Two years later, Endicott finally gets its shot at Middlebury

Mar. 11—Almost two years to the day from it was originally supposed to happen, the Endicott College women's hockey team gets its crack at an NCAA tournament game at Middlebury.

The No. 8 ranked Gulls will face the undefeated, No. 1 seed Panthers Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Division 3 national quarterfinals. There's a bit of deja vu going around since Endicott was supposed to face Middlebury on the road to open the NCAA playoffs in March of 2020, but days before their bus was due to depart Beverly the tournament was canceled as COVID-19 broke out across the country.

"We felt ready to go and we were all pretty devastated when that we couldn't prove ourselves in that tournament," said senior forward Courtney Sullivan.

A lot has changed in those two years and not many players remain on either team, but the excellence of the programs hasn't shifted at all. Endicott (19-4-1) won its third consecutive conference championship and will be making its second NCAA appearance seeking its first win. Middlebury, meanwhile, is a spotless 24-0 this year and once again sports an iron curtain of a defense.

Goalie Sophia Meragaes allows only 0.82 goals per game (second in the country) with a .958 save percentage and five shutouts. The Panthers are first nationally in team defense at 0.67 goals per game and held Endicott to one goal in two meetings this season (both 2-1 Middlebury wins, one of which went to overtime).

Up front, the Gulls are a deep and diverse group. They don't have a point-per-game scorer but boast nine skaters with at least ten points. Sullivan (15 goals) and classmate Jacy Kuhlman (12) have hit double digits in goals and Endicott has some solid puck movers in the back end with junior Mady Hentosh of Peabody (12 assists) and sophomore Jess Burwell (11).

"You look at our stats and its a team effort every night," said head coach Andy McPhee, who sports a 125-28-12 record at Endicott. "You never know who might put the puck in the net but everybody works hard and gets chances. That makes us hard to play against."

The Gulls did knock off the No. 1 team in the nation when they beat Plattsburgh in overtime on November 27. They lost to Middlebury the next night and the Panthers have been ranked No. 1 in the national polls every week since.

"Go back to that Thanksgiving weekend in New York and it was a real boost to everyone's confidence. We showed that we can play with a whole bunch of people," said McPhee, whose team has four senior leaders in Sullivan, Kuhlman, Tabitha Franceschini and Meaghan Francis.

"Our seniors have a lot for us. They set the tone in practice, in the weigh room, with community service ... it's just a great group. We have a big roster and they keep everyone positive, keep the spirits up. They're a real good group of leaders."

It's a role the foursome grew into over the years. They were sophomore contributors on the Gulls' dominant title team of 2020 and had their junior seasons limited to six games (all wins) by the ongoing pandemic. Coming in for a relatively normal year as seniors presented a challenge but they embraced it and excelled.

"I think for the me the biggest thing was confidence ... making that jump to becoming an impact player," Franceschini said. "As a team, we're all so close. It's like a family and I couldn't ask for a better group of people."

Similar to Middlebury, Endicott thrives on its defense. The Gulls are eighth nationally in team defense (1.24 goals per game) and junior Michaela O'Brien had a 1.34 goals against with a .947 save percentage.

"She's been a rock for us," Franceschini said of O'Brien. "We're a team that always worries about defense first and we have a lot of confidence in our D-zone play and our goalies. We know if we can put some pucks in the net our defense will be great."

The winner of the Endicott/Middlebury bout faces the winner of Nazareth and Elmira at the D3 women's Frozen Four. On the other side, Colby College (with Ipswich native McKinley Karpa has its third leading scorer) faces Plattsburgh and Wisconsin River-Falls matches up with Gustavus Adolphus.

A relatively young program that played its first varsity season only seven years ago, Endicott will try to make a dent on the national scene by staying true to itself.

"Overall we just want to be hard to play against," said McPhee. "Each year has its own unique blend. It's a mentality of working hard and every team trying to build on the legacy established behind them. Keep building and building."