Paced by Scott Goldman’s hat trick, Middlebury opened up the 2000-01 season with an 8-0 win over New England College.
The Panthers, who took to the ice with eight rookies in the lineup on opening night, opened the scoring 4:32 into the game when freshman Adam Foote put home a rebound from the slot after a shot from Scot Curtin. The Panthers made it a 2-0 game when David Greiner backhanded a shot to the top right corner from the slot area with 5:19 left in the second period.
Middlebury took a 3-0 lead in the second period when captains got together for a power-play goal. Matt Skoglund’s shot from the outside was saved before Goldman pounced on the rebound for the tally. The Panthers struck again with a similar goal just 6:31 later as Goldman again put in a rebound for a power-play goal after a shot from Skoglund.
Middlebury improved its lead to 5-0 when Scot Curtin tipped home a shot from Matt Dunn midway through the second period. Andrew Helming and Ryan Constantine added second-period goals to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead after two.
In the third period, Goldman notched a power-play goal for the hat trick 5:44 into the period.
Christian Carlsson made 21 saves in goal for his second career shutout, while Ryan Thompson made 26 saves for N.E.C. Goldman ended the night with three goals and two assists, while Skoglund dished out three assists.
