PANTHER MEN TO HOST PLATTSBURGH IN NCAA TOURNEY
The Panther men’s hockey team’s roll continues. Middlebury made it 12 wins in 13 games and improved to 19-4-4 with a 3-2 win at Bowdoin in the NESCAC playoff final on Sunday. Mathieu Dubuc (he’s been hot) scored twice to give the Panthers a 2-0 first period lead, and after the Polar Bears tied it in the third, Charlie Townsend scored the tie-breaker on a breakaway in the final two minutes.
That means after a two-year absence the Panthers are back in the NCAA dance. And, yes, they will host a game. And, yes, fans will recognize the scarlet jerseys of the opponents at 7 p.m. on Saturday: Plattsburgh will skate into The Chip in a tournament quarterfinal.
The game is a rematch of a Feb. 2 contest at Kenyon the Panthers won in convincing fashion, 5-3. According to the Platty point of view, the Cardinals were missing a couple key players and the result was not indicative. They’ll have a chance to prove their point of view this weekend. The Cardinals are 18-5-4 after they lost to Oswego, 6-3, in the SUNYAC final. OK, maybe they were shorthanded then, too.
We’ll publish full tournament and weekend game details on Thursday. Meanwhile, ticket information will be available at middlebury.edu; just click on athletics and the men’s hockey story. By the way, the women’s lacrosse team is hosting its opener vs. Bates at noon on Saturday, too.