HADLEY, Mass. - Middlebury College, the two-time defending NESCAC Women's Ice Hockey Champions, will host the final rounds of the 2007 NESCAC Women's Ice Hockey Championship this weekend at Kenyon Arena in Middlebury, Vt. The semifinals kick off on Saturday, March 3 with top-seeded Middlebury matching up with fourth-seeded Hamilton at 1:00 p.m., followed shortly afterwards by second-seed Bowdoin taking on third-seed Amherst at 4:00 p.m. The 2007 NESCAC Women's Ice Hockey Championship concludes with the final on Sunday, March 4 at 1:00 p.m. Tickets for Saturday's semifinals and Sunday's championship are $5 for adults and $2 for children and students.

Middlebury (20-2-2, 14-0-2 NESCAC) locked up the number-one seed in this year's tournament with a week remaining in the regular season. The Panthers, who have won four NESCAC Women's Ice Hockey titles overall, went wire-to-wire in the standings for the second year in a row with the only blemishes coming at the hands of Wesleyan on Jan. 12 and Amherst on Feb. 9, both ties. The Panthers only two losses this season occurred at the hands of rival Plattsburgh St., falling at the start of the season on the road 4-2 before closing out the regular season with a make-up contest at home that the Cardinals took in overtime, 5-4. Middlebury leads the conference in most statistical categories, sporting an offense that averages 4.12 goals while defensively allowing 1.38 per game, both league bests. Special teams are also a strong point for the Panthers, as the opportunistic penalty kill ranks first with a 90.7-percent kill rate and five shorthanded goals forced, while the power-play is second among conference teams with a conversion rate of 21.5-percent. While senior forward Abby Kurtz-Phelan (Denver, Colo.) has only played in 18 games this season, she leads her team in scoring and ranks second in the NESCAC with 13 goals and 19 assists for 32 points, scoring 23 of her 32 points over the last 10 games (7-16-23). Senior Shannon Sylvester (Randolph, N.J.) and sophomore Annmarie Cellino (W. Seneca, N.Y.) share the Panthers' goal-scoring lead with Kurtz-Phelan, with all three sitting atop the Middlebury stat sheet. Junior Angie Todd (Kent, Wash.) and first year Lani Wright (Reading, Mass.) have shared time in the crease this season, as Todd holds a 8-1-2 record, a 1.02 goals against average and .942 save percentage this season while Wright is 11-1-0 with a 1.77 goals against and .912 save percentage.

Fourth-seeded Hamilton (10-13-2, 7-8-1 NESCAC) needed overtime to get past Colby 4-3 in the first round last Saturday, getting the game-winning goal in the extra session after allowing the game-tying marker with four seconds remaining in regulation. The Continentals return to the semifinals this weekend for the third time in four years after missing out last year, and Saturday's showdown with the Panthers will be the first meeting between the two teams in playoff history. Middlebury won both meetings this year, taking the first match 4-3 in the conference opener for both teams on Nov. 25 in Clinton, N.Y. and closing out the regular season with a 7-1 win on Feb. 17. Statistically, Hamilton ranks fifth in scoring offense with 2.56 goals per game while placing sixth in defense, allowing 3.24 goals. The Continentals have one of the top penalty killing units in the NESCAC this season, as the Continentals' 86.7-percent kill rate is second only to Middlebury. Rookie phenom forward Lauren Tomford (Avon, Conn.) leads both her team and all first year skaters in the NESCAC in scoring with 15-12-27, tallying five game-winners, including Saturday's overtime goal against Colby, and three power-play goals.

Second-seed Bowdoin (17-6-2, 11-3-2 NESCAC) moved into this year's semifinal with a first round victory over Trinity, 3-1. The Polar Bears, the only team besides Middlebury to have won the NESCAC Championship (2002, 2004), are riding a four-game winning streak and have won eight of their last nine outings, the only loss coming in overtime at the hands of NESCAC rival Colby on Feb. 7. Bowdoin's other two league losses this season came against Middlebury, a 1-4 setback on Jan. 6 in Brunswick, Maine and a 5-4 overtime loss on Jan. 26 in Middlebury. Bowdoin ranks second in the NESCAC in offense, averaging 3.92 goals per game, while the Polar Bears' defense is third, allowing 2.44 goals. Senior forward Meghan Gillis (Whycocomagh, Nova Scotia) sits atop the conference scoring list this season with 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points through 25 games, with her 15 tallies putting her in a five-way tie for first in goals among league players this season. Gillis, the 2004 NESCAC Rookie of the Year and a two-time All-Conference honoree, is currently third in all-time scoring at Bowdoin with 76-78-154 through 104 career appearances.

Third-seed Amherst (17-5-3, 10-3-3 NESCAC) makes its first appearance ever in the conference semifinals after a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over NESCAC rival Williams during Saturday's first round action. The Jeffs are in the midst of a record-setting season, as their 17 wins shattered the previous high of 13 set during the 2003-04 campaign and their third place finish in the standings at the end of the regular season is the best in program history. Amherst enters the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the league, going 13-1-3 since the start of 2007, the lone loss coming in non-conference action at Utica on Jan. 28 as part of a three-game road weekend. If the Jeffs are to advance to the conference championship game they will need to accomplish another first in program history: a win over Bowdoin, which holds an all-time advantage of 22-0-1 over Amherst. The Polar Bears took the first meeting of the season 8-5 on Nov. 18 in Amherst before having to mount a three-goal comeback with three minutes remaining in regulation during the second meeting on Jan. 19 in Brunswick to forge a 3-3 tie with the Jeffs. Statistically, Amherst ranks third in offense with an average 3.72 goals scored per game while allowing 1.88, second only to Middlebury. The power-play has been quite effective this year for the Jeffs, clicking at a conference-best 23.2-percent. The sophomore trio of Tarasai Karega (Detroit, Mich.), Anna MacLean (Edina, Minn.) and Lindsey Harrington (Westford, Mass.) lead Amherst in scoring this season. Karega, who is third in the NESCAC in points, leads with 15-16-31 with seven power-play and seven game-winning goals. MacLean is second with 29 points on 13 goals and 16 assists, and Harrington follows closely in third with 15-13-28. First year goaltender Krystyn Elek (Summerville, S.C.) has had an impressive start to her career this season, as she ranks among the top three conference netminders in goals against average (1.68; 2nd), save percentage (.934; 3rd) and win percentage (12-4-3, .711; 3rd). Saturday's semifinal matchup will be only the second in tournament history, as the two squads met during the first round of the inaugural championship in 2002 with Bowdoin skating away with a 4-0 victory.

2007 NESCAC WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP
First Round - Saturday, Feb. 24 at Higher Seeds
at No. 2 Bowdoin 3, No. 7 Trinity 1
at No. 3 Amherst 3, No. 6 Williams 2 - OT
at No. 4 Hamilton 4, No. 5 Colby 3 - OT

Semifinals - Saturday, March 3 at Middlebury
No. 4 Hamilton at No. 1 Middlebury - 1:00 p.m.
No. 3 Amherst vs. No. 2 Bowdoin - 4:00 p.m.

Championship - Sunday, March 4 at Middlebury
Semifinal winners - 1:00 p.m.