MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College women’s hockey team earned a tie vs. visiting NESCAC rival Amherst this past weekend before hitting the road to pick up a non-league victory on Tuesday.
The Panthers are ranked No. 7 in NCAA Division III and stand at 6-1-3, 4-0-2 NESCAC (good for first place in the league) heading into two non-league home games this weekend vs. Endicott at 4 p.m. on Friday and UMass-Boston at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
On this past Friday Middlebury and Amherst (4-5-2, 1-3-2 NESCAC) battled to a 1-1 stalemate. The Mammoths got on the board with power-play goal at 16:21 of the first, when Jocelyn Hunyadi’s shot from the right point found its way through traffic.
Middlebury tied the game with a power-play goal 1:32 into the second period. Katie Hargrave knocked home the rebound of Anna Zumwinkle’s blast from the left point. The goal was the first Amherst has given up on the power play this season.
Middlebury did not score in the third period despite a 14-4 shots advantage. Amherst goaltender Caitlin Walker (29 saves) made big stops on Ellie Barney and Madie Leidt.
In the overtime period, Walker gloved a bid by Middlebury’s Jenna Letterie, and Middlebury goalie Lin Han (22 saves) denied Amherst’s Jamie McNamara.
On Saturday Leidt recorded a hat trick and goalie Anna Goldstein stopped all 24 shots she faced as the Panthers earned a 3-0 over Amherst. In the first period Goldstein held her ground on Emma Flynn’s partial breakaway from the right wing to keep the game scoreless.
Middlebury cashed in on a five-on-three power play with 1:29 left in the second period, when Leidt ripped home a one-timer from the left circle on a Jenna Marotta feed.
Leidt made it 2-0 by swatting in Katherine Jackson’s pass from behind the net at 9:17. Leidt completed the hat trick with another power-play goal, scoring from the slot on a Zumwinkle rebound. Walker finished with 27 saves for the Mammoths. 
On Tuesday Middlebury earned a 2-1 victory at SUNY Potsdam (4-8-2). The Panthers outshot the Bears, 45-20, but Potsdam goalie Samantha White made 43 saves. Goldstein stopped 19 for Middlebury.
Barney gave Middlebury the lead early in the second period by batting in her own rebound. Hargrave’s power-play goal in the third proved to be the game-winner when Potsdam’s Shelbi Thacker netted a late power-play goal.