The Middlebury men's ice hockey team battled to a 2-2 tie with Norwich on Saturday evening in the LayerEight Shootout Championship from Kreitzberg Arena. The Cadets claimed a 1-0 decision in the shootout to earn the tournament title.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Norwich pressured Panther goalie Andrew Heinze early, forcing him to make two saves within the first 2:26 of the game. In response, Middlebury launched three shots on goal in a 2:35 span, all of which were stopped by Cadet netminder Sami Molu.
• Heinze was resilient over the next six minutes, turning away six Norwich attempts headlined by consecutive shots from Jed Brazo and Cooper Bertrand at the 8:56 mark.
• The hosts broke through with 6:29 left in the initial session. Ben van Waterschoot set up Nick Cordeiro, who tucked a shot into the net to establish a 1-0 edge.
• Jackson Morehouse and Landon Brownlee eyed a response, combining for three shots on the doorstep less than a minute later. Molu stonewalled each attempt and added another with 14:58 gone to keep the advantage.
• Revy Mack etched the first Middlebury tally with 2:12 gone in the second stanza. Jack Silverman and Cole Semeniuk aided the game-tying effort.
• Heinze empowered his side throughout the period, compiling 10 saves over the following 12 minutes to maintain the tie. Molu added five stops for the Cadets in the stretch.
• Silverman pushed the Panthers in front with 3:45 left in the second, turning deliveries from Jake Stevens and Mack into a 2-1 lead that held heading into the final period.
• Middlebury gained an advantage on the ice with 15:11 remaining in the stanza following a tripping call against Norwich. Luc Malkhassian and Edward Moskowitz fired two accurate attempts on goal apiece, but Molu stopped each to keep it a one-goal contest.
• Devon Thibodeau capitalised on a Middlebury infraction with 8:06 played in the final stanza of regulation, directing a pass from Boyd Stahlbaum into the net to even the battle at 2-2.
• The respective netminders combined for 12 saves in the final 11:54 of the contest to send the bout to overtime.
• Heinze turned away a bid from the Cadets' Ocean Fancy before consecutive stops against Malkhassian and Tyler Wishart from Molu kept the action rolling. In the waning seconds of the five-minute period, Nick Cordeiro tested Heinze with a shot that was stuffed to force the contest to a shootout.
• Following a failed attempt to begin, Frank D'Ancona guided in the lone make of the shootout to eventually secure the 1-0 shootout decision and the tournament title.

NOTES

• Heinze finished with a season-high 37 saves and a nod to the all-tournament team for his efforts.
• Mack and Silverman each tallied a goal and an assist in the bout, extending their point streaks to three games.
• Stevens was named the tournament's Outstanding Rookie after logging a helper in each game of the weekend.
• Saturday evening's battle marked just the fourth shootout in the tournament's history.
• The programs met for the 163rd time in one of the oldest series in school history, beginning back in 1926. The Panthers carry an 82-69-10 all-time mark against Norwich.

Middlebury returns to Chip Kenyon '85 Arena for its final home weekend of the calendar year, opening the two-game slate against Amherst on Friday, December 5 for Salute to First Responders Night at 7:00 p.m.