Middlebury at Tufts 4 PM Saturday 1/26/13

Who: Middlebury College Panthers (7-8-2, 6-3-2)  at Tufts University Jumbos (4-8-1; 1-8-2)

Where: Malden Valley Forum Malden, MA
When: 4:00 PM Saturday 1/26/13
Video/Audio: Tufts Webcast 

Offense: 3.18 G/GM scored (4th in NESCAC; 35th in Nation)
Defense: 3.12 G/GM allowed (7th in NESCAC; 38th in Nation)
Power Play: 21/76 - 27.63% (2nd in NESCAC; 5th in Nation)
Penalty Kill : 53/68 - 77.9% (8th in NESCAC; 49th in Nation)

Offense: 2.81 G/GM scored (6th in NESCAC; 48th in Nation)
Defense: 3.94 G/GM allowed (9th in NESCAC; 57th in Nation)
Power Play: 13/73 - 17.81% (7th in NESCAC; 39th in Nation)
Penalty Kill: 56/72 - 77.8% (9th in NESCAC; 50th in Nation)

The Lowdown: Staying relevant

Middlebury takes the trip up I-95 after taking care of Conn College 4-1 in New London last night. Tufts hosts the Panthers after saying goodbye to Williams, who left after a 5-3 victory over the Jumbos. Both teams seek to remain relevant, though for different reasons. Middlebury needs to win to stay in contention for a home game in the first round of the NESCAC playoffs, while Tufts needs points to stay in the race for one of the eight playoff spots in the NESCAC.

The Panthers mauled the Jumbos 9-2  in their December 1st meeting in Vermont. Louis Belisle (F, Jr.) had a monster four goal game (4-2-6), accounting for half his goals on the season. 

Keys to the game: Keep it rolling

Middlebury won last Friday as well, but couldn't get back to a winning groove because they ran into juggernaut Bowdoin on Saturday. Today's opposition won't be quite as formidable, and the Panthers hope to pounce early and often to earn their first back to back wins since early December. For Tufts, they need to hope they can capitalize on Middlebury's poor Saturday record (1-4-1), though that one win was against the Jumbos.

Players to watch 
Louis Belisle (F, Jr.) scored for the first time in nine games last night. What will he do for an encore against the Jumbos he torched for six points back in December?

Stewart Bell (F Fr.) The freshman from Georgia has a two game goal streak. Can it continue against the Panthers? 

In honor of the Panthers trip up I-95 and I-93 to Malden,MA, here's a clip from "The Big Bang Theory" explaining how interstates are named and other interstate trivia.