Top-ranked Middlebury scored a pair of third-period goals to seal a 5-3 victory over visiting Amherst Saturday afternoon, improving to 17-1-1 for the season. Kevin Cooper netted a pair of goals for Middlebury, while co-captain Greg Carr tallied a pair of goals and an assist for Amherst.
Middlebury took an early lead when Matt Dunn picked up a rebound and fired it into the net. The Panthers made it a 2-0 lead going into the second period after a goal from Cooper, and quickly made it 3-0 on a goal by J.F. Duchesne on a wrister 1:59 into the second.
The Jeffs stormed back, taking advantage of a 5-on-3 opportunity for a Carr goal. Just over a minute later, senior forward Bob Miele scored on the power play to close the gap to one. Trailing a two-on-one break, first-year defender Nick Harper took a slapshot from the blue line, which Carr tipped in to even the score at 3-3.
But the Panthers regained control as Middlebury forward Patrick Nugent tallied 8:35 into the third period, and Cooper scored his second goal of the contest moments later, giving the hosts a 5-3 victory.
Christian Carlsson made 15 saves in net for Middlebury, while Jeff junior goaltender Justin Jagher finished with 31 as Amherst dropped to 4-11-5 on the year.