Host Panthers Eye Opportunity for Fifth NESCAC Crown

HADLEY, Mass. - Amherst College, the defending NESCAC Women’s Ice Hockey Champion, will battle for a second-straight NESCAC title this weekend when the Jeffs travel to Middlebury, Vt. for the final rounds of the 2008 NESCAC Women’s Ice Hockey Championship at Kenyon Arena. Top seed and host Middlebury will face fourth seed Colby in the first semifinal on Saturday, March 8 at 1:00 p.m., followed by second seed Amherst taking on third seed Trinity at 4:00 p.m. The 2008 NESCAC Women’s Ice Hockey Championship concludes with the final on Sunday, March 9 at 1:00 p.m. Tickets for Saturday’s semifinals and Sunday’s championship are $5 for adults and $2 for children and students. Fans unable to attend this weekend’s action will be able to follow all three games live via the Internet on D3Cast.com.

Middlebury (19-2-3, 13-0-3 NESCAC) edged out Amherst for the number-one seed by only a half of a game, as both teams went unbeaten in NESCAC play this year. The two programs skated to ties in both of their regular season meetings, 2-2 in Amherst on Nov. 30 and 1-1 in Middlebury on Feb. 16. The Panthers, winners of four NESCAC Women’s Ice Hockey titles, fell at home in the 2007 championship game to the Jeffs in a triple-overtime thriller by a 2-1 score. Middlebury’s two losses this year both came at the hands of defending NCAA champion Plattsburgh St., with the most recent setback to the Cardinals on Feb. 12 snapping a 17-game unbeaten streak. Again this season, Middlebury leads the conference in most statistical categories, as the offense, defense and power play all rank first overall. The Panthers average 4.21 goals per game on offense while the defense has posted nine shutouts and allowed 1.00 goals per game - well below the 1.38 average Middlebury had at tournament time a year ago. The power play units have converted 28.8 percent of their chances for a conference-best 32 goals while not surrendering any shorthanded tallies. The penalty kill, when it does get a chance to take the ice since Middlebury has been assessed a league-low 182 penalty minutes (7.6 per game), is second among conference squads with an 89.9 percent kill rate and six shorthanded goals. The tandem of junior forward Annmarie Cellino (West Seneca, N.Y.) and first year forward Anna McNally (St. Paul, Minn.) are the top two skaters in the NESCAC in scoring. Cellino, the 2006 NESCAC Rookie of the Year and a two-time All-NESCAC honoree, is first with 12 goals and a league-leading 29 assists for 41 points. McNally leads all rookies and is second only to Cellino with 36 points, tallying a conference-high 19 goals - four of which are shorthand - and 17 assists. Senior defender Karen Levin (Morton Grove, Ill.) is also among the top 10 scorers in the NESCAC this season, leading all blue liners with 7-17-24. Sophomore Lani Wright (Reading, Mass.) and rookie Lexi Bloom (Highland Park, Ill.) have shared time in the crease for the Panthers this season. The two sport nearly identical goals against averages, with Bloom’s 0.97 edging Wright’s 0.98 for first in the conference.

After missing out on a second-straight trip to the semifinals in overtime last winter, fourth-seeded Colby (14-8-3, 8-5-3 NESCAC) returns this year for the fourth time in tournament history thanks to a 3-1 win over Connecticut College in the first round. The Mules lost both of their outings against the Panthers this season, 4-0 at Kenyon on Jan. 12 and 3-1 at home on Feb. 1. Since the second setback to Middlebury, Colby has gone on to win six-of-seven games, out-scoring opponents by a 21-9 margin over the stretch. Saturday’s matchup will be only the second meeting between the two teams in tournament history, the previous contest occurring in the 2006 semifinals. Middlebury and Colby were scoreless after two periods and tied at 1-1 midway through the third before two Panther goals in under two minutes gave them a 3-1 win on their way to the 2006 title. Statistically this season, Colby averages 3.32 goals per game (3rd NESCAC) and allows 2.20 per contest (4th). Junior forward Rebecca Julian (South Windsor, Conn.) paces her team in points this season, as her 18 goals and 14 assists for 32 points puts her in third behind Middlebury’s pair of league-leading scorers. Classmate Laura Anning (Ingramport, Nova Scotia) is second for the Mules with 17-12-29, needing just seven more points to reach 100 for her career. Junior goaltender Lacey Brown (Freeport, Maine) has seen a majority of the minutes in net this season, posting a 10-4-2 record with a 1.95 goals against average and a .937 save percentage.

