Men's Ice Hockey Championship Seeding Announced

Middlebury Earns Top Seed for Fifth Consecutive Season

HARTFORD, Conn. - After finishing the regular season with a 15-3 mark, Middlebury will enter the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Men’s Ice Hockey Championship as the top seed for the fifth consecutive season. The eight-team tournament will begin on Saturday, February 28.

The Panthers, ranked third in the nation with a 21-3 overall record, will host eighth-seeded Tufts (4-13-1 NESCAC, 8-14-1 overall). Middlebury has hosted all five previous NESCAC Championships claiming the title in 2000, 2001 and 2002 before falling to Trinity 4-2 in the 2003 championship game.

In other quarterfinal action, second-seeded Trinity (12-5-1 NESCAC, 14-8-1 overall) will host seventh seed Amherst (6-10-2 NESCAC, 11-10-3 overall). Amherst has defeated Trinity twice this season; an overtime 2-1 victory in the championship of the Amherst Invitational and 2-1 in Amherst, Mass. on January 9.

Sixth-seeded Hamilton (10-6-2 NESCAC, 14-8-2 overall) will play at third-seeded Bowdoin (12-6 NESCAC, 16-7 overall). Bowdoin, ranked 12th in the latest USCHO.com national poll, dropped a 2-0 decision to the Continentals on the last weekend of regular-season play.

Fifth-seeded Williams (11-6-1 NESCAC, 12-8-3 overall) will travel to fourth seed Colby (10-4-4 NESCAC, 13-6-4 overall) in the remaining quarterfinal contest.

Quarterfinal winners will be re-bracketed and the semifinal and final rounds will be held at the highest remaining seed beginning on Saturday, March 6. The NESCAC tournament champion receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championship.

2004 NESCAC MEN'S ICE HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals - Saturday, Feb. 28 at higher seeds
No. 8 Tufts at No. 1 Middlebury - 6:30 p.m.
No. 7 Amherst at No. 2 Trinity - 4:00 p.m.
No. 6 Hamilton at No. 3 Bowdoin - 4:00 p.m.
No. 5 Williams at No. 4 Colby - 4:00 p.m.

Semifinals - Saturday, March 6 at highest remaining seed
Highest remaining seed vs. lowest remaining seed - 1:00 p.m.
Remaining quarterfinal winners - 4:00 p.m.

Championship - Sunday, March 7
Semifinal winners - 1:00 p.m.