MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College women’s ice hockey team earned a win and a tie against visiting NESCAC foe this past weekend and stands at 3-0-1, good for second place in the league behind 4-0 Colby.
This weekend the Panthers will host the annual Panther-Cardinal Classic at Kenyon Arena. Middlebury, ranked No. 8 in NCAA Division III last week, will take on No. 2 Adrian at 3 p.m. on Saturday, while No. 1 Plattsburgh and No. 4 Wisconsin-River Falls face off at 6 p.m. The consolation and final are set for Sunday at 1 and 4 p.m., respectively.
On this past Saturday the Panthers got two third-period goals from Jenna Letterie and 21 saves from goalie Anna Goldstein in a 2-0 win over Amherst (1-2-1, 1-2-1).
Amherst had two good chances just over a minute apart midway through the first period, but Goldstein denied Emma Flynn from below the left circle and Kaitlin Hoang from the same spot. Middlebury’s best chance came later in the period, when Mammoth goalie Caitlin Walker kicked away a Katie Hargrave bid after Claudia Vira created a turnover.
In the second period Walker denied both Maddie Bayard and Mary Thompson on an early power play, and at the other end a Hoang power-play deflection hit the crossbar.
The Panthers took the lead 1:14 into the final frame with a pretty transition goal. Letterie won the puck in her own zone and sent Bayard down the left side. Bayard then fed Letterie in stride in the high slot, and her shot found the upper right corner.  
The Mammoths pulled Walker (33 saves) with 1:49 on the clock, and the Panthers won the ensuing faceoff and Sidney Portner set up Letterie for an empty-netter 10 seconds later.
On Friday the Panthers outshot the Mammoths, 33-23, in a 1-1 tie. Anna Zumwinkle gave the Panthers the lead with 1:07 left in the second period. Delanie Goniwiecha won the puck in the corner and fed Portner in the left circle. Portner relayed to Anna Zumwinkle at the point, and she wristed a shot through traffic past Walker.
Amherst knotted the game with 8:29 remaining in regulation, when Pohl buried a loose puck from the slot. Lin Han made 22 saves for the Panthers, and Walker stopped 32 for Amherst.