Courtesy Middlebury Athletic Communications

Box Score

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury has advanced to the semifinals of the 2008 NESCAC Men's Ice Hockey Championship after a 6-0 win over Williams in a quarterfinal game played in Kenyon Arena. The Panthers will meet Amherst next weekend at 4:00 p.m. at Colby, while the host school takes on Trinity at 1:00 p.m. The NESCAC Championship game will be played at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. Middlebury moves to 17-6-2 overall, while Williams ends its season at 9-12-4.

Williams had a great chance just 30 seconds in, but Ryan Young’s effort in transition was denied with a pad save by Ross Cherry. Neither team scored through a series of penalties, as Middlebury held a 6-2 shots advantage early. The Panthers had a great chance at the 10-minute mark, as Casey Ftorek just missed on a rebound attempt after a shot from John Sullivan was saved. Just seconds later, a Ftorek shot was saved, leaving the rebound to Bryan Curran, who buried the goal.

The Panthers made it a 2-0 game with 3:40 left as Ken Suchoski and Tom Maldonado worked a nice give-and-go in transition, with Maldonado finishing for the shorthanded goal. Williams took a five-minute major penalty at 17:26 and a minor at 18:15, but Middlebury could not score on the power plays.

Middlebury made it a 3-0 game at 6:12 of the second period, as Mason Graddock tipped in a shot from Leonard Badeau after a feed from Charlie Townsend. The Panthers struck again at 11:56 as Townsend scored with a nice move from the slot to give Middlebury a 4-0 lead.

Townsend netted his second of the game 5:45 into third as he scored from the slot after a nice centering pass from Jed McDonald. Ian Drummond gave the Panthers a 6-0 advantage at 12:23 as he converted a feed from Ftorek on the left side.