[2] Even with Latreille's massive scoring totals, the team had been held back by their lack of defensive acumen over the past two seasons.
Both Latreille and Dates Fryberger had several chances for goals in the second half of the match but several of their shots hit the post and bounced away.
Even with the home team scoring first, Middlebury shot out to a huge lead in the opening period with five goals to their credit, two each from Latreille and Dates Fryberger.
Though the latter part of the match was marred by penalties, Middlebury was able to stop any real comeback attempt by the Canadians which was a good sign for their defensive efforts.
With time winding down, Princeton scored two goals, the last coming with just 9 seconds left on the clock, to force overtime.
Once the extra period began, Princeton took two penalties in rapid succession and Jerry Fryberger was able to wrap the puck around the cage for a winning tally.
Home against Colgate, many students delayed their holidays in order to get a glimpse of Latreille and the Panthers and were rewarded with another brilliant performance by the captain.
The Panthers had won just once in the previous eighteen meetings dating back to 1927 and the Knights were eager to build upon their 9–6 victory from a year earlier.
Unfortunately, past was prologue and Clarkson's third goal proved to be the final marker in the match, handing Middlebury its first loss of the campaign.
AIC managed to score more goals on themselves than they did on Middlebury when one of the Yellow Jacket defensemen hit his goaltender with a clearing attempt and caused the puck to rebound into the net.
Overtime had barely begun when Dates snapped his fifth goal of the game, the third on a pass from Latreille, much to the chagrin of the home crowd.
Without their star, Northeastern was faced with a daunting task but they nonetheless prevented Phil Latreille from scoring a goal for the first time in 38 games.
Middlebury finally found a weakness in the opposing netminder when they got markers from Bob, Dates and Phil to take a 3–2 lead into the third period.
[9] As the team was preparing for a match with former conference-rival Rensselaer, they kicked off the weekend with a trip south to face Amherst.
RPI swiftly tied the match but Middlebury got bad news afterwards when Frank Coy reinjured his knee and was lost for the remainder of the period.
Without one of their top defenders, Middlebury surrenedered another goal to the Engineers before Keith Dollar, their other starting blueliner, took a puck to the face.
While Gately would have to be on the top of his game if the Panthers wanted to have a chance, the team would also need one of their reserve defensemen to step up to the plate.
After Latreille tied the game 12 seconds into the period, "Wicker" Weekes delivered in relief, helping to stem the tide of the RPI attack and keep his team in the match.
The Panthers fought valiantly in the final two minutes but they were unable to find a fifth goal and were handed their second loss of the year.
However, after the midway point of the first period, Ed Germond broke the game open and began an avalanche of goals for the Panthers.
Even with 69 goals in 19 games, he was still eight shy of tying the record he set the previous year and was eight points away from becoming the first player to reach the century mark.
After Dartmouth interrupted the scoring exhibition with its first of the night, Latreille collected his fifth tally of the game to set a new NCAA record with his 97th point of the season, breaking the mark he reached a year before.
Before the start of the third, the team held a ceremony to honor the entire senior class while Latreille received a plaque from the Panthers and had his number (16) permanently retired.
Phil then set a new program record by scoring his eleventh point of the night, surpassing another one of his previous high-water marks.
[12] At the end of the year, Middlebury had posted a tremendous record of 19–2 with their only losses being 1-goal decisions to two of the best teams in the nation, both on the road.
Middlebury, a fairly small school, did not operate a freshman team and thus most of its players played varsity for all four years of their undergraduate careers.
Thus, the NCAA didn't even consider offering Middlebury a bid despite the fact that they possessed the best record of all eastern teams.
At the end of his career, Phil Latreille stood atop virtually every scoring mark in college hockey history.
Not only has no other player reached 200 markers in their career but the second all-time leading goal scorer in NCAA history (Chuck Delich) has just 156 to his credit, again with significantly more games played.
Latreille averaged almost exactly 3 goals per game for his four-year college career (3.01) to set a pace that is virtually impossible to replicate.