MIDDLEBURY — On Thursday morning the Vermont Principals’ Association made it official that the Middlebury Union High School girls’ hockey team will have home ice for the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the Division I playoffs, awarding the Tigers, 14-3-2 overall and 8-3-1 in league play, the No. 2 seed.
The Tigers will start their quest to return to the D-I final by hosting No. 7 South Burlington (1-11 in league play) at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
If the Tigers win, they will on March 2, at a time to be announced, host either No. 3 BFA-St. Albans (8-4 in D-I) or No. 6 Northfield (4-8), who also meet on this Wednesday.
MUHS split two games with BFA, losing in St. Albans, 6-2, but winning last week at home, 4-2. MUHS took two out of three contests from the Marauders, including the final two, both at the Memorial Sports Center.
Two-time defending champion Essex (10-2) earned the top seed and a first-round bye. The Hornets are off until a March 2 semifinal, in which they will face either No. 4 Rutland (7-3-1) or No. 5 Spaulding (4-8). Spaulding upset Essex the second time the teams met, while the Hornets own a pair of one-goal wins over the Raiders.
The Tigers split two games this season with Essex, winning at home in overtime, 3-2, and losing in Essex, 4-1. They could only meet in the final again this year in what would be a rematch of the 2015 championship game, won by the Hornets.
This year’s final is set for Wednesday, March 9, at 8 p.m. in the University of Vermont’s Gutterson Arena.