Kate Flynn scored with 6:40 left in Saturday's second period, propelling the fourth-ranked Middlebury women's ice hockey team to a 1-0 triumph over #12 Nazareth in NCAA Quarterfinal action. With the win, the Panthers advance to the frozen four for the second-straight season and the 11th time in school history.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Middlebury looked to get on the scoreboard 48 seconds into the first stanza. Raia Schluter tried to muscle a loose puck on the right post past Golden Flyer goalie McKinley Hoff, but the netminder stood her ground.
• The hosts produced a quality chance nearly five minutes later, but Olivia McManus' knuckling attempt from the slot was kicked away by Hoff's pad.
• Nazareth's Amy Laskowski gathered the puck with 9:25 expired in the zone, but her bid was thwarted by Sophia Will's glove.
• The sides traded opportunities with six minutes left. A rising shot by Golden Flyer Nikki Sharp whistled just over the crossbar. On the ensuing trip down the ice, Zoe Pincelli fired a point-blank bid that was denied by the pad of Hoff.
• In the final minute, each team manufactured an opportunity. A wrister by Sharp was saved by Will's mask before a slapshot by McManus in the waning seconds sailed just high.
• The visitors had a quality chance at 4:35 in the second stanza. Allie Zack redirected a pass from between the circles that Will denied with her blocker.
• Middlebury controlled possession for a majority of the next three minutes. The best opportunity during the stretch came when Sabrina Kim rifled a shot through traffic that Hoff saved.
• The Panthers tallied the game's lone goal with 6:40 showing on the clock. Kim chipped the puck through the neutral zone to Jordan Hower who connected along the boards with Flynn.  The forward deked a defender with a nifty toe drag, ripping her attempt into the left corner for the 1-0 advantage.
• Middlebury killed off a Nazareth power-play chance moments later, allowing just one shot on goal during the stretch to send the game to the third period.
• With 2:32 expired in the final frame, Hower rifled a shot from the point that Hoff saved.
• Over the ensuing minutes, the Golden Flyers searched for the game-tying tally. Laskowski nearly broke through at 7:10, but Will denied her wrister from the left circle.
• Kylie Quinlan nearly gave the Panthers a two-goal advantage on a sharp-angled wrister from the doorstep four minutes later, but the Nazareth goalie thwarted the chance.
• Middlebury continued its momentum with 4:13 left following a trio of shots from Cat Appleyard, but Hoff stood up to the challenge and kept it a one-goal difference.
• The Golden Flyers pulled Hoff with 1:20 remaining in favor of an extra skater, but the Panther defense didn't allow a shot to secure the 1-0 victory.

NOTES

• Flynn's game-winning tally was her third this season and the seventh of her career.
• Will was impressive in the crease, stopping all 23 shots she faced for her third shutout and the 12th in a Middlebury uniform. The victory is her 10th this winter and the 30th of her career.
• Kim posted her team-best 20th assist in the win.
• The schools met for the first time in women's ice hockey.

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE


The Panthers will play #3 Amherst in the national semifinals, as the Mammoths earned a 4-1 victory over #11 Colby in an NCAA Quarterfinal matchup. The sides have played three times this season with each team winning once and the third featuring an overtime thriller which Middlebury won 2-1 in a shootout.