MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury Union High School boys’ hockey team played two Division I games last week, losing one at home on Wednesday before earning a road tie on Saturday.
At 7-5-1 the Tigers remain in fourth place in D-I. Two more league games are on tap this week: The Tigers host fifth-place Rice on Wednesday at 7 p.m., and last-place Rutland is set to visit at 6 p.m. on Friday.
On Wednesday the Tigers took a disappointing loss to visiting Champlain Valley, 6-5, in overtime. The Tigers had defeated the Redhawks on the road earlier this season, 6-1, and outshot them, 30-14, in this contest.
But Redhawk Jake Schaefer scored a third-period hat trick to wipe out a 4-2 Tiger lead. A Daniel Hodsden goal with 2:15 remaining forced overtime, but CVU’s Cam Saia scored his second goal of the game 2:15 into OT to give CVU the win.
Cooper O’Brien scored for MUHS in the first and third periods, Kolby Farnsworth found the net in the second, and Ryan Nadeau also scored early in the third for the Tigers. Devon Kearns picked up a pair of assists for MUHS, and goalie Jeff Stearns made eight saves. Two CVU goalies combined for 25 stops.
On Saturday the Tigers settled for a 1-1 tie at Spaulding (3-7-1) despite outshooting the Tide, 30-19. Conner Magoon gave Spaulding the lead, but O’Brien equalized for MUHS in the second period.
Tide goalie Grant Otis made 29 saves, and the Tigers’ Zeke Hooper stopped 18 shots.