NESCAC Quarterfinal: #7 Middlebury at #2 Amherst

Thanks to Colby assistant Chris Hall, who is helping us preview all four quarterfinals in his "Coach's Corner" section of each preview. Follow him on twitter @chall4431

Who: #7 Middlebury (10-11-3; 7-8-3 NESCAC) at #2 Amherst (18-4-2; 14-4-0 NESCAC )
Where: Orr Rink Amherst, MA
When: 1:00 PM Saturday 2/28/14
Video/Audio:  Northeast Sports Network   Live Stats     Middlebury Radio 
Previews:  Amherst


                                     Overall (Conference Rank)            Conference Games (conf. rank)
Offense: 2.25 G/GM (9th)                    Offense: 2.22 G/GM (7th)
Defense: 2.50 G/GM (5th)                    Defense: 2.56   G/GM (4th)            
Power Play: 19/84 - 22.6% (5th)         Power Play: 13/61 - 21.3% (5th)
Penalty Kill: 72/87 - 82.8% (4th)         Penalty Kill: 52/65 - 80% (7th)
Special Teams Net - +4 (5th)              Special Teams Net -  -1 (6th)

Overall  (Conference Rank)             Conference Games (conf. rank)
Offense: 3.46 G/GM (3rd)                   Offense: 3.72 G/GM (2nd)

Defense: 2.12 G/GM (2nd)                  Defense: 2.22 G/GM (2nd)

Power Play: 20/77 -26% (3rd)            Power Play: 15/53 - 28.3% (1st)

Penalty Kill: 78/92 - 84.8% (1st)        Penalty Kill: 58/71- 81.7% (4th)

Special Teams Net - +8 (4th)             Special Teams Net - +6 (4th)

The Lowdown 

This is uncharted territory for the Middlebury, the winningest program (8 NESCAC titles, 30-7 NESCAC playoff record) in the 'Cac. The Panthers finished fifth two years ago for their first ever road NESCAC Quarterfinals (against Amherst, no less) and now they enter the playoffs in the seventh seed. It's been a particularly weird season for the Panthers, who saw coach Bill Beaney win his D-III record 600th game as well as the Panthers defeating the then #2 and #3 teams in the country (Norwich and Plattsburgh) in non-conference play (Norwich is now #1). 

They'll face off against Amherst, who has two NESCAC titles of their own and a 12-13 record in the NESCAC postseason. The Lord Jeffs have finished first or second in the NESCAC three of the last four years. Amherst may have had the relative regular season success recently, but the Panthers own a 3-2 mark over the Jeffs in the playoffs, including the only Quarterfinals matchup between the two in 2013, when a fifth seed Panthers squad defeated Amherst 4-3. 

The Jeffs swept the season series against the Panthers, including blanking the navy blueshirts 4-0 at Amherst at last weekend. Earlier in December, Amherst won a more competitive 5-3 game in Vermont. The game was chronicled in The New England Hockey Journal episode on Middlebury hockey found here (game is from about 11:00 -15:00 in video). Stephen Klein (G, '18), who replaced Liam Moorfield-Yee (G, '16) in that game should start against Amherst, but with Beaney's propensity for shaking up the netminder situation, who knows?

Update Saturday morning: According to the radio voice of Middlebury hockey, Brian Gardner, Klein is out in net and senior Mike Peters is in.

@hockeyinthecac Word from the Panthers is that Stephen Klein was hurt in practice, will not go. SR G Mike Peters gets the nod in net
— Brian Gardner (@ImBrianGardner) February 28, 2015

@hockeyinthecac Peters was in net two years ago as a SOPH, 23 saves when Middlebury beat Amherst 4-3 in the quarterfinals in this building
— Brian Gardner (@ImBrianGardner) February 28, 2015

Coach's Corner with Chris Hall

Key Matchup: Middlebury’s speed vs Amherst’s physicality. One of the strongest teams in the league, Amherst likes to impose their will on their opponents with finished checks and heavy play. Middlebury will look to use their skating ability and depth to take advantage of Amherst’s short bench. The best wayto beat a physical team is to skate around and through the checks – look for this matchup to have a biginfluence on the outcome.

Tactical Analysis: A matchup of two strong forechecking teams. When the puck is dumped in, look for immediate pressure from the forechecking team with two forwards coming hard. The defense will also be active, looking to take away the walls and jam up the breakout. When they force turnovers, look for the forechecking team to jump onto the offense and quick strike. On the flip side, the ability of the team breaking out to execute clean passes under pressure will go a long way towards determining the outcome. 

Middlebury Wins If:... Puck protection and winning the crease battle will be key. Limiting Amherst’s

opportunities off of turnovers will keep them in check. On the offensive side, rebounds will be available and the Panthers must crash the net hard and bury second chance opportunities. Scoring the first goal will be important – Middlebury is 9-1-2 when scoring first and 1-10-1 when giving up the first marker.

Amherst Wins If...: They jump out to an early lead and never take their foot off the gas. Middlebury has had an up and down year with some big wins and unexpected losses. Amherst has beaten them twice, both games following a similar pattern. Early Amherst goal, second period domination by the Jeffs followed by a strong push by Midd in the third. A similar formula would move Amherst on to the Semifinals.

Players to watch 

Evan Neugold (F, '16) With their leading scorer (Jake Charles) out due to a DQ in the regular season finale against Hamilton, Middlebury will need Neugold to step up if they want to make it to Hartford (or wherever championship weekend will end up being). 

Danny Vitale (G, '15) The senior from suburban NY has done a solid job stepping in for reigning second team All-NESCAC goalie Dave Cunningham (G, '16), who has been out of the lineup since a season ending hip injury in a loss to Conn College on January 16th. Vitale enters the playoffs with the second best GAA (1.75) and the best save % (.942) among eligible goalies in NESCAC games.

It's been a funky season for the Panthers, but they'll try to make Amherst give up the funk for a trip to NESCAC championship weekend. Parliament's "Give Up the Funk"