Middlebury, Vt. - The No. 2-ranked Middlebury College Panthers scored three times on power plays for a 5-1 win over the visiting and No. 9-ranked Trinity College Bantams in the season-opener for both teams. The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) foes return to Kenyon Arena tomorrow for game two of the series with face-off set for 3 p.m.           

Trinity, which downd the Panthers in Kenyon Arena, 2-1, in overtime to win its first league title in March, took a 1-0 lead 3:43 into the game on a power-play goal by senior forward Emma Tani (Orange, Calif.) from the right point.  Junior Jessica Stowell (Hadley, Mass.) and sophomore Delaney Harrop (Walpole, Mass.) assisted on the play.  Middlebury tied the game with a power-play goal of its own at the 8:16 mark of the period. Carly Watson's shot from the left point was blocked before Katie Mandigo put home the rebound. The Panthers struck again with the extra attacker at 11:22, taking a 3-1 lead when Elizabeth Wulf redirected a shot from Kelly Sherman.           

Leading, 2-1, in the second period, the Panthers added to their lead when Mandigo finished after a shot from Watson had been saved by Trinity sophomore netminder Sydney Belinskas (Port Orange, Fla.). Sherman made it a 4-1 game when she scored on a breakaway, as her shot just trickled through Belinskas' pads.  Middlebury put the game out of reach five minutes into the third period when Julia Wardwell took advantage of a failed clearing attempt and wristed a shot past Belinskas from the right side.  After a relatively even first period, Middlebury finished the game with a 30-19 shots advantage. Marisa Dreher picked up the win in goal with 18 saves, while Belinskas finished with 25 stops for the Bantams.