Middlebury Rolls Past Tufts in Men's Ice Hockey Quarterfinals
Courtesy Middlebury Athletic Communications
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - Middlebury scored four second period goals on its way to a 7-1 win over Tufts in the NESCAC Quarterfinals. The Panthers will host Hamilton next Saturday at 1:00 p.m., while Trinity meets Colby in the other semifinal at 4:00 p.m. The title game is slated for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The win extends Middlebury's unbeaten streak to 19 (17-0-2) games, while Tufts ends the season with a 7-11-4 record.
Middlebury opened the scoring at 7:32 as Kevin Cooper found Tim Schneider with a great pass in transition as the Panthers took a 1-0 lead. The Panthers took a 2-0 lead with 42 seconds left in the period as Kevin Cooper put in a loose puck from just outside the crease for a power play goal. Just 32 seconds into the second period, Middlebury caught a break as a loose puck five feet off the ice bounced into the net and was credited to Brian Phinney. Cooper then scored a power play goal at the 4:30 mark as he put in a rebound after a shot from Patrick Nugent. Tim Schneider made it a 4-0 game with a great snapshot from the right wing in transition at 10:13.
Robert Chisholm made it a 6-0 contest at 12:08, before Tufts got on the board with a goal from Adam Delaney-Winn at 4:34 of the third period. Schneider notched the hat-trick at 11:39 of the third period as he scored from the doorstep on a rebound.
Yen-I Chen made 13 saves in goal for Middlebury, while Matt Ninneman and Ben Crapser combined to make 38 stops for the Jumbos.
