Edition I: March 16, 2004
Sports Covered:
Women's Hockey
Men's Hockey
Women's Swimming
Skiing
WOMEN’S HOCKEY WILL HOST FINAL FOUR
For the first time in school history, the Middlebury College women’s hockey team will host the NCAA semifinals and championship. The games will take place this Friday and Saturday at the Kenyon Arena. The Panthers earned the right by defeating two-time defending NCAA Champion Elmira, 2-1.
Middlebury opened the scoring at 6:39 as sophomore Liz Yale-Loehr (Ithaca, N.Y.) made a centering pass from the left wing to a wide-open junior Lindsay Jones (E. Berlin, Pa.). Jones cut to the goal and beat Edith Racine with a shot to the right side driving to the net. Junior Lorna Gifis (Princeton, N.J.) made it a 2-0 lead for Middlebury with a power play goal at 15:58 of the first period. Cutting to the goal from the right side, Gifis snapped a shot that was saved by Racine before she put home her own rebound.
Middlebury held a decisive 13-4 shots advantage in the second period, but were unable to capitalize. Their best chances may have come during a five-minute major at 13:27, but the Panthers were only able to muster up three shots.
Elmira cut the lead in half at 12:13 of the third period with a power play goal from Laura Hurd. The Soaring Eagles leading goal scorer broke through the pack and skated through the slot before backhanding a shot into the top right corner of the net. Elmira threatened late in the game, but could not score the equalizer in the game’s final minutes.
Sophomore Kate Kogut (Springfield, Mass.) made 17 saves in goal for the Panthers, while Racine made 22 stops for Elmira.
• Women’s hockey record: 22-4
• Up next: 3/19 – Wis.-Stevens Pt. vs. Manhattanville – 3:30, Middlebury vs. Plattsburgh – 7:00
3/20 – Consolation Game – 3:30, NCAA Championship – 7:00
MEN’S HOCKEY ADVANCES TO NCAA SEMIFINALS
The Panther men’s hockey team will make their seventh final four appearance in the last 10 years after a 9-1 win over Wentworth in the NCAA quarterfinals in Kenyon Arena. The win improved Middlebury to 23-5-2 in NCAA Tournament play. The semifinals and championship will be played at Norwich University.
Middlebury jumped out early with a goal just 45 seconds into the contest. Sophomore Jeff Smith (Nepean, Ont.) made a crossing pass through the slot to rookie Evgeny Saidachev (Gig Harbor, Mich.) who snapped a shot into the net. The Panthers made it 2-0 at 14:59 as first-year player Darwin Hunt (Winnetka, Ill.) gathered the puck from the backboards and scored on a wrap-around. Middlebury took a 3-0 lead on a bizarre goal as senior Kevin Cooper (Mississauga, Ont.) was streaking to the net on a breakaway. Middlebury’s leading scorer could not get a shot off as he poked the puck towards the goal where it deflected off Wentworth netminder Raj Bhangoo and into the net.
The Panthers scored another three goals in the second period starting at the 13:17 mark. Cooper broke in on the right wing before making a crossing pass to senior Adam Foote (New Hartford, N.Y.) who one-timed it into the net. The lead increased to 5-0 at 18:05 as Cooper caught a puck, dropped it to his stick and converted the breakaway as he broke in from the blue line. Just 29 seconds later, junior Patrick Nugent (Lynnfield, Mass.) one-timed a pass from senior John Dawson (New Canaan, Conn.) from the right face-off circle to make it a 6-0 game after two periods.
Just 2:02 into the third period, the Panthers struck again as junior Brian Phinney (Ripton, Vt.) one-timed a pass from Cooper to make it a 7-0 game. Wentworth got on the board at 11:03 as Blayne Goodman put home a rebound from the slot after a save from senior Marc Scheuer (Pt. Claire, Que.). Middlebury answered at 12:17 as Cooper converted the breakaway for his third goal of the night. Nugent added his second of the night for the game’s final tally. Scheuer made 17 saves on the night, while Bhangoo and Bryce McFadden combined to make 43 stops for the Leopards.
