AMHERST, Mass. — The Middlebury College women’s hockey team picked up a win and a tie at NESCAC rival Amherst this past Friday and Saturday.
The Panthers improved to 6-2-2, 4-1-1 in league play. They are dueling Connecticut (7-2-1, 4-1-0) for first place in the league. Amherst dropped to 4-4-2, 1-3-2 NESCAC. Middlebury hosts non-league foes Stevenson and Endicott on this Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m., respectively.
On Saturday, Middlebury and Amherst battled to a 1-1 tie. Amherst took the lead with a power-play goal 3:02 into the second, when Emma Griese tipped in Alex Toupal’s shot from the top of the left circle.
Middlebury’s Maddie Winslow answered at 12:55 of the period. Jessica Young carried the puck to the slot, and Amherst netminder Sabrina Dobbins denied her shot. The puck squirted to Winslow on the doorstep, and she knocked it into an open net.
Panther goalie Lin Han (24 saves) made several big stops to preserve the tie, and Dobbins (32 saves) came up big against Young in overtime.
On Friday, Winslow notched two goals and an assist in the Panthers’ 3-1 win.
Each team struck on the power play in the opening period. Amherst got on the scoreboard first, when Katie Savage netted her own rebound at 11:42. Winslow finished off a nice passing play for Middlebury at 18:41. Elizabeth Wulf won the puck in the corner and fed Young, who set up Winslow for a one-timer below the left face-off dot.
Young netted the game-winner with 7:11 left in the third. Janka Hlinka forced a turnover at the Amherst blue line and fired a cross-ice pass to Winslow. Winslow sent the puck to Young in the right circle, and she one-timed the pass home.
Panther goalie Julia Neuberger (26 saves) made a pad save on a two-on-one Amherst rush in the final minute, and Winslow clinched the win with an empty-netter after Jenna Marotta chipped the puck out of the defensive zone. Amherst goalie Bailey Plaman made 17 saves.