The fourth-ranked Middlebury women's ice hockey team squared off with #6 Endicott in the initial contest for both programs in the new year, skating to a 1-1 tie before the visitors earned a 2-1 shootout decision. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The Gulls looked to get on the scoreboard first with 2:22 expired in the opening period. Julia Carrigan rifled a bid from the right circle that Panther netminder Sophia Will snared with her glove.
• Three minutes later, Middlebury produced a quality chance when Kate Flynn darted down the left side, but Endicott goalie Casey Moritz denied her attempt on the left post.
• Flynn worked her way behind the Gull defense, shoveling a shot from outside the crease with 4:07 left that Moritz caught.
• The foes had golden chances 10 seconds apart with two minutes left in the first period. Olivia McManus laced a rising shot from the right point that Moritz saved, before Riley Perkins ripped a bid on the rush that Will denied.
• Shots were hard to come by during the second period. Jocelyn Means produced a quality bid near the midway point on a shot from the left point that Moritz saved.
• The Gulls had their best chance with 6:11 showing on the clock. Abbey Agrondia rifled an attempt from inside the blueline that Will thwarted using her blocker.
• The Panthers had a great opportunity with 1:15 remaining, but Britt Nawrocki's chance from outside the crease was saved by Moritz.
• Endicott came out of the locker room after the second intermission, earning an opportunity 1:26 into the frame. Perkins roped a shot that trickled through traffic toward Will, who sprawled out on the puck to smother it.
• The Panthers took the lead at the 5:54 mark of the stanza. Flynn put the hosts ahead, redirecting a shot from inside the blueline by McManus for the 1-0 lead.
• Endicott knotted the contest at 1-1 with 8:30 elapsed. Agrodnia collected a bouncing puck between the circles, firing a shot into the left side of the net.
• Middlebury had a great look at regaining the lead with 6:34 left in regulation, but a sprawling Moritz saved Nawrocki's shot on the right post.
• Skating 3-on-3 in the overtime session, the Panthers mustered five shots in the opening 1:30 of action that were denied by Moritz.
• Rago skated onto a rebound with one minute left, ripping a bid that Will stopped with her right pad.
• Middlebury quickly countered, as Zoe Pincelli raced onto a loose puck in the neutral zone and skated toward the net. Moritz came racing off her line to shut down the chance.
• After Endicott missed its first two attempts and the Panthers missed their first in the shootout, Flynn buried hers in the back of the net to put the Panthers up 1-0.
• Cammi Ahern made her opportunity, tucked it inside the left post. Nawrocki stepped up and tried to score, but Moritz went into the butterfly and stopped it.
• Agrodnia countered with a make into the right portion, putting the pressure on Middlebury. Caroline Thomas skated up and sent her shot wide of the net as Endicott grabbed the 2-1 shootout win.

NOTES

• Flynn's goal was her third of the season, while McManus earned her team-leading ninth assist. Peyton Kennedy tallied her first collegiate helper on the goal.
• Will finished with 24 saves on 25 shots, marking the fourth-straight game and the fifth this winter with 20 or more stops.
• The programs squared off for the second time this winter and the 15th overall with the Panthers holding an 11-1-3 advantage.

Middlebury continues its four-game homestand with a 6:30 p.m. contest on Tuesday against Suffolk.