Women's Ice Hockey

Middlebury Finishes Perfect Season with NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Title

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury senior Ellie Barney's third goal of the season proved to be her biggest. Her tally at 6:43 of overtime lifted the Panthers to a 3-2 victory over Gustavus Adolphus and gave Middlebury its sixth national title and first since 2006. The Panthers become the first Division III women's ice hockey team to post an undefeated season at 27-0-0.

NCAA Final: Middlebury 3, Gustavus Adolphus 2 (OT) | Box Score
  • The Golden Gusties earned a power-play opportunity in the first period, but the Panthers turned it into a goal-scoring opportunity for themselves. Jenna Letterie scored a short-handed goal beating Gustavus goalie Katie McCoy one-on-one to give Middlebury a 1-0 lead at the 13:44 mark. The marker was Letterie's sixth goal of the season and the Panthers took the one-goal advantage into the first intermission.
  • Clara Billings scored on Gustavus Adolphus' fourth power-play opportunity of the contest at the 12:30 mark of the second period to even the score at 1-1. Neither team was able to net a go-ahead goal before the second period ended.
  • Middlebury killed off a penalty for 1:09 to start the third period. With just under three minutes remaining in the period frame, Katie Hargrave's shot was saved by McCoy, but Madie Leidt cleaned up the rebound for her 19th goal of the year to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead.
  • In the waning minutes of the third period, the Panthers had to kill off a penalty over the final 1:30. Sophia Merageas made a key save with 1:06 left. Then with 18.2 seconds left, a faceoff in the Middlebury zone and Gustavus Adolphus with two extra skaters, a wrap-around shot by the Golden Gusties deflected to the front of the net and Molly McHugh was able to get her stick on the puck and score with 0.1 on the clock to tie the game at 2-2 and force overtime.
  • In the overtime, Eva Hendrikson sent a pass the length of the ice to Barney who picked it up, beat her defender one-on-one and was able to lift the puck past McCoy for the game-winner.
  • Merageas was credited with 29 saves in the Middlebury net while McCoy made 25 stops for the Golden Gusties.
  • Leidt and Letterie were named to the All-Tournament Team and Merageas was selected as the Most Outstanding Player.