One way to ensure victory in hockey is to ride the momentum of a hot goalie.

Middlebury took that adage to the extreme after goalie Doug Raeder posted a shutout to lead the Panthers to a 3-0 win over St. Norbert in the finals of the Division III Men’s Ice Hockey Championship in Elmira, New York, March 19.

The victory gives Middlebury its third consecutive national title and eighth overall in the last 12 years. In the last four NCAA final appearances, the Panthers have shut out their opponent — a scoreless streak of 265 minutes and 57 seconds.

Raeder stopped all 22 shots he faced against St. Norbert, which went 0-for-4 on power plays as well.

The Panthers scored in each period of the championship game, receiving goals from Robert MacIntyre, John Sales and Mickey Gilchrist.

MacIntyre opened the scoring just 1:36 into the game with a power-play goal. He scored his third goal of the season after St. Norbert goalie Kyle Jones stopped a shot by Gilchrist. MacIntyre, who was standing at the left side of the net, put in the rebound.

Sales made it 2-0 at 7:15 of the second period, scoring shortly after a power play had expired.

Darwin Hunt received an assist on the play after coming from behind the net to find an open Sales near the top of the crease.

Gilchrist added an empty-netter with 45 seconds left in the game to seal the victory and put an exclamation point on a 31-5-2 season.

St. Norbert ended its season 25-5-2. The Golden Knights outshot Middlebury, 22-21, in the game but couldn’t get the puck past Raeder, who registered his second shutout of the season.

St. Norbert goalie Kyle Jones made 18 saves.

First round

Wis.-Superior 2, St. Olaf 1; Mass.-Dartmouth 8, Geneseo St. 2.

Quarterfinals

St. Norbert 8, Wis.-Superior 2; Hobart 3, Norwich 1; Elmira 2, Manhattanville 1 (2 ot); Middlebury 3, Mass.-Dartmouth 1.

Semifinals

St. Norbert 5, Hobart 4 (ot)

 Hobart      3      0      1      0 — 4

 St. Norbert        1      2      1      1 — 5

First period: SN — Kurtis Peterson (Marc Belanger, Jeff Hazelwood,) 8:51; H — Jonathan Swift (Shawn Houde), 16:02; H — Mike McCarthy (unassisted), 17:03; H — Will Bodine (Will Brame), 18:37 (pp).

Penalties: H — Edward Brzek (tripping) 1:58; Will Bodine (holding) 4:29. SN — Troy Boisjoli (holding) 12:18; James Switzer (cross-checking) 18:33; Kurtis Peterson (tripping)19:56.

Second period: SN — Ryan Peterson (Lonny Forrester, Sheldon Wing), 4:47; SN — Connor Hughes (Spencer Carbery, Steven Sleep), 14:42.

Penalties: H —  Will Brame (holding) 9:13. SN — Connor Hughes (hooking) 6:59.

Third period: SN — Jeff Hazelwood (Connor Hughes, Troy Boisjoli), 2:59 (pp); H — Jonathan Swift (Conor Bradley), 7:18.

Penalties: H — Jonathan Swift (hooking) 2:23; Will Bodine (hooking) 17:39. SN —  Jeff Hazelwood (hooking) 8:51; Lonny Forrester (minor penalty) 17:39.

Overtime: SN — Connor Hughes (unassisted), 9:27.

Saves: Keith Longo (Hobart) 38; Kyle Jones (St. Norbert) 23.

Middlebury 2, Elmira 1

Middlebury 0      1      1 —  2

Elmira        0      1      1 —  1

First period: No scoring.

Penalties: E — Andrew Morris (obstruction) 6:51; Mark Mazzetti (hitting from behind) 18:27.

Second period: E — Mark Mazzetti (Tyler Cann, Dave McKenna), 4:00 (pp); M — John Sales (Brett Shirreffs, Darwin Hunt), 14:42.                

Penalties: M — Jamie McKenna (tripping) :29; Jeff Smith (obstruction) 2:40; Samuel Driver (elbowing) 5:13; Samuel Driver (roughing) 15:22. E — Randy Campolini (minor penalty) 7:55; Rick D’Elia (hitting from behind) 12:40; Ryan Arnone (roughing) 15:22; Tyler Cann (holding) 17:18; Ashton McLean (cross-checking) 19:59.

Third period: M — Tom Maldonado (Mickey Gilchrist, Robert MacIntyre), 18:00 (pp).                  

Penalties: M — Leonard Badeau (holding) 11:12; Team (too many men on ice) 12:43; Mickey Gilchrist (hooking)19:13. E — Tyler Cann (cross-checking) 6:26; Justin Joy (cross-checking) 13:48; Dave McKenna (hitting from behind) 17:34.

Saves: Doug Raeder (Middlebury) 26; Greg Fargo (Elmira) 25.

Championship game

Middlebury 3, St. Norbert 0

St. Norbert 0      0      0 — 0

Middlebury 1      1      1 — 3

First period: M — Robert MacIntyre (Mickey Gilchrist, Tom Maldonado), 1:36 (pp).

Penalties: SN — Kelly Wosnack (slashing) 1:15; Andy Cote (cross-checking) 18:19. M —  Justin Gaines (high sticking) 11:31; Scott Bartlett (interference) 14:06; Leonard Badeau (holding) 18:19.

Second period: M — John Sales (Darwin Hunt, Eric LaFreniere), 7:15.

Penalties: SN — Jon Skoog (cross-checking) 5:04; Sheldon Wing (holding) 15:29. M — Darwin Hunt (tripping) 18:34.

Third period: M — Mickey Gilchrist (Jamie McKenna, Robert MacIntyre) 19:15 (en).

Penalties: SN — Andrew Derton (hooking) 14:19; Tyler Gow (hitting from behind) 16:20; Jeremy Mitchell (roughing) 19:44. M — Brett Shirreffs (holding) 5:28; Jeff Smith (roughing) 19:44;

Saves: Kyle Jones (St. Norbert) 18; Doug Raeder (Middlebury) 22.