NESCAC 2025-2026: Don't Call it a Comeback

[neumyer]

Oof. A tough weekend for the Panthers, indeed.

Caught a bit of the Wesleyan game, thought Middlebury was competitive but just fell too far behind and couldn't keep up. Any perspective on the Trinity game from others?

Hamilton continues to roll, clearly the class of the NESCAC. Bowdoin hit a stumbling block, will be interesting to see how they adjust. Trinity is buried down in the standings but the quality is starting to show through after a terrible start. They may not climb all the way up the standings, but no one will want to face them late in the season, I expect.

I felt let down midway through the Trinity game when Midd was being shut out. I was glad to see they hung in there and had a decent 3rd period. I was expecting to see a win against Wesleyan and when the same scenario that they had experienced with Trinity began to play out I was once again disappointed, but they continued to play and had some success as the game moved on. This says something about the grit of this team since they could have thrown in the towel. Despite frustrations, they played on and made a statement that they will not give in when the ice is tilted against them. This is a young team and I hope that attitude will pay dividends as the season moves on.

 

[jerrynu26]

I felt let down midway through the Trinity game when Midd was being shut out. I was glad to see they hung in there and had a decent 3rd period. I was expecting to see a win against Wesleyan and when the same scenario that they had experienced with Trinity began to play out I was once again disappointed, but they continued to play and had some success as the game moved on. This says something about the grit of this team since they could have thrown in the towel. Despite frustrations, they played on and made a statement that they will not give in when the ice is tilted against them. This is a young team and I hope that attitude will pay dividends as the season moves on.

Looking forward to Tuesday the 20th to see how both teams are going since Layer 8 tie.

 

[neumyer]

That should be a huge barometer of the direction both Midd and Norwich are heading in this season.

 

[neumyer]

The game against Williams over the weekend was a positive, but not across the board. I was disappointed when Midd took an early penalty and gave up a quick goal. Scoring a quick equalizer and then three more unanswered solved that problem. Midd was out shot by a fairly large margin and they had trouble getting shots on net while on the power play. Both these things need to be improved upon. Still, despite fewer shots Midd was able to finish, something Williams had difficulty doing. A lot of credit should be given to Andrew Heinze who turned aside 37 of 39 shots.

Let’s see how they do tonight at Norwich. A win or a tie would at least indicate that they have progressed as much as the Cadets have since their earlier game at Thanksgiving.

 

[tjoneslo]

Go Midd. A 3-2 win in a game with 13 penalties between the two teams.

 

[neumyer]

Well, the Panthers won the game, but I can't say whether they played well or not. It was on FLO so all I saw were the live stats. It is kind of hard to make a judgement when that is your only exposure. Looking at the stats, though, they must have prevailed on some important faceoffs because they won the majority of them. That helps! Like the WIlliams game they surrendered the first goal and then scored 3 unanswered goals. Unfortunately they let Norwich right back within one goal by giving one up quickly after gaining the two goal advantage. Midd committed a lot of penalties, but were able to kill off 5 out of 6. The Cadets committed even more penalties, seven, and allowed 2 PP goals so neither team did a good job of staying out of the penalty box, Midd was out shot 39/22, but Sullivan turned aside 37 of them. I was surprised that Heinze wasn't in net, but Conor did a great job. They have a good tandem in goal. Midd has apparently kept pace with their instate neighbor since they followed up their tie in November with a close win.

Bowdoin and Colby at home this weekend will be a tough challenge,

 

[tjoneslo]

This weekend with Bowdoin and Colby will be huge for the Panthers, and Williams as they are trailing just behind in the standings.

The other match-up I'm looking forward to seeing the outcome of is the Trinity hosting Conn College / Tufts. It will be interesting to see if a healthy Bantams squad is better than their start of the season.

 

[neumyer]

This weekend with Bowdoin and Colby will be huge for the Panthers, and Williams as they are trailing just behind in the standings.

The other match-up I'm looking forward to seeing the outcome of is the Trinity hosting Conn College / Tufts. It will be interesting to see if a healthy Bantams squad is better than their start of the season.

The Panthers had a so-so weekend with their come from behind win against Bowdoin. Midd’s win streak came to an end the next day against Colby. They got themselves on the short end against the Mules, but clawed back to within one goal. That was as close as it would get. They were outshot in both games. I don’t want to get greedy, but with the split, it sure would be nice to get two wins on the road against Tufts and Conn this weekend. It’s doable with great goaltending, but will be tough. I can just taste those 6 points in the standings. It is getting near the end and every point is important.

 

[eddieshack23]

The Panthers had a so-so weekend with their come from behind win against Bowdoin. Midd’s win streak came to an end the next day against Colby. They got themselves on the short end against the Mules, but clawed back to within one goal. That was as close as it would get. They were outshot in both games. I don’t want to get greedy, but with the split, it sure would be nice to get two wins on the road against Tufts and Conn this weekend. It’s doable with great goaltending, but will be tough. I can just taste those 6 points in the standings. It is getting near the end and every point is important.

Trinity is on the road vs. Amherst & Hamilton