• Men’s hockey record: 25-3
• Up next: 3/19 – St. Norbert vs. Plattsburgh – 3:30, Middlebury vs. Norwich – 7:00
3/20 – NCAA Championship – 7:00
WOMEN’S SWIMMERS PLACE NINTH AT NCAA’S
The Middlebury College women’s swim team placed ninth out of 53 teams at the NCAA Championships last week.
The top performance on the week came from the 800 freestyle relay team that set a varsity record and placed third with a time of 7:42.31. The team was comprised of senior Lizzy DeWitt (Madison, Wis.), senior Sarah Groff (Cooperstown, N.Y.), sophomore Teague Douglas (York, Pa.) and first-year swimmer Barbara Van der Veer (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
The 400 free relay team of DeWitt, Douglas, Van der Veer and senior Martha Goebel (New Canaan, Conn.) earned a sixth place finish with a time of 3:32.38. Placing eighth were DeWitt, Goebel, Van der Veer and senior Taylor Bolz (San Antonio, Texas) with a time of 1:49.36 in the 200 medley relay.
The individual top 10 performer on the weekend was Van der Veer, who placed 10th in the 50 free with a time of 24.45.
• end of season
SKI TEAMS PLACE SEVENTH AT NCAA’S
The Panther ski teams finished seventh overall at the NCAA Championships in Donner Summit, California. New Mexico won the event, with Vermont placing fifth as the top eastern squad. The high altitude had its effects on Middlebury, as it did for all the eastern squads in the nordic races.
On the final day of races, the Panther men’s nordic team was led by sophomore Garrott Kuzzy (Minneapolis, Minn.) who placed 12th in the 20K race with a time of 54:12, 1:01 off the winning time. Placing 22nd in the race was senior Marshall Greene (Spokane, Wash.) in 56:40, followed by senior Colin Rodgers (Westford, Vt.) in 24th (57:42).
In the women’s race, senior Kate Whitcomb (Worthington, Mass.) was the top performer with a 21st place finish in 55:38, 2:34 off the winning time. In 30th place in the 15K race was sophomore Claire Anderson (Whitefish, Mont.) with a time of 56:18, followed by senior Kate Newick (Canterbury, N.H.) in 33rd (57:04).
On Friday, Middlebury competed in the slalom event, with junior Jessica Smith (Rockport, Maine) turning in the top performance, placing fourth overall in 1:24.81, two seconds off the winning time. Placing 13th was first-year racer Lindsay Brush (Charlotte, Vt.) in 1:26.13, followed by senior Laura Scripture (Harrisonburg, Va.) in 16th with a time of 1:26.42.
On the men’s side, sophomore David Coriell (Killington, Vt.) led a pack of Panthers, placing 13th overall in 1:16.99, just over two seconds off the winning pace. In 16th was junior John Rusten (Federal Way, Wash.) (1:17.78), followed by senior Fred Emich (Littleton, Colo.) in 17th (1:17.78).
The top finisher in Friday’s nordic race was Kuzzy, who placed fourth in the men’s 10K free race with a time of 22:04, 37 seconds off the winning time. Coming in 30th was Greene (24:03), followed by Rodgers in 33rd (24:23). Leading the women in the 5K race was Newick in 13th place with a time of 12:25, 30 seconds off the winning time. Placing 20th was Anderson (12:45), followed by Whitcomb in 31st place (13:03).
One day one, the top finisher on the women’s giant slalom was Smith, who placed seventh in 2:00.22, 1.04 off the championship time. Placing 12th was Brush in 2:01.10, followed by Scripture in 24th place with a time of 2:03.30. On the men’s side, Emich led the Panthers with a 13th place finish in 1:54.21, just under two seconds off the winning time. Placing 14th was Coriell with a time of 1:54.26, followed by Rusten in 19th place in 1:55.04.
• end of season
MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE SPORTS ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB: www.gomidd.com