SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Coming off its biggest win of the
season to date with Friday's night 5-2 win over Castleton,
the Norwich men's ice hockey team followed up on Saturday
with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Skidmore in ECAC East action at the
Saratoga Springs Ice Arena.
The Cadets (15-5-3, 13-1-3 ECAC East) had all they could handle
from the Thoroughbreds for the majority of Saturday's contest
before NU pulled away with a goal midway through the third period
and then adding an empty net in the final minute.
Skidmore struck first as the Thoroughbreds capitalized on 2-on-1
odd-man rush to take a 1-0 lead with 7:55 to go in the first
period.
Tony Giacin skated around Norwich defenseman
Owen Carpino after Carpino stumbled while trying
to turn around at the blue line. The mishap allowed Skidmore in on
a 2-on-1 odd-man rush and Giacin fed a perfect pass across to the
other circle where Vlad Gavrik received the pass
and then rifled a wrist shot over the glove of Norwich goaltender
Parker Carroll.
After a broken dasher board behind the Norwich net caused
lengthy delay with 7:15 to go in the first period, the Cadets
needed only a minute to put home their first tally when
Emmond Bell lit the lamp for the third time this
season.
Junior defenseman Pasha Kozhokin created the
scoring chance by bringing the puck into the Skidmore zone and then
feeding Bell in the slot who tipped the puck home past the glove of
Skidmore goalie Andrew Ross to tie the game at
one.
Neither team was able to score again until the third period.
Norwich almost took the lead in the opening two minutes of the
period when Tory Allan sent a shot into traffic
that found its way up and over the shoulder of Ross and into the
back of the net. However, after a conference by the officials, they
waved it off and said it was put it with a high stick to keep the
game knotted at one.
Skidmore gave Norwich an opening just before the halfway mark of
the third period when a player took a four-minute double-minor
penalty and the Cadets capitalized.
Scott Schroeder sent a cross-ice pass to a
waiting Kyle Thomas on the doorstep of the crease
and then Thomas slammed the puck home into an open net before Ross
could recover to give Norwich a 2-1 lead.
Schroeder capped the scoring with an empty-net tally with eight
seconds left on the power play off assists from Shawn
Baker and Travis Janke to close the
scorebook on the night and give Norwich its third straight victory
and stretch its unbeaten streak to seven straight.
Carroll made 19 saves to keep his undefeated record intact and
improve to 8-0-2 in 10 starts all coming since the holiday break
when he joined the team.
Ross made 23 saves for Skidmore to pick up the loss and drop to
2-7-1.
Norwich will look to wrap-up its 14th straight ECAC
East regular season title on the final weekend of the season at
Kreitzberg next weekend when the Cadets host Conn. College and
Tufts. All the Cadets need is two points to clinch the title and
home-ice throughout the ECAC East playoffs, which start the
following week.
Face-off against Conn. College is set for 7 p.m. on Friday at
Kreitzberg Arena.
