ESSEX — Defending Division I high school girls’ hockey champion Essex defeated Middlebury on Wednesday, 4-1, in a showdown for first place.
The Hornets moved to 12-3-1 and into first place in the quality-point standings, while the Tigers dropped to 11-3-2. Rutland stands at 12-3-1 in the three-way race for the top three spots.
The Tigers visit the Raiders on Wednesday night and host fourth-place BFA-St. Albans on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Comets have a misleading 9-7 record, with most of the losses coming vs. out-of-state competition. The Tigers close out the regular season by hosting Northfield on Feb. 15 at 5 p.m.
This past Wednesday, the Tigers outshot the Hornets, 28-22, but only Monroe Cromis, with an assist from Julia Carone, put a puck past Essex goalie Lindsay Hallowell (27 saves).
Amanda Sinkewicz, Piper Desorcie, Avery MacGillivray and Hannah Palmer scored for the Hornets, and Tiger goalie Rowan Hendy stopped 18 shots.