MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College men’s hockey team hosted and won the LayerEight Great Northern Shootout this past weekend, defeating rival Norwich in Saturday’s final, 2-0.

The Panthers defeated Marian, 6-2, in Friday’s first round. In other games, Norwich edged Plattsburgh in Friday’s other first-round game, 1-0, while Plattsburgh topped Marian, 5-3, in Sunday’s consolation. Both Plattsburgh and Marian left the Shootout with 4-4 records, while Norwich stood at 3-3-1 after splitting two games.

The Panthers improved to 4-2 and remained unbeaten in Kenyon Arena in the early going. They will seek to breakthrough on the road this weekend when they visit Amherst and Hamilton on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Those games will wrap up first-semester action for Middlebury.

SHOOTOUT FINAL

Panther goalie Andrew Heinze worked a 28-save shutout against the Cadets on Saturday. Heinze was tested in the game’s second minute, when he denied Cadet Cole Fagan from the doorstep.

Norwich goalie Sami Molu made a quality stop, one of his 21, two minutes later, gloving Christian Wood’s shot through traffic from the right point.

Middlebury had a quality chance two minutes later when a bid from the right point by Christian Wood through traffic was snared by the glove of the Cadet netminder.

PANTHER SOPHOMORE GOALIE Andrew Heinze holds the short side for the save against Marian’s Jaymes Knee during Middlebury’s Nov. 29 first-round win in the LayerEight Shootout in Kenyon Arena.
Independent photo/Steve James

The Panthers took the lead with 1:54 showing on the first-period clock, with Jake Oblak doing the damage. Andrew Seaman won a battle along the offensive zone boards and dropped the puck to Oblak. Oblak’s wrister through traffic found its way into the left side of the net.

The Cadets looked to even the game 22 seconds into the middle period, but Heinze denied Zach Ophoven’s shot from between the circles.

The Cadets’ next good chance came in the middle of the period, when Heinze flashed his right pad to deny Colin Elliot’s bid after a cross-crease feed.

Three minutes later, Panther Max Noll skated onto a bouncing puck in the neutral zone and fired from the slot, but Molu got a piece of the bid with his glove.

Later in the period, Norwich went on a power play, but Heinze stoned consecutive bids from outside the crease by Johnny Johnson.

Middlebury went on a power play early in the third, but Molu stopped a Revy Mack wrister from between the circles. With seven minutes to go, Molu blockered away a Bobby May bid from the slot, and soon afterward used his right pad to deny Reece Brednich.

PANTHER SENIOR FORWARD Wyatt Pastor fires a shot into the upper right corner during the men’s hockey team’s first-round win in the LayerEight Shootout in Kenyon Arena on Nov. 29.
Independent photo/Steve James

The Cadets pulled Molu with 1:54 remaining, and Jin Lee created the final score with an empty-netter from just outside the Norwich blue line with 31 seconds to go.

Oblak’s goal was his second in as many games, and he was named the tournament MVP.  Heinze and Wood joined him on the all-tournament team.

PANTHERS, 6-2

In Friday’s first-round game, the Panthers spotted Marian a 1-0 lead after the first period before erupting for five goals in the decisive second period.

Marian threatened early, but Heinze snagged Robert Pizzey’s hard wrister from just inside the left faceoff dot.

Marian took the lead 3:47 in, when Daunte Fortner tipped in Luca Marcellitti one-timer.

PANTHER SENIOR FORWARD Andrew Seaman beats Marian goalie Tyler Fromolz during the men’s hockey team’s 6-2 first-round win in the LayerEight Shootout in Kenyon Arena on Nov. 29.
Independent photo/Steve James

The Sabres continued to press, with three shots on goal in a 17-second mid-period sequence, but Heinze thwarted each one.

Panther Jackson Morehouse had a chance on a power play at 15:18 of the period, but Sabre goaltender Tyler Fromolz smothered it.

Middlebury’s Wyatt Pastor knotted the game 1:13 into the second. Sam Amato collected a loose puck and slid a pass that Dante Palombo centered to Pastor for the finish.

May gave the Panthers the lead at 11:40 on a power play. May’s shot from the right point sailed over Fromolz’s right shoulder.

With less than four minutes remaining in the period, a Panther turnover led to a point-blank opportunity for Caden Carlson, but Heinze stepped up to corral the chance.

Middlebury continued to press, and Seaman extended the lead with 2:40 left in the period. Seaman poked away a pass deep in Marian’s end, leaving him one-on-one with Fromolz, who tucked the puck just inside the left pipe to make it 3-1.

MIDDLEBURY SOPHOMORE DEFENSEMAN Bobby May fires home the go-ahead goal in the Panther men’s hockey team’s Nov. 29 first-round win in the LayerEight Shootout in Kenyon Arena.
Independent photo/Steve James

The Panthers kept coming. At 17:55, Wood scored, from Oblak and Lee, and with 28 seconds left in the period Pastor found the net, with the assists going to Palombo and Kevin Golden.

The Sabres made it 5-2 at 1:30 of the final stanza on a 3-on-2 rush, with Fortner finishing a feed from Jaymes Knee.

Oblak added a late empty-netter to create the final score. Heinze finished with 31 saves.