MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College women’s hockey team split two weekend league games before a Tuesday non-league game at longtime rival Plattsburgh was postponed until Feb. 19.
The 14-4-3 Panthers retained their hold on first place in NESCAC with a 9-3-2 league record. This weekend they will play a home-and-home series with second-place Williams (15-4-3), which has an 8-4-2 league record.
Middlebury can finish first with a win vs. the Ephs at home at 7 p.m. on Friday or at Williams on 7 p.m. on Saturday. With a sweep Williams can earn first place and the right to host the league tournament, which begins on Feb. 23. Regardless, the Panthers will host a 3 p.m. quarterfinal that Saturday.
On this past Saturday visiting Colby (11-8-3, 8-8 NESCAC) dealt the Panthers a 1-0 upset. Colby’s Sadie Kuhn got the game’s only goal in the first period and goalie Cierra San Roman stopped all 27 shots she faced. 
The Mules scored with 1:30 left in the opening frame after Lauren Klein won a faceoff. Kuhn’s shot from the edge of the circle hit off Goldstein (22 saves), went over her shoulder and trickled over the goal line.
That game came a day after Middlebury produced a season-high on offense in a 6-2 victory win over visiting Colby.
The Panthers struck for a pair of late first-period 40 seconds apart. Katarina Shuchuk knocked in a rebound on an Ellie Barney shot with 1:36 on the clock, and Ashley McDonald deflected a shot from the high slot by Jenna Marotta for her first Panther goal.
Middlebury scored four times in the middle period, starting with a Jenna Letterie power-play strike at 1:19; she tucked home the puck at the left post. Marotta made it 4-0 minutes later with a shot from the slot. Barney, from McDonald, and Katie Hargrave, unassisted, rounded out the scoring.
Colby’s Elizabeth Brashich scored in the second period to make it 6-1, and McKinley Karpa added the final goal in the third. Panther goalie Lin Han made 10 saves, while two Colby goalies combined for 30 stops.