NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University men's
hockey team continued its run through the ECAC East on Friday
night, as the No. 7-ranked Cadets won their 11th straight league
game, knocking off visiting St. Anselm, 6-2, at Kreitzberg
Arena.
Six different Norwich players scored as the Cadets improve to
15-3-0 (11-1-0 ECAC East).
St. Anselm (5-8-3, 1-8-3 ECAC East) actually had the better of
play early in the game, and the Hawks' persistence paid off at the
7:47 mark when they took a 1-0 lead on Matt Grazioso's sixth goal
of the season. The senior forward took the puck off a rebound in
front and buried it into the gaping net.
Norwich knotted the game at 1-1 just four minutes later when
Raphael Robitaille netted his fifth goal of the year at the 11:53
mark. The senior captain skated in on the Hawks' goaltender Jason
Zuck, and flipped the puck into the net after Zuck went down.
Sylvain Messier was credited with an assist on the play.
The Cadets outshot the Hawks, 12-5, in the opening 20 minutes,
but they were unable to tack on any additional goals, and the game
remained tied at 1-1 after the first period.
Norwich took its first lead of the game at the 6:55 mark of the
second period when Rick Cleaver scored a power play goal. The goal,
Cleaver's team-leading 18th of the season, was scored after the
senior forward corralled the rebound from Phil Sbrocchi's shot and
drilled the puck past Zuck. Sbrocchi and Eric Lauriault picked up
assists on the play.
Messier made it 3-1 in favor of the Cadets at the11:35 mark when
he ripped a shot from the blueline past Zuck. Nikita Kashirsky and
Robitaille were credited with assists on the goal, which was
Messier's third of the season.
Just when it appeared as though St. Anselm was beginning to
fade, Brian Hartigan scored a power play goal at the 19:14 mark to
pull the Hawks to within 3-2 just before the second intermission.
The junior defenseman collected a rebound in front of the net and
slid the puck past Norwich goaltender David Thompson to give the
Hawks new life heading to the final 20 minutes.
The Cadets outshot the Hawks, 16-7, in the second period.
After nearly 15 minutes of scoreless hockey in the third period,
Lauriault put the game away with his eighth goal of the year. The
senior captain converted a pretty pass from D.J. Fimiani after the
two players worked an excellent two-on-one opportunity.
Craig Serino and Kashirsky added empty net goals for the Cadets
late in the third period to round out the scoring.
Thompson made 16 saves in net for NU, as the sophomore goalie
improves to 10-1-0 on the season. Zuck took the loss for St.
Anselm, making 34 stops in the Hawks' goal.
Norwich closes out its four-game homestand on Saturday, Feb. 2,
when the Cadets host New England College in a key ECAC East matchup
at Kreitzberg Arena. Faceoff is slated for 4 p.m. The game can be
heard on the radio (WDEV: AM-550, FM-96.1), and on the internet (http://www.cadetsradio.com/).
