Box Score 

NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The No. 1-ranked Norwich University men's ice hockey team opened play in the 2010 ECAC East Tournament with a convincing 8-1 victory over University of New England in a quarterfinal contest Saturday evening at Kreitzberg Arena.

The top-seeded Cadets, who improve to 21-1-4 on the season, advance to the tournament's championship weekend, which they will host next weekend (March 5-6). Norwich will entertain sixth-seeded New England College on Friday, March 5, in the first semifinal at 4 p.m. The second semifinal contest will feature second-seeded Babson College and fifth-seeded Skidmore College at 7 p.m.

The eighth-seeded Nor'easters end their inaugural season as a member of the ECAC East with an overall record of 3-22-0.

Norwich wasted little time jumping on UNE as senior F Craig Serino scored his fifth goal of the season off an assist from sophomore D Owen Carpino at the 5:12 mark of the first period. Carpino started the play when he skated behind the Nor'easters' cage. He then slid a pass out in front of the net, and Serino rammed the puck home from close range.

University of New England tied the score at 1-1 at the 8:37 mark of the first period when Tyler Fleurent tipped a blue line blast by Kyle MacLennan past Norwich senior G Ryan Klingensmith. MacLennan was set up near the center of the blue line and his laser of a shot was deftly deflected past Klingensmith for Fleurent for his fifth marker of the year.

Norwich responded just 12 seconds later when freshman F Matt McCann slipped a pass to freshman F Pier-Oliver Cotnoir, who skated in all alone and beat UNE goaltender Dallas Ungurian for his 10th goal of the season. Sophomore F Tim Houston took the faceoff following UNE's goal and McCann skated the puck up along the right-side boards before feeding Cotnoir in the slot area. Cotnoir then made a couple of dekes to get Ungurian out of position before sliding the puck past him.

The Cadets extended their lead to 3-1 later in the first period when freshman F Kyle Thomas netted his first goal of the evening off assists from freshman F Blake Forkey and junior F Chad Anderson. Thomas corralled the puck in the left-hand faceoff circle and snapped off a wrist shot that deflected off a UNE defender and past Ungurian.

Norwich held a 14-8 edge in shots during the opening 20 minutes, and the Cadets took a 3-1 lead into the first intermission.

The Cadets broke the game wide open with two goals in a span of 40 seconds midway through the second period. Anderson struck first on the power play when he banged home a rebound from just outside the crease at the 11:08 mark. Forkey and Thomas were credited with assists on the marker, which was Anderson's 12th of the year. Senior F D.J. Fimiani scored just 40 seconds later when he took a pretty feed from Serino and scored his seventh goal of the campaign at the 11:48 mark. Serino had the puck behind the UNE cage and slipped a pass to Fimiani in the right-hand faceoff circle as he was falling to the ice. Fimiani wasted little time beating Ungurian to make it 5-1.

Norwich enjoyed a 13-5 margin in shots in the second period, and the Cadets skated into the second intermission with a comfortable 5-1 advantage.

The Cadets continued to pile up the goals in the third period, scoring three more times to account for the final margin. Senior D Tyler Stitt got things started just 37 seconds into the frame when he scored his first goal of the season off a pass from Forkey. There was a scramble in front of the net following a couple of shots that were saved by Ungurian. Forkey was able to find the puck, and he fed Stitt in the slot area. The team captain then ripped a high shot into the goal to make it 6-1 in favor of the Cadets.

Freshman F Tory Allen was the next Norwich forward to get into the scoring column, potting his seventh marker of the season at the 9:53 mark of the period. Freshman F Steven Schroeder started the play with a long up-ice pass to his twin brother freshman F Scott Schroeder, who zipped a pass onto Allen stick right in front of the net for the goal.

Thomas closed the scoring when he scored on a breakaway. Forkey and Anderson picked up assists on the goal as they were able to find Thomas streaking in behind the UNE defense. Thomas made a nice individual move on Ungurian before putting the puck behind him for his team-leading 22nd goal of the season.

Klingensmith finished with 14 saves to pick up his 19th victory of the season between the pipes for the Cadets. Freshman G Alex Dubois came on to play the final 7:57 and stopped all four shots that he faced. Ungurian made 37 saves for the Nor'easters in the loss.

Norwich went 1-for-5 on the power play, while UNE was 0-for-3 with the extra skater.

Since suffering their first and only loss of the season, the Cadets have outscored their last five opponents by a combined score of 32-8. Norwich is now just two victories away from its eighth ECAC East Tournament title the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.