Video highlights from WCAX-Channel 3

HANOVER, N.H. – The Norwich University men's ice hockey team opened up its 2012-13 preseason schedule dropping a 4-3 exhibition to Division I Dartmouth College on Sunday afternoon at Thompson Arena.

Dartmouth scored three goals in the first 6:36 of the game that the Cadets couldn't ever fully recover from as the Big Green downed NU for the second straight year. Last season, NU dropped a 3-1 decision to Dartmouth despite outshooting them 17-13.

Dartmouth needed just 2:10 to draw first blood when Mike Keenan beat Norwich junior goalie Parker Carroll (West Chester, Pa.) off assists from Eric Neiley and Charlie Mosey.

Keenan took a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle that deflected and fluttered in the air over Carroll's shoulder before nestling underneath the cross bar and into the back of the net to give the Big Green a 1-0 lead.

Just 2:16 later Dartmouth's Eric Robinson added to the lead off a pass from behind the net from Nick Bligh. Robinson collected the puck in the slot, turned with a Norwich defender draped on him and fired the puck into the top right corner of the net leaving Carroll no chance.

Exactly two minutes later Tyler Sikura capped the Big Green's scoring flurry by tapping in a loose rebound in the crease after Carroll made an initial save on Nick Lovejoy's shot from the point but couldn't cover the rebound in time.

Sikura's tally prompted Norwich head coach Mike McShane to pull Carroll for junior Chris Czarnota (Wakefield, Mass.). 

Norwich senior forward Tory Allan (Davidson, Saskatchewan) finally got the Cadets on the board at the 7:50 mark of the period when he tapped home a rebound off an initial shot on a 2-on-1 with Colin Mulvey (Worcester, Mass.).

Allan skated over the blue line and then dropped the puck back to Mulvey who took wrist shot that Dartmouth starting goaltender Cab Morris got a piece of with his glove. Allan crashed the net and poked the puck past the Big Green netminder to cut the deficit to 3-1. Allan also scored Norwich's lone goal against Dartmouth in last year's exhibition game.

Less than two minutes later, sophomore defenseman Alec Thieda (Rochester Hills, Mich.) cut the lead down to one when he blasted a shot from the blue line that deflected off traffic in front over Morris' shoulder and kissed the cross bar before settling into the back of the net. Shane Gorman (Trumbull, Conn.) and Blake Forkey (Boca Raton, Fla.) also picked up assists on the goal.

After the frantic first 10 minutes featuring five goals, neither side was able to score during the latter half of the first period and Dartmouth carried the 3-2 lead into the first intermission.

The Big Green once again struck quickly in the second frame with Brett Peterson lighting the lamp at the 2:03 mark of the period off assists from Rick Pinkston and Matt Lindblad.

Czarnota stopped Pinkston's initial shot from the point but the rebound squirted through his pads and sat next to him allowing Peterson to swoop in and slide the puck home to give Dartmouth a two-goal lead again.

Norwich cut the lead back down to one again though at the 15:36 mark of the second period when sophomore forward Gerard McEleney (Canton, Mass.) scored on the power play off an assist from Corey Hale (Montreal, Quebec). McEleney took a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle that deflected through traffic and past Dartmouth's Charles Grant to make it 4-3.

Neither side was able to score in the third period as the Big Green outshot Norwich 8-1. Sophomore goaltender Matic Marinsek (Ljubljana, Slovenia) looked sharp for the Cadets stymieing the Big Green attack in the final stanza.

Norwich pulled Marinsek for the final 53 seconds of the game and the Cadets have a couple of chances in the waning seconds to try and net the equalizer. Kyle Thomas (Waltham, Mass.) had a shot that was partially blocked and bounced off the glass behind the net right to Pier-Olivier Cotnoir's (Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec). The senior captain swatted at the puck as time expired but Dartmouth's third goalie James Kruger stuffed his pad in the way to turn away the chance.

Dartmouth outshot Norwich 26-18. Czarnota played 33:24 for NU in net and made eight saves. Dartmouth's Morris earned the win after making eight saves in the first period.

Norwich continues its pre-season schedule next Friday night, Oct. 26 when the Cadets host Trois-Rivieres at 7 p.m. at Kreitzberg Arena. NU beat Trois-Rivieres 3-0 last season.

-CADETS-