Middlebury, Vt.—Seventh-ranked Middlebury College (3-0) defeated the SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey team 3-1 in a non-conference road battle Tuesday night. Sophomore forward Katie Komsa (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario/Sault Ste. Marie AA Midget) scored the lone goal for the Bears, and sophomore goaltender Jen Conophy was sharp in goal for Potsdam with 36 saves.

Conophy kept the Panthers off the board for much of first period with 14 saves, but Middlebury took advantage of their first power play late. Sara Ugalde scored off a rebound at the 17:27 mark to give the Panthers the 1-0 lead.

Middlebury’s Nora Bergman made it 2-0 less than four minutes into the second period, connecting on a shot from the slot. Conophy continued her strong play in the second period with another 13 saves, keeping the Bears in the game.

Madison Styrbicki scored a short-handed goal at the 3:04 mark of the third period to give Middlebury a three-goal advantage. Four minutes later Komsa buried her unassisted goal to close the gap to 3-1. As they have done all year, Potsdam never quit, but was unable to get any closer.

The Panthers outshot the Bears 39-17. Middlebury goaltender Laura Pinset finished with 16 saves.

Potsdam Head Coach Jay Green was impressed with Conophy’s performance.

“Jen Conophy was outstanding in goal,” said Green. She made some great saves in a game that easily could have been 5-1.”

Green also felt his team played well despite the loss.

“I’m extremely happy with the effort,” Green added. “We worked hard and our execution was improved. I could see our growth.”

The Bears (1-4) return to action on Dec. 3-4, when they travel to Oswego for two games against the Lakers.