The Middlebury men's ice hockey team scored 3:41 into Friday's contest against Plattsburgh State and never trailed, tacking on a pair of empty-net goals late to secure a 5-2 triumph in the opening contest of the LayerEight Shootout. The two-day holiday tournament is being held in Norwich's Kreitzberg Arena.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The Cardinals looked to get on the scoreboard early in the first period following a Panther penalty, firing three shots that goalie Andrew Heinze stopped.
• Middlebury broke the tie shortly after the conclusion of the power play. Luc Malkhassian tipped in a pass from Jake Stevens into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead with 3:41 expired.
• Plattsburgh State knotted the contest with 4:42 remaining in the opening stanza on a wrister by Aaron Catron.
• The Panthers nearly collected their second tally with 17 seconds left in the frame, but Edward Moskowitz's chance was thwarted by Cardinal netminder Dominik Bovan.
• Middlebury produced a quality chance at the 2:25 mark of the second period, but back-to-back shots  from Cole Semeniuk and Dante Palombo were saved by Bovan.
• Two seconds after the midway point of the frame, the Panthers regained the lead for good. Jackson Morehouse cashed in on the power play at 10:02, finding the back of the net.
• The navy and white had a great opportunity two minutes later. Reece Brednich laced a shot that Bovan stopped before the rebound came to Stevens. The Cardinal goalie pushed across his crease and denied the bid to keep it a 2-1 contest.
• Middlebury increased its lead to 3-1 at the 1:13 mark of the third period, taking advantage of an extra skater on a goal by Jack Silverman.
• Plattsburgh State recorded its first shot on goal in over 15 minutes of game action. Patrick Cole fired a bid that Heinze saved with 4:04 elapsed in the final period.
• The Cardinals cut into the deficit 40 seconds into a power-play chance. Catron found the back of the net to trim the lead to 3-2.
• Plattsburgh State called a timeout and pulled Bovan with 2:00 left in regulation, but Brednich scored a pair of empty-net goals for the 5-2 victory.

NOTES

• Brednich's two goals and three points are both career highs, while the forward won a season-best 13 faceoffs.
• Palombo's helper in the second period was the 20th as a Panther.
• Stevens tallied a point for the third time in the last four games.
• The programs squared off for the 59th meeting with Middlebury winning for the first time in the series since a 6-3 triumph on January 11, 2019.

The Panthers return to action in the LayerEight Shootout Championship game on Saturday at 7:00 p.m., facing the winner of Friday's second game between Stevenson and the host Cadets.