By Jan. 13, men's hockey powerhouse Middlebury had already lost its most games since the 2002-03 season, endured its longest losing streak in two years, and suffered its worst loss since 2003 - a 6-2 thrashing at the hands of Bowdoin.
But as it turned out, Middlebury was not a three-time defending conference champion ready to relinquish its NESCAC title, but rather, a sleeping giant waiting to be roused.
The culmination of Middlebury's awakening came in the final weekend of the NESCAC Tournament, played on Saturday and Sunday at Bowdoin, when the second-seeded Panthers took their seventh conference title in eight years after inching past No. 3 Colby in the semifinals, 4-3, and holding off top-seeded Bowdoin in the title game, 4-2.
For the Panthers, the early-season setbacks provided the impetus for making a deep postseason run.
"I think there are certain things that happen during the year that motivate you," Middlebury coach Bill Beaney said. "Losing some hockey games motivates you. We dealt with that adversity, and our guys just got over it. We really started focusing two weeks ago on playing the best hockey we could. I think it really came together for us this last weekend. We played two good games."
The Panthers' ability to weather their first-half struggles is all the more impressive considering that their NESCAC competition was particularly strong this season, with many teams enjoying historic years for their programs. Bowdoin locked up its first-ever No. 1 seed in the conference tournament with an 11-6-2 NESCAC mark. Fourth-seeded Wesleyan, meanwhile, earned its highest-ever finish in the regular season standings, while Conn. College made its first trip to the conference tournament after finishing the season in sixth place.
Even though NESCAC teams were exceeding expectations, however, no one in the league doubted that Middlebury was capable of making a championship run.
"I don't know if there's anyone that plays within our league that had the same analogy that the media may have had that Middlebury had a down year," Colby coach Jim Tortorella said. "We all go through injuries, we all go through sickness, we all go through droughts within our sense of scoring. But Middlebury is a team we all respect within our league."
The Panthers' experience may have ultimately handed them the edge over their upstart conference foes. Heading into this year, Middlebury's three opponents in this season's NESCAC championships - Williams, Colby and Bowdoin - had a combined 13 wins all-time in tournament play. The Panthers, meanwhile, had racked up 17 victories all by themselves.
"No question, I think our experience was key," Beaney said. "The majority of the guys on the team were familiar with the tournament's level of intensity, and they were able to share the experience with the younger kids. I think the experience allowed us to be confident that if we went out and played our game, we'd be fine."
Middlebury's experience in the postseason proved particularly important this season, as the team was forced to play the final weekend of the NESCAC championships on the road for just the second time in the eight-year history of the tournament. Once more, Bowdoin's hosting of the semifinal and final rounds made Middlebury's task all the more daunting, as no member of the current squad had ever won a collegiate game played in Brunswick, Maine.
"Experience is so critical in being able to calm yourself down in those pressure situations, especially in somebody else's home rink, where they certainly had a great crowd, and especially since we were in Maine, where our seniors had never won before," Beaney said. "It is a different situation in the playoffs because everything is magnified: if you lose you go home."
Although no team succeeded in dethroning the Panthers, each school that advanced to the Final Four was satisfied with its performance. Bowing in the semifinals for the seventh time in eight years, Colby remained content with its showing despite falling short of its first-ever trip to the conference finals.
"I don't think there are hockey gods out there that say Colby's not going to get to the final game, or there's that big mountain that we got to climb to get over the hump, all those clich?©s that tend to occur through the media," Tortorella said. "Bottom line is when you get to the semifinal game seven out of eight years that the league has had a playoff, you've put yourself in a pretty decent position."
For Bowdoin, which fell in the title game for the third-consecutive year, the weekend showcased the strength of the conference.
"This was nothing but a very positive weekend of hockey," Polar Bears coach Terry Meagher said. "I think the NESCAC league should be very proud of the four games that were played here. It was just such a positive year in the NESCAC - so competitive, so many ups and downs in terms of the schedule. To have a big crowd and four great games, it was nothing but positives."
As the conference champion, Middlebury received an automatic bid to the Div. III NCAA Tournament and will make its 13th-straight appearance in Nationals. The opening round kicks off at 7 p.m. tonight, as the Panthers host SUNYAC Champion Fredonia.
