5. Middlebury Panthers 2012-2013 Record
12-10-2 Overall
11-5-2 NESCAC (5th in NESCAC)
Overall (Conference Rank) Conference Games (conf. rank)
Offense: 3.42 G/GM (3rd) Offense: 3.89 G/GM (2nd)
Defense: 3.12 G/GM (6th) Defense: 2.94 G/GM (6th)
Power Play: 29/108 -26.9% (2nd) Power Play: 25/85 -29.4% (1st)
Penalty Kill: 80/99 - 80.8% (5th) Penalty Kill: 62/76 - 81.6% (4th)
Preseason Predictions
In a very streaky 2011-12 season, Middlebury finished third in the NESCAC (14-10-3; 11-6-1) and made it to the conference finals, where they lost to Amherst 4-3. Tim Costello of USCHO picked the Panthers to finish third, while the WordPress Blog had them finishing fourth. A strong incoming recruitment class was praised, but caution was offered as it remained to be seen how that talent would gel with the overall team. With a roster comprised of five goaltenders, competition was predicted for time in net.
Season Review
The season started with a successful Maine road trip, with the Panthers beating Colby and tying Bowdoin. Then came the PrimeLink Tournament, with tough match-ups against Plattsburgh and rival Norwich. In the first round, Middlebury defeated the Cardinals, 3-2, setting up the 144th meeting with the Cadets in the finals. In a classic game, Norwich came back from a 4-2 deficit to defeat the Panthers ,5-4, on a goal with 7 seconds remaining in regulation. It would be the only loss in the first seven for Middlebury, as they went on to tie Conn. College and defeat Tufts and Hamilton to start the season (4-1-2).
In the next seven, the Panthers would go (1-6-0) with a win at Wesleyan bookended by two three game losing streaks to Amherst, Babson and Wentworth on the front end, and to Trinity, Norwich(again) and Plattsburgh (second meeting) on the back end. The normally high-octane Panther offense would be held to 12 goals in the seven games, with four goals in the Wesleyan game the only time they surpassed 2 lit lamps in that time.
The next seven games would see another uptick, with the Panthers going (5-2-0), including a four game win streak in the stretch. The last game of that period was a loss in the front end of the home and home with Williams. On Senior Day, in the second game against the Ephs, the Panthers pulled out a 3-1 win to move into a threeway tie for second with Amherst and Williams heading into the final weekend of regular season play. Middlebury would handle Hamilton,6-1, before falling to the Lord Jeffs, 5-3, in a back and forth game.
When the dust settled on the NESCAC playoff scenario, Middlebury ended up in fifth and will travel to fourth seed Amherst on Saturday, February 23rd for a NESCAC Quarterfinal men's hockey game at 1 PM. Amherst and Middlebury tied at 24 points, but the Lord Jeffs win the tiebreaker by virtue of their season sweep over the Panthers.
High Point
Like the 2011-12 season, the 2012-13 campaign was very streaky. The 3-2 win at home over Trinity was the high point. Not only was it their fourth in a row, but it gave the Panthers sole possession of second place at the time and it occurred on Hockey Helpers weekend, when Middlebury wore special camouflage jerseys and raised money for the Wounded Warrior Project.
Low Point
The 7-1 loss to Plattsburgh. Sure it was a non-conference game, but it was to a team the Panthers had already beaten earlier in the year and it capped off a (1-6-0) stretch in which Middlebury only scored 12 goals in seven games.
MVP
Matt Silcoff (F, Fr.) Part of the large, talented incoming freshman class the Panthers relied on this year, Silcoff ended up the season tied for the team lead in goals and points (11-10-21), with twenty of those coming in conference games. The future looks bright for the rookie from Thornhill, Ontario.
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