NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College women's ice hockey team returned to conference action, falling to No. 1 Middlebury 5-0 on Friday night from Dayton Arena. With the loss Conn falls to 3-7 overall and 0-5 in conference play, while Middlebury improves to 11-0 on the year and 5-0 in conference action.
Conn opened the game with the first shot of the contest just 48 seconds in, but Gillian Kibbey (Lawrenceville, N.J.) was turned aside. Devon Galizio (Wayland, Mass.) answered the first test Middlebury threw her way, coming up with a save 30 seconds later. However, the Panthers opened the scoring on the power play at 4:11. Kate Flynn was able to jam the puck home to make it 1-0 as Sabrina Kim and Avery McInerny picked up assists.
Conn answered with two shots from Ashley Engle (Basking Ridge, N.J.) and Jess Pistorino (Charlestown, Mass.) but both were turned aside by Sophia Merageas. With seven and a half minutes left, Middlebury doubled the lead on a tally from Kylie Quinlan with assists from Callia Ferrairs and Raia Schluter. With just under two to play, Flynn converted on the power play again, to give Middlebury the 3-0 advantage after one.
The Panthers pushed the lead to 4-0 early in the middle frame, as Jordan Hower connected at 4:22. Neither side was able to score for the rest of the period, as Middlebury led 4-0 heading to the third.
Conn opened the final period strong with an early shot by Caitlin Pierce (Edgewater, N.J.), but her effort went just wide. Midway through the frame Conn had a chance to get on the board, after earning a power play, but Hower intercepted a pass at the blueline, before following up her rebound to make it 5-0 at 9:58. Neither side found the back of the net for the rest of the game, as Middlebury earned the 5-0 victory.
Middlebury outshot Conn 37-11 while winning 28 of 39 face-offs.
Galizio got the start in goal finishing with 32 saves. Lily Stern (Nove Zamky, Slovakia) paced the Conn offense with two shots on goal. Charlotte Harris (Ystrad Mynach, Wales) and Claire Sammons (Naperville, Ill.) both won four draws, while Conn finished 0-1 on the power play and 0-2 on the penalty kill.
Merageas got the start in goal, finishing with nine saves in 50 minutes of action, before Elinor Keehn closed out the game with two saves. Kim paced the Panthers with three assists, while both Flynn and Hower recorded two goals. Middlebury finished 2-2 on the power play and 1-1 on the penalty kill.
Conn wraps up the weekend series against No. 1 Middlebury tomorrow afternoon, with puck drop scheduled for 3:00 p.m. in Dayton Arena.
