You won't find skyscrapers, highways, or any sign of big city life in Middlebury, Vermont. But in between some of the nation's best skiing and some of the nation's best ice cream, you'll find one of the country's premier ice hockey programs.
Middlebury College is unquestionably the center of Div. III hockey in the NESCAC, the Northeast, and, arguably, the entire nation. Both the men's and women's teams, currently undefeated and unanimously ranked No. 1 in the most recent polls, are two-time defending Div. III national champions, and there is no reason not to expect a three-peat from both Panther programs this winter.
Going into tonight's contest at Trinity, Middlebury's men's hockey is 15-0-1, including a season-opening 4-1 victory over Tufts at the Malden Forum. The Panthers have outscored their opponents 77-22, with their only blemish of the season coming in the form of a 3-3 tie against SUNY-Plattsburgh (11-7-1), a school that has been in and out of the U.S. College Hockey's Div. III Top 15 this season. The Panthers defeated Plattsburgh in an earlier meeting, and their other Top 15 victims include NESCAC rivals Bowdoin (No. 10, 10-4-2) and Colby (No. 15, 11-5-0).
The Middlebury men have a duo of young goalies atop the NESCAC in goals against average, with sophomores Ross Cherry and Doug Raeder allowing 1.26 and 1.46 goals per game, respectively. With such strong underclassmen between the pipes, the Panthers seem to have guaranteed themselves long-term success on the defensive end.
The Panthers are just as formidable on the offensive side of the ice, where sophomore forward Mickey Gilchrist tied is for third-best in the conference in scoring with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists), behind Tufts' duo of Matt McCarthy (13 goals, 12 assists, 25 points) and Greg O'Connell (8, 17, 25), as well as Colby's Josh Reber (3, 22, 25).
Middlebury's women's team has been equally dominant, outscoring its opponents 71-20 this season. Going into tonight's game at Colby, the Panthers (15-0-0) have wins against Elmira, Plattsburgh, St. Thomas, and Bowdoin, all ranked in the USCHO Div. III Top 10. No. 3 Gustavus Adolphus (12-1-1) is scheduled to visit the Panthers, who hide from noone, on Feb. 3.
Senior goalie Kate Kogut leads the NESCAC, allowing only 1.68 goals per contest, and junior forward Shannon Sylvester is second in the conference in scoring, with seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points.
One advantage Middlebury boasts over its competition is its home venue. While Tufts is one of the few schools that do not have an ice rink on campus, even fewer have a facility as superb as the Panthers' Kenyon Arena. Opened in 1999, the arena is a $17.5 million facility that is equipped to hold over 2,100 spectators - the entire student body with room to spare.
With its state-of-the-art home turf, Middlebury has had the luxury of
hosting multiple men's and women's NESCAC Tournaments and Div. III NCAA Championships. Earlier this month, Kenyon played host to a United States women's national team exhibition in
preparation for next month's Winter Olympics.
Around the NESCAC: Tufts is the only NESCAC school other than Bates that does not field a women's ice hockey team. The Bobcats are the only school to not field a men's team...With his hiring by the New York Jets, former New England Patriots defensive coordinator Eric Mangini becomes the second NFL coach with a NESCAC alma mater. The other is the Patriots' Bill Belichick. Both were members of the Chi Psi fraternity at Wesleyan...Bates' (15-2, 4-0 NESCAC) convincing 74-56 victory in men's basketball on Saturday against Williams (15-4, 3-1) handed the Ephs their first conference loss of the season. Bates and Trinity (13-3, 3-0) are the only remaining undefeated teams in NESCAC men's basketball...The Jumbos (7-9, 1-3) have the opportunity to take out the conference's only remaining undefeated women's basketball team on Friday, as they travel to Wesleyan (12-4, 4-0). If they don't succeed, Bates (12-6, 3-1), currently tied for second in the conference with Williams (16-3, 3-1), will get a shot at the Cardinals on Saturday afternoon.
