Video Highlights by Tanner Acebo, NU Sports Information

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – When the Norwich University men's ice hockey team and Babson College get together, it usually results in a good game.

Saturday afternoon's game will go down as one of the best in recent memory after Norwich (13-1-1, 9-0-0 ECAC East) scored the game-tying goal with 5.5 seconds left and then scored the game-winning goal with 27 seconds left in overtime to steal a 3-2 victory over its conference rival at Kreitzberg Arena.

Sophomore William Pelletier (St. Jean Chrysostome, Quebec) continued his big-game heroics, scoring the game-winning goal by heading the puck into the net off a rebound from a shot by Bryce Currier (Essex Junction, Vt.) to send the Kreitzberg Arena faithful into a frenzy.

The goal was Pelletier's eighth of the season and capped his three-point night where he had a hand in every goal Norwich scored just one night after being held without a point for the first time this year.

Senior defenseman Alec Thieda (Rochester Hills, Mich.) let a slap shot rip from the blue line that deflected up into the air after Babson goalie Jamie Murray got a pad on the puck. Pelletier was in perfect position on the doorstep of the crease and headed the puck with his helmet back down into the net before Murray could find the puck.

After trailing 2-1 for nearly 30 minutes, Norwich forced overtime with just 5.5 seconds left when junior forward Dean Niezgoda (Brewster, Mass.) redirected a shot by freshman defenseman Alec Brandrup (Rochester, Minn.) past Murray to knot the game up at 2-2. Pelletier picked up the secondary assist on the goal.

Norwich came out flying again for the second straight night and dominated the possession and shots for the first 10 minutes of the first period. The Cadets built up a 10-1 shot advantage but only managed to score once with Paul Russell (Andover, Mass.) slipping a puck by Murray on his backhand on a rebound after the Babson goalie made an initial save on Pelletier's shot from the blue line.

Russell's goal was the first of three 4-on-4 goals in the game that appeared would be the difference until the final moments of the third.

Babson (12-2-1, 8-1-0 ECAC East) tallied the next two goals at 4-on-4 with two quick strikes just 37 seconds apart from freshman forward Ryan Gouveia and junior defenseman Mike Vollmin. Gouveia scored his first career goal when he capitalized on a Norwich turnover in its own zone that gift wrapped the puck right to his stick. Gouveia took one stride and fired a wrist shot past NU freshman goalie Braeden Ostepchuk to tie the game at 1-1.

Babson scored again just moments later with Vollmin streaking in down the left wing and firing a wrist shot that deflected off a NU defender's skate and past Ostepchuk to give the Beavers the lead that they would hold until the final moments.

Norwich was relentless in search of the equalizer in the third period, outshooting Babson 15-2 before finally scoring the tying goal with the extra attacker on with five seconds left.

The Cadets' best chance to tie the game before Niezgoda actually did it came with just over seven minutes left in the third when Murray made a sprawling glove save with his pads stacked to rob Pelletier from 15 feet out.

Murray finished with 46 saves as Norwich outshot Babson 49-19. Ostepchuk made 17 saves the Cadets to improