MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Despite outshooting Middlebury, the Wesleyan men's ice hockey team lost to the Panthers on Saturday afternoon in Spurrier-Synder Rink, 4-1.

The Cardinals are now 10-9-1 overall on the year and 6-7-1 in the NESCAC. Middlebury scored three goals in the third period as it improved to 8-9-3 and 6-5-3.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

• For the first 10 minutes of the first period, Wesleyan was the aggressor offensively but couldn't capitalize.
• Roughly halfway through the first, the Panthers placed several shots on net during a power play opportunity, but the Cardinals' defense stepped up and killed their chance.
• Middlebury became the aggressor from that point forward and outshot Wesleyan 7-5 in the first 20 minutes but the teams would head into the first intermission in a scoreless tie.
• Wesleyan came out strong offensively to start the third period, firing several shots on goal, but nothing hit the back of the net.
• At the 13:32 mark, Jordan Rose's shot was saved but ricocheted to Quincy Gregg right in front of the goal, however his quick attempt went just right of the post.
• With 8:12 remaining on the clock, the Panthers got on the board when Alex Heinritz connected with a deflected shot and placed it into the bottom left post.
• Shortly after, the Cardinals nearly evened the score when Tyler Wyatt's attempt on a breakaway hit the top right post.
• With seconds remaining in the period, Wesleyan had another strong chance as Rose caught a pass in front of the net with only the Middlebury goalie to beat, but Brian Ketchabaw made the save as time expired.
• It didn't take long for the Panthers to add an insurance tally in the third. Less than two minutes into the period, Bret Pastor took a shot from inside the blue line that was saved by Tim Sestak. However, it bounced back to Brett Dineen who placed the puck in the top left corner.
• Just over seven minutes later, the Cardinals got on the board when Tyler Kobryn was in the right place at the right time as he corralled a rebound and found the back of the net.
• Despite several strong scoring chances in the third period, Wesleyan was unable to even the score as Ketchabaw was excellent between the posts.Middlebury tacked on two more goals in the third. With 8:23 remaining, Matt Danner scored off a rebound and with 4:04 on the clock, Emack Bentley wrapped around the goal and passed the puck to the top of the crease, finding an open Tyler Capello as he fired one into the top left corner.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Sestak made 23 saves and is now 10-8-1 on the year.
• Ketchabaw stopped 29 shots and improved to 5-1-0.
• Wesleyan held a slight 30-27 edge in shots.
• Both teams were 0-for-3 on power plays.

UP NEXT:

• Wesleyan returns to action on Friday, Feb. 14 as it heads to Maine to face Colby at 7 p.m.