Defending champion Amherst (18-3-4, 12-0-4 NESCAC) advanced to the semifinals for the second year in a row with a 5-1 victory over Bowdoin in the first round. The second-seeded Jeffs are hoping to repeat last year’s magical tournament run which saw them win three consecutive overtime contests, including the longest game in Division III women’s ice hockey history, en route to their first NESCAC crown. Amherst is arguably the hottest team in the conference at the moment, owning a 13-0-2 record in its last 15 games and allowing more than one goal only twice in that stretch. A pair of wins this weekend would not only guarantee the Jeffs another title but also tie the program mark of 20 victories set last season. Amherst ranks second behind Middlebury on offense and defense this year, scoring on average 3.88 goals per game while giving up 1.12. The power play motors along at an even 20.0 percent, third among conference squads, and the opportunistic penalty kill is tops in the NESCAC at 93.2 percent with a league-best eight shorthanded goals. First year forward Courtney Hanlon (Fullerton, Calif.) leads her team and ranks fourth among all NESCAC players with 12 goals and 18 assists for 30 points. Junior forward Tarasai Karega (Detroit, Mich.), a 2007 NESCAC All-Conference First Team member, has a team-high 15 markers, scoring a conference-best eight on the power play, along with 12 assists for 27 points. Sophomore netminder Krystyn Elek (Summerville, S.C.), the 2007 NESCAC Rookie of the Year and an All-NESCAC First Team honoree, holds an 11-3-3 record while ranking fourth in the conference in goals against (1.27) and save percentage (.942).

Looking to mimic the journey Amherst had in winning its first title last March will be the Jeffs’ semifinal opponent, third-seeded Trinity (18-4-3, 10-3-3 NESCAC). Amherst, last year’s third seed, reached the semifinals for the first time in tournament history and then proceeded to win the entire championship for the first time. The Bantams have already reached the first point along the championship road by winning their first playoff game last weekend over Hamilton, 5-1. The 2007-08 campaign has been a record-setting season for Trinity with a 9-1-1 start to the season, a program-best 18 wins, and the highest finish in the NESCAC standings ever. The home-and-home series between these two in November featured two tight contests with a 1-1 tie in Hartford on Nov. 24 and a 2-0 empty-net home victory for Amherst on Nov. 25, as the Jeffs tallied the game-winner with under two minutes remaining. Trinity heads into the semifinal showdown with a 6-1-1 record over its last eight outings. While the offense is fourth among NESCAC teams in scoring at 2.64 goals per game, the defense is comparable to both Middlebury and Amherst statistically, allowing on average 1.28 goals to rank third. Special teams are also among the league leaders, with a power play converting 21.3 percent of its chances (2nd) and a penalty kill rate of 88.2 percent (3rd). Providing the backbone for Trinity’s stellar season is sophomore netminder Isabel Iwachiw (New York, N.Y.). At 14-3-3 this year with six shutouts, Iwachiw is first in the NESCAC in save percentage at .959 and third in goals against average with 1.10. Up front for the Bantams, first year forward Kim Weiss headlines a talented rookie class, as four of the team’s top eight scorers are first year skaters. Weiss leads Trinity with 15 goals, including five game-winners, and 12 assists for 27 points. Junior forward Michelle Chee (San Francisco, Calif.) is second for the Bantams in scoring with 11-11-22, as eight of Chee’s 11 tallies have come on the power play, tying her with Amherst’s Karega for the conference lead.