NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The top-ranked Norwich University women's hockey team finally got its offense rolling in a 7-0 win over Castleton State in the Cadets' Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East opener on Friday night at Kreitzberg Arena.

Junior defenseman Brittany Sharman (Ayer's Cliff, Quebec) had a career night, pacing the Norwich offense with a five-point game. Sharman scored Norwich's second goal of the game and dished out four assists as well.

Freshman forward Lucie Manhartova (Prague, Czech Republic) also scored her first two collegiate goals as well for Norwich who extended its ECAC East regular season unbeaten streak to 40 straight games.

Senior co-captain Stephanie Invernizzi (Hingham, Mass.) opened the scoring at the 13:42 mark of the first period by wristing a shot from the left wing that beat Castleton goalie Paula Stephens to the glove side and gave the Cadets the lead that they would never look back from. Jackie Perez (San Gabriel, Calif.) and Sharman picked up assists on the goal.

Sharman made it 2-0 at the 17:59 mark of the first by working a textbook give-and-go with junior forward Renee Lortie (Cornwall, Ontario). Sharman played the puck over to Lortie behind the net and then filled the gap in the slot, Lortie took a couple strides and centered to Sharman who banged the puck past Stephens.

Norwich (1-0-2, 1-0-0 ECAC East) added three more goals in the second period with Kaycie Anderson (Maple Plain, Minn.), Manhartova and Perez all scoring goals in a span of 4:39 to make it 5-0 Norwich after 40 minutes.

Anderson lit the lamp for the first time this season off assists from Tori Charron (Tecumseh, Ontario) and Taylor Cross (Saugus, Mass.) at the 3:39 mark of the period.

Manhartova make it 4-0 when she finally slammed the puck home off a scramble in front of the net with Stephens making saves on both Emily MacKinnon (Kirkland, Quebec) and Vanessa Champagne (St. Naziere, Quebec).

Perez capped the second period scoring with her first of the season as well off assists from Invernizzi and Sharman.

Norwich added two more goals in the third period with Charron netting her first goal at Norwich and Manhartova adding her second of the night less than two minutes apart.

Charron sped past the Castleton defense on a breakaway after she chipped a pass from Sharman off the boards to herself in the neutral zone. She skated in on Stephens and then sniped the top right corner of the net over the Castleton goalie's glove to make it 6-0.

Manhartova also scored on a breakaway as she deked Stephens out faking to the forehand before slipping it back to her backhand and shoveling the puck by a sprawled out Stephens to make it 7-0 at the 12:10 mark of the third period.

Norwich outshot Castleton 39-9. Sophomore goalie Loren Carrier (Chandler, Ariz.) recorded her first career victory for Norwich turning aside all nine shots he faced to improve to 1-0-2. Stephens made 32 saves in the loss for Castleton to drop to 2-1-0 on the year.

The Cadets handed the Spartans their first loss of 2012-13 after Castleton opened up with victories last weekend against Cortland and Oswego. Norwich is now 12-0-1 all-time against Castleton.

Norwich will look to make it two in a row tomorrow afternoon when it hosts New England College at 3 p.m. at Kreitzberg Arena.

Junior defenseman Brittany Sharman (8) celebrates her first period goal with Renee Lortie (27) during Friday's 7-0 win over Castleton at Kreitzberg Arena.

-CADETS-