Middlebury's Sophia Meregeras (29) with the save on the Elmira shooter as part of a 23 save night. It would be the second game of the 2022 Buster's Cardinal/Panther Classic and it would feature the top ranked Middlebury Panthers and the #4 Elmira Soaring with the winner advancing to the championship tomorrow to take on the upset minded #6 Wisconsin River Falls. The game would start off good for the #1 team in the country as they would get the opening goal of the game at the 12:45 mark of the first period as Britt Nawrocki would light the lamp at the 12:45 mark of the first period and give the Panthers the 1-0 lead. That is where the game would stay till the 4:24 mark of the second period when Panthers would strike on the powerplay and give them the 2-0 lead on Britt Nawrocki's second goal of the game. The Soaring Eagles would keep fighting though and they would eventually get on the board at the 5:08 mark of the third period and make it a one goal game again on the Elizabeth Lepage goal. Although the one goal lead would be short lived as the Panthers would regain the two goal lead at 3-1 at the 8:09 mark by Maddie Bayard. From there the Panthers defense would hold the Eagles in check and give them there first lose of the season. In the winning effort Sophia Meregeas would make 23 saves as they advance to the finals and will take on the #6 Wisconson River Falls Falcons to be crowned the 2022 Busters Cardinal/Panthers Classic champion. Gallery

Elmira's Leonie Kuehberger (1) with the pad save on the scramble in front of the net as part of a 27 night. Gallery

The Middlebury College women's ice hockey team celebrates an overtime game-winner in the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey National Championship. The Middlebury College women's ice hockey team made history Saturday, defeating Gustavus Adolphus College 3-2 in overtime of the NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey National Championship at Chip Kenyon Arena in Middlebury, Vermont.
The win capped off the first-ever perfect season in Division III women's ice hockey, and the first unbeaten season since Plattsburgh's 2007 run.
The hosts got on the board in style in the first period with a short-handed goal at 13:44, as the Panthers were on the second of back-to-back penalty kills.
Junior forward Jenna Letterie extended her stick to break up a pass to the far point off a faceoff won by the Golden Gusties and followed the puck into the neutral zone to set herself on the breakaway. Junior goaltender Katie McCoy appeared to make the save, but the puck trickled through the five-hole for the goal.
Gustavus Adolphus was able to draw level on a power play at 12:30 in the second period. Freshman forward Kaitlyn Holland passed the puck to Junior forward Emily Olson below the goal line. Olson patiently waited a second behind the goal before finding Junior forward Clara Billings in the slot for the one-time shot inside the far post.
Middlebury regained the with under three minutes remaining in the third period. Letterie forced a turnover in the neutral zone that set up senior forward Katie Hargrave for a shot from the high slot. McCoy made the save, but senior captain Madie Leidt got to the rebound on the blocker side first and shot it on the backhand for the go-ahead goal.
With Gustavus Adolphus on the power play late in the game, a video review of the time on the clock at 16 seconds resulted in an additional 2 seconds on the clock that would prove to be crucial.
After the Golden Gusties put a flurry of shots on Middlebury goaltender Sophia Merageas at the end of the period, the clock hit zero and the Panthers began their celebrations, but a lengthy video review showed that a backhanded rebound shot by junior forward Molly McHugh crossed the line with 0.1 seconds on the clock, sending the teams to overtime.
Intense overtime in which both teams had several scoring chances, Middlebury senior forward Ellie Barney put the game away at 13:17 of the extra period. Junior defenseman Eva Henrikson found Barney with a stretch pass out of the defensive end, and although McCoy stopped the initial shot, Barney put away her own rebound to season the championship.
Merageas stopped 29 of the 31 shots she faced in the win, while McCoy saved 25 of 28 shots in the loss.
With the win, the Panthers completed a perfect 27-0-0 season with a National Championship, while the runner-up Gustavus Adolphus finished at 25-4-2. Gallery

Middlebury junior Caroline Cutter ties up with Gustavus Adolphus senior Jamie Byrne on a faceoff. Gallery

