The fifth-ranked Middlebury women's ice hockey team wrapped up its regular-season slate on Saturday, dropping a 3-1 contest against #11 Colby from Chip Kenyon '85 Arena. Before the contest, the team recognized seniors Avery McInerny, Britt Nawrocki, Rachel Neyman, Zoe Pincelli, Meg Simon and Sophia Will.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Kate Flynn nearly pushed the Panthers in front with just 19 seconds played, securing a loose puck just inside the blue line. She faked right before a quick shot to the left was smothered by Mule goalie Ally Martiniello.
• The junior manufactured another strong chance with 16:33 remaining in the opening period, controlling a faceoff and sending a rising shot toward the goal that caught the bottom of Martiniello's helmet.
• With 8:08 elapsed, Mallory Farrell had a feed into the crease nudged away by Middlebury netminder Sophia Will before Courtney Schumacher sent the rebound off Will's right pad.
• Molly Lefebvre got Colby into the scoring column at the 10:51 mark, gaining possession along the boards and skating around the faceoff circles before rustling the left-side netting for the 1-0 lead.
• Will was tested again with 15:48 played, snatching a rising attempt out of the air off the stick of Emily Olsthoorn.
• With 1:17 to play in the initial period, Will snuffed out a two-on-one chance, redirecting a chance from Schumacher with her glove to maintain the one-goal difference.
• The Mules applied pressure to open the second stanza with 15:42 showing. Schumacher carved a path through the circles and sent a knuckler toward the right side of the goal that clipped the edge of Will's skate and bounded away.
• Alison Giebler looked to knot the bout just over three minutes later, meeting a feed from Caroline Thomas on the doorstep for a one-timer that Martiniello covered.
• The Panthers found the back of the net at the 9:24 mark. Walsh delivered the puck from the right circle to a waiting McInerny in the crease for a tap-in tally to tie the tilt at 1-1.
• Giebler loaded and fired a strong shot from between the circles that bounced off Martiniello's right pad, preserving the tie heading to the final 20 minutes.
• The sense of urgency swelled with 5:01 played in the third frame. Pincelli and Callia Ferraris ripped off consecutive bids three seconds apart, both of which were stifled by Martiniello.
• The Mules powered ahead with 6:03 to go. Megan Martodam flicked a quick pass between a pair of defenders, where Sophia Kennedy waited to push the puck into the left side for a 2-1 edge.
• After a timeout with 17:57 gone, Middlebury pulled Will in favor of an extra skater. Kennedy tallied an empty-net score 12 seconds later to finalize the 3-1 decision.

NOTES

• With her third save in the opening period, Will became the program's all-time single-season leader. She overtook Christy Picard '96, who tallied 474 stops in the 1994-95 season. Will has made 497 saves this winter.
• The sides battled for the 71st time.

The Panthers will learn their NESCAC Tournament seeding when it is announced in the coming days.