her right pad with 16:11 to play.
• The Panthers tied the tilt at the 8:27 mark of the third stanza. Giebler muscled a delivery to Kate Flynn on the edge of the crease, who nudged the puck past Brown to level the contest at 1-1.
• The Continentals received a power-play chance with 8:12 remaining, but Middlebury held its foe without a shot on target for a critical penalty kill.
• The hosts struck gold with 3.5 ticks left. Callia Ferraris dumped the puck into the Hamilton defensive end for a line change. Hamilton collected the puck, but a sprintingMcInerny pressured the puck and forced an errant pass. Caroline Thomas secured the puck and hit Walsh, who dished back to McInerny for the 2-1 victory.

NOTES

• McInerny tallied her sixth career game-winning goal.
• Walsh and Thomas earned their initial points in a Middlebury uniform.
• With the victory, the Panthers have claimed 18 consecutive season-opening victories dating back to the 2007-08 season.
• The programs squared off for the 78th time with the Panthers holding a 70-7-1 advantage.

Middlebury concludes the season lidlifting series against Hamilton on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.