Trailing 3-0 early in the second period, the Middlebury men's ice hockey team stormed back with two goals spanning just 3:14 of action, but Wesleyan held on to defeat the Panthers 4-2 on Saturday in Connecticut.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• With 3:36 elapsed, Jake Stevens skated to the left post and fired a quick bid that Cardinals goalie Patrick McDevitt stopped with his right blocker.
• The hosts moved in front with 13:50 remaining in the opening period. Connor Sutherland delivered a crisp feed to Jack Marottolo near the edge of the crease, who deposited the puck into the left side of the net to take a 1-0 edge.
• Just over a minute later, Dante Palombo and Luc Malkhassian fired consecutive attempts that McDevitt steered away to keep the one-goal advantage intact with 4:46 left.
• Hayden Hanes added to the lead at the 1:15 mark, settling a pass from Troy Maldonado from near the blue line and sending the puck on a line and past Panther goalie Andrew Heinze for a 2-0 lead.
• Stevens and Edward Moskowitz peppered McDevitt with three shots in the final 31 seconds, but the netminder stonewalled each chance to close the period.
• The third Wesleyan tally came with 1:58 gone in the second stanza. Marottolo and Han Shin set up a blue-line bid that Hanes sent across and into the net.
• Middlebury had an excellent chance to score its first goal at the 9:25 mark. Malkhassian booted a pass forward with his left skate and lifted a quick look toward the upper portion of the goal that McDevitt smothered.
• The Panthers broke through with 2:44 left in the frame. Malkhassian dislodged the puck from a Cardinal near the boards and found Tyler Wishart in front of the crease. The rookie flicked the puck to a trailing Revy Mack for a one-timer into the left side of the net to slice the margin to two.
• Jackson Morehouse helped maintain the momentum with a bizarre tally just 30 ticks into the third period. A saved Middlebury shot ricocheted off the blocker and up to the glass, where it bounded back over the crossbar and into the crease. Morehouse fought for possession and pushedthe puck past the line to bring the tilt to 3-2.
• Wesleyan put the comeback bid to rest at the 5:54 mark when Andrew Haxton skated through a trio of Panthers and found the back of the net, opening a 4-2 margin that held until the final buzzer.

NOTES

• Malkhassian's two helpers matched his best single-game output in the navy and white.
• The programs squared off for the 63rd time in the series. Middlebury owns a 42-16-5 advantage in the matchup.

The Panthers continue their six-game road stint against Saint Michael's on Tuesday, January 13 at 6:30 p.m.