Middlebury captain Madie Leidt celebrates scoring the eventual game-winning goal late in the third period of the NCAA Division III national championship game. The top-ranked Middlebury College women’s ice hockey team got one step closer to its first national championship since 2006 with a 3-2 semifinal victory over Elmira College Saturday at Chip Kenyon Arena in Middlebury, Vermont.
A game featuring two of the top three defenses in the nation unsurprisingly went through the first period without a goal, as the teams exchanged scoring chances early.
The scoring began at 8:10 of the second period as Middlebury sophomore forward Cat Appleyard got the hosts on the board with a power-play goal.
Junior forward Jenna Letterie passed the puck from the top of the right faceoff circle to Senior forward Katie Hargrave at the goal line. Hargrave took one touch on the puck to find Appleyard at the right hash marks before Appleyard sent the one-timer on the net for the goal.
Middlebury College players and fans celebrate the eventual game-winning goal in the third period of the NCAA Division III national championship game. The visitors got back even just 1:01 later on the game clock, however.
Senior forward Morgan Mordini beat two Panthers to the puck in the right corner before sending a centering pass toward the slot. The puck took a slight deflection off the skate of graduate forward Emma Crocker before finding senior forward Eliza Beaudin in the low right circle, where Beaudin sent a low-angle shot to sneak in just below the glove of Middlebury freshman goaltender Sophia Merageas.
The Panthers regained the lead at 12:44 of the second period with a goal from freshman forward Kylie Quinlan. Freshman forward Raia Schluter corralled the puck along the left half-board and passed it to fellow freshman Molly Macqueen in the corner, who found Quinlan in the slot. Quinlan beat Elmira goaltender Leonie-Louise Kuehberger with a toe drag to get around the left pad.
Middlebury gained the crucial insurance goal at 8:13 of the third period with a goal from senior captain Madie Leidt. Letterie controlled the puck bouncing off the back of the goal before finding Leidt in the slot of the one-timer.
Elmira managed to get some offensive pressure late in the third, cutting the deficit in half at 15:46. After an icing call, Elmira senior forward Mary McCafferty won the defensive-zone faceoff, and freshman forward Erika Goleniak chipped the puck up the boards to herself into the offensive zone on the right-wing. Gollnick beat the Middlebury defenseman with a pass to junior forward Holley Riva in the slot, who buried the puck behind Merageas.
The Soaring Eagles were unable to complete the comeback.
Kuehberger made 29 saves in the 3-2 loss for Elmira, while Merageas stopped 16 of the 18 shots she faced in the Middlebury goal.
With the win, Middlebury advanced to Saturday’s Division III Women’s Ice Hockey National Championship Game against Gustavus Adolphus, while Elmira fell to the third-place game against Plattsburgh. Gallery

Middlebury freshman forward Jordan Hower carries the puck through the neutral zone after skating past Elmira forward Claire Elfring. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Mitchell Hale (26) taps in the puck that makes it way through the Middlebury goalie. It would be the classic rivalry revisited again as the Plattsburgh State Cardinals would host the Middlebury Panthers in non-conference action. It would be a very fast-paced game that would have its moments of roughness. The teams would be even through the first period and no one would be able to light the lamp. The opening goal of the game would come at the 12:10 mark of the second period when Middlebury's Wyatt Pastor would break the seal on the powerplay for the 1-0 lead. The game would stay there until the 3:03 mark of the third period when the Cardinals would tie the game at one thanks to Trey Thomas. Then just about four minutes later the Panthers would regain the lead at 2-1 thanks to the Paul Fine-Lease goal. Then at the 9:35 mark of the third Mitchell Halle with help from Jagger Benson and Pavel Kharin would tie the game at two. Although once again the Panthers would take the lead 3-2 just a minute later on Andrej Hromic's goal. But the Cardinals wouldn't go quietly into the night as they would tie the game for the third time on Trey Thomas's goal with just over five minutes left in the game. That is where the game would stay after that and overtime as the Cardinals go to 8-5-3 and the Panthers to 1-7-1 on the season. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Luk Jirousek (29) and Middlebury's Zach Milton (26) battle for the loose puck as it slides through the slot area for control. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Kyle Cary (21) with the hook shoot as he crosses through the paint as he had six points on the night. It would be the last game before the winter break as the Plattsburgh State Cardinals would host the Middlebury Panthers in front of just over 200 -fans. The first half would not go the way the home Cardinals were hoping for as they would be trailing the Panthers 47-34. In the second half, the Cardinals would do their best to try and keep it close but the Panthers would just do too much on this day as they would win the half 35-27 and secure the 82-61 for the Panthers. In a losing effort for the Cardinals, Kevin Tabb would have a team night 11 points as they would fall to 1-8 on the season with the next tilt after the New Year against the Clarkson Golden Knights. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Joe Cassiano with the jumper over the Middlebury defender from the mid-range. Gallery