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Middlebury Overpowers Grove City 12-7 in Division III Club Championship Seventh Place Game
BRUNSWICK, Maine -- Patrick Burton (Sr., Oak Park, Ill.) scored seven goals to earn Player of the Game honors as the Middlebury College Panthers built a 9-0 lead in first half and never looked back in knocking off Grove City College 12-7 in the seventh place game at the 2009 Men's Division III National Collegiate Club Championship at Bowdoin College.
Middlebury never trailed in the game running out to a 5-0 lead in the inaugural 6:26 of the first period behind a hat-trick by Burton and a pair of scores by Andre Keiser (So., Palo Alto, Calif.) before Grove City's Lincoln Larsen (Sr., Federal Way, Wash.) shattered the shutout bid with a marker with 14 seconds left in the period.
The offensive onslaught continued in the second period as the Panthers racked up four more goals, including three by Burton, to carry an eight goal lead into halftime.
For Grove City, the deficit was too much to overcome as Middlebury continued to pour on the offensive firepower adding two scores in the third period and one in the fourth frame to lead by as many as 10 goals at one point.
Larsen led the way for the Wolverines finishing with a hat-trick, while four other Grove City players added solo scores, as the team finishes eighth in the 2009 tournament following fourth (2007) and sixth (2006) place marks in Grove City's two prior Division III National Tournament appearances.
In cage, Matt Green (Sr., Avon, N.Y.) made six saves for the Wolverines. Erik Shaw (So., La Canada, Calif.) and Ben Weinberg (So., Greenwich, Conn.) combined for 12 saves in the winning effort for Middlebury.
For Middlebury, which made its first appearance at the Division III Tournament since claiming the 2003 title the last time Bowdoin College hosted the championship, the seventh place finish continues an upward swing by the Panthers. A three-time participant at the 16-team National Collegiate Club Championship, the Panthers placed eighth (2007), 11th (2005) and 12th (2004) in their previous postseason appearances since last appearing at DIII Nationals.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -- | Final | |
| Middlebury College | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | -- | 12 |
| Grove City College | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | -- | 7 |
Grove City Goals: Lincoln Larsen (3); Seth Shaheen; Ryan Andersen; Collin Foster; Bennett Keefer
Middlebury Goals: Patrick Burton (7); Andrew Keiser (3); Andy Collins; Peter DiPrinzo
Saves: Grove City - Matt Green (6) ; Middlebury - Erik Shaw (8), Ben Weinberg (4)
Exclusions: Grove City - 0 ; Middlebury - 3
Advantage Opportunities: Grove City - 2-of-3; Middlebury - 0-of-0
