Middlebury Earns Top Seed for 2002 Men's Ice Hockey Championship

HARTFORD, Conn. – Middlebury lost only one game in conference play and earned the top seed for the 2002 NESCAC Men’s Hockey Championship tournament. The Panthers (18-0-1 conference, 22-1-1 overall), who have captured the first two tournament titles, will host the semifinals on Saturday, March 2 and will host the championship game on Sunday, March 3.

Second-seeded Bowdoin (14-2-3 conference), third-seeded Hamilton (13-5-1), and fourth-seeded Trinity (13-5-1) earned home games in the opening round of the tournament, which begins on Saturday, Feb. 23. Bowdoin will host seventh-seeded Amherst (6-9-4) in a rematch of last year’s semifinal, won 3-0 by Amherst. When the teams met last Friday, Bowdoin recorded an 8-2 victory. Hamilton plays at home against sixth-seeded Colby (11-5-3). Hamilton defeated Colby 5-2 this past Friday and won a first-round game in last year’s tournament 4-0. Trinity hosts fifth-seeded Williams (12-5-2). The Bantams defeated the Ephs 4-1 in the next-to-last weekend of the regular season.

The top seven teams in regular season conference play qualify for the NESCAC championship tournament. The top-seeded team hosts the semifinal and final rounds, while the next three seeds play home games in the first round. The top seed faces the lowest remaining seed in one semifinal and the other two first round winners face off in the other semifinal. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men’s Hockey Championship tournament.

2002 NESCAC Men’s Ice Hockey Championship
First round - Saturday, Feb. 23 at Higher Seeds
No. 7 Amherst (6-9-4, 6-13-5) at No. 2 Bowdoin (14-2-3, 17-3-3) - 7:00 p.m.
No. 6 Colby (11-5-3, 14-6-3) at No. 3 Hamilton (13-5-1, 14-9-1) - 3:00 p.m.
No. 5 Williams (12-5-2, 14-8-2) at No. 4 Trinity (13-5-1, 15-7-1) - 7:30 p.m.

Semifinals - Saturday, March 2 at Middlebury
Lowest remaining seed at No. 1 Middlebury (18-0-1, 22-1-1) - 12:30 p.m.
Remaining first round winners - 4:00 p.m.

Championship - Sunday, March 3 at Middlebury
Semifinal winners - 1:00 p.m.