MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Trinity College Women's Ice Hockey team fell to host top-ranked Middlebury College, 5-1, in a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) battle at Kenyon Arena Saturday afternoon. The Bantams dip to 9-10 overall and 6-7 in conference, while the Panthers improve to 17-2-1 on the season with a 9-2-1 mark in the NESCAC.
 
The Panthers struck first as Britt Nawrocki tucked in a rebound off a shot from Rachel Neyman to hand Middlebury the 1-0 lead at the 3:30 mark. The Bantams responded quickly as senior Paige Kehoe dumped a puck in the Panter zone, where classmate Martina Exnerova knocked the puck from under the glove of Middlebury netminder Sophia Will and into the net evening the score at 1-1 with 3:14 remaining in the first period.
 
The Panthers pulled away with four unanswered goals, beginning with strike from Neyman just over three minutes into the second period. With 5:53 on the clock, Molly MacQueen knocked in a rebound off a saved shot from Trinity sophomore goalie Maddie Carter, giving Middlebury a 3-1 lead.  Nawrocki recorded her second tally of the game less than four minutes into the third period, followed by an unassisted goal from Callia Ferraris to send the Panthers to the 5-1 lead.
 
The Panthers edged the Bantams in the shot column, 30-29, and won the face-off battle, 33-22. Trinity went 0-for-1 on the power play, but killed 7-of-7 Panther power plays during the game. Carter tallied 25 saves, while Will posted a game-high 28 saves for Middlebury.
 
The Bantams will look to return to the win column when they host third-ranked Amherst College (14-5-1, 7-4-1 NESCAC) in a conference clash at the Koeppel Community Sports Center Friday, February 14 at 7:30 p.m.