Women's Hockey

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The defending NCAA Division III national runner-up Norwich women's ice hockey team announced its schedule for the 2012-13 season on Wednesday.

As has become the norm, the Cadets will once again face one of the most difficult non-conference schedules in the country along with their regular 18-game ECAC East league schedule.

NU will begin its quest to reach an unprecedented fourth straight national championship game on Saturday, Oct. 27 when it hosts Elmira College at 3 p.m. to open up the third annual East/West Hockey Classic at Kreitzberg Arena. The Cadets will then take on rival Plattsburgh State on Sunday at 4 p.m. The Cardinals are a new addition to the field this year, replacing the 2012 D-III national champion Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers, who moved up to Division I shortly after downing Norwich 4-1 in last season's title game.

Defending ECAC East Tournament runner-up Manhattanville once again rounds out the East/West Classic field this year with the Valiants taking on Plattsburgh at 6 p.m. on Saturday and then Elmira at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

All four teams have made at least one appearance in the national championship game in the last five years. Plattsburgh met Manhattanville in 2008 to win its second national championship in a row. Elmira lost to Amherst in the 2009 title game before Norwich went on its run of three straight appearances.

The Cadets will open the league portion of their season the following weekend on Nov. 2 and 3 when they host Castleton State and New England College.

NU closes out the 2012 portion of its schedule and opens the 2013 section with a tough stretch of five games. The Cadets host UMass-Boston and St. Anselm on Nov. 16 and 17 before hitting the road for three challenging away games featuring Holy Cross on Dec. 1, Bowdoin on Dec. 8 and Plattsburgh State on Jan. 6.

Other second half highlights to the schedule include a home and home series with Amherst, which is new this year after the two clubs alternated home games in previous seasons. NU hosts Amherst on Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. and travels to Orr Rink on Feb. 6. The Cadets will also play archrival Manhattanville twice in the second half of the season. Norwich will make its first trip down to the Playland Ice Casino in Rye, N.Y. since the 2009-2010 season on Friday, Jan. 18. The Cadets will then host the Valiants on Feb. 15 on the final weekend of the regular season. Norwich also travels to perennial in-state powerhouse Middlebury on Feb. 12.

Norwich is coming off its second straight unbeaten ECAC East regular season. The Cadets will carry a 39-game regular season unbeaten streak against ECAC East opponents into the start of the 2012-13 season. Their last league loss came on Feb. 7, 2010 to Manhattanville, 7-2.

Oct. 27^th Elmira *East/West Hockey Classic*
Oct. 28^th Plattsburgh *East/West Hockey Classic*
Nov. 2^nd  Castleton
Nov. 3^rd  NEC
Nov. 9^th @ Plymouth State
Nov. 10^th @ Southern Maine
Nov. 16^th  UMass-Boston
Nov. 17^th  Saint Anselm
Dec. 1^st @ Holy Cross
Dec. 8^th @ Bowdoin
Jan. 6^th @ Plattsburgh
Jan. 9^th St. Michael's
Jan. 11^th @ St. Michael's
Jan. 12^th @ Salve Regina
Jan. 16^th Amherst
Jan. 18^th @ Manhattanville
Jan. 19^th @ Nichols
Jan. 25^th @ NEC
Jan. 26^th @ Castleton
Feb. 1^st  Southern Maine
Feb. 2^nd  Plymouth State
Feb. 6^th @ Amherst
Feb. 12^th @ Middlebury
Feb. 15^th Manhattanville
Feb. 16^th Nichols

Home games in Bold.

-CADETS-