1991-2001

In the early 1990’s, the Middlebury women’s ice hockey team established itself as a competitor in the ECAC East. In the 1991-1992 season, the team finished with a 11-6-1 record, with impressive wins over Williams, UVM, Hamilton, Bowdoin and the tie coming against Yale. Although the team did not qualify for ECAC postseason play, they ended their season on a high note, finishing with a win over the University of Vermont. In the 1992-1993 season, the team won another 11 games, lost 8 and tied one. In the 1993-1994 season, the women’s ice hockey team began, what was to be a successful season, 6-0. In the first two games played against rival Williams, Middlebury outscored the Ephs 16-0. As a January 1994 issue of the Middlebury Campus explained,

“Members of the Williams College women’s ice hockey team must have nightmares about prides of menacing Panthers crossing center ice with pucks on their sticks.”

The same could be said for several of the Panther’s opponents, as the team finished with 15 wins, a Middlebury women’s ice hockey record at the time. The team reached the ECAC tournament finals after beating Wesleyan, although they eventually fell to Boston College in the championship. The 1994-1995 lady Panthers looked to improve on the prior season but had a difficult ECAC schedule ahead of them. The team played several tough games against the likes of University of New Hampshire, Williams, Providence, and Brown, and concluded the season with a final record of 11-12-0.

In 1995-96, the women’s ice hockey team won its first ECAC Championship, beating the Rochester Institute of Technology (R.I.T.) in the finals, 5-0. The team finished undefeated against ECAC teams, with a final record of 19-6-0, using the phrase “One Step at a Time” to describe their stellar season. Jennifer Hefner ’97 was named ECAC Alliance Player of the Year.

In 1996-1997, the team won their second consecutive ECAC Championship and Hefner was named ECAC Alliance Player of the Year for the second season in a row. The next season, 1997-1998, the team achieved a “three-peat” and won yet another ECAC Alliance Championship, ending the season with a 22-4 record. In 1998-1999, the women’s ice hockey team captured one more ECAC Alliance Championship, with the team slogan being “Four is Fun”. The ’98-’99 team featured four First Team All-Americans: Catherine Pullins ’00, Sylvia Ryan ’00, Michelle Labbe ’01, and Catherine Elkins ’02. In addition, the 1998-99 through 2000-01 teams won the regular season conference titles.

In 1999, the hockey teams moved from playing in the Duke Nelson Arena to the new Chip Kenyon ’85 Arena. The arena seats 2,148 people and houses a 200′ by 95′ ice surface. The rink also features a press box, a lounge overlooking the mountains, and four coaches’ offices.

In the first season played at Kenyon Arena, ’99-’00, the women’s ice hockey team captured an ECAC Championship and also the first ever American Women’s College Hockey Alliance (AWCHA) Division III National Championship with an 8-1 win over Augsburg. The team also featured the 2000 ECAC and National Player of the Year, senior forward Sylvia Ryan. Pullins ’00, Ryan ’00, Labbe ’01, and Elkins ’02 were each named First Team All-Americans for a second consecutive year. 

In the following season, 2000-2001, the team dropped only one game in the season and won another ECAC Championship, along with a second consecutive AWCHA Division III National Championship with a 6-0 win over Gustavus Adolphus. In addition, senior forward Michelle Labbe was named National Player of the Year. 

The 2000-2001 season was the final season that the women’s ice hockey team competed in the ECAC East league. In 2001-2002, the team joined the NESCAC, the New England Small College Athletic Conference.

 Next: Middlebury Women’s Ice Hockey 2001 – Present

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