MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Leading 3-2 late in the third period and on the cusp of a signature win over the defending national champions, the Wesleyan women's hockey team saw the Panthers tie the score with 2:42 remaining and go on to net the game-winner 22 seconds into overtime as No. 8 ranked Middlebury escaped with the 4-3 victory.
 
The Cardinals (9-9-1, 3-8 NESCAC) gave the Panthers (11-5-2, 7-3-1 NESCAC) everything they could handle, as the three goals are the most Wesleyan has scored against Middlebury since 1994. This also represents the second time in three games that the Cardinals have played the Panthers to a tie at the end of regulation.
 
Wesleyan tallied the lone goal of the first period, as Caroline Mezias '25 snuck a back-handed wrister past Middlebury goalie Sophia Merageas for the 1-0 lead. The Cardinals took the 1-0 lead into the first intermission, with Wesleyan blocking all eight shots in the period's final three minutes.
 
Middlebury knotted the score at the 7:34 mark of the second period. Cycling the puck around the zone, Maddie Bayard tapped in the loose puck on the doorstep.
 
Jenna Stevens '24 restored the Wesleyan lead, taking advantage of a power play with just over four minutes left in the period. Christina Tournas '25 fed a pass to Stevens who one-timed the puck into the left side of the net.
 
Back and forth the two teams went as the Panthers leveled the game three minutes later, utilizing an extra skater following a Cardinal penalty. Sabrina Kim gathered a bouncing puck between the circles, lifting a wrister over the shoulder of Rei Halloran '23.
 
Wesleyan once again took the lead, this time late in the third as Aimee Seppenwolde '26 fired a laser off a faceoff win by Jenna Rekoske '24. Seppenwolde's shot from the point made it through all sorts of traffic in front of net as Cardinals led in the closing minutes.
 
Middlebury, however, battled back once again, scoring on a power play for the second time with Britt Nawrocki muscling the puck into the net right in front of the crease to tie the contest at 3-3 with 2:42 left in regulation.
 
The Panthers nearly scored the game-winner with 1:10 left in the third, as Eva Hendrikson's blast from the point trickled through the legs of Halloran before the Cardinal netminder laid on the loose puck to keep it from crossing the goal line.
 
Skating 3-on-3 in the extra session, Middlebury won the opening faceoff and collected the puck in the defensive zone before pushing forward on a 2-on-1 break. Kim sent a cross-ice pass to the stick of Letterie, who one-timed the puck into the net just 22 seconds into the frame for the final 4-3 score.
 
Halloran made 34 saves in net, giving up just one 5-on-5 goal against the Top 10 ranked Panthers. Mezias, Stevens, and Seppenwolde each scored their second goals of the season. Christina Tournas' assist is her sixth of the season, giving her a team-leading nine points in 18 games.
 
Wesleyan looks to rebound against the Panthers tomorrow at 3 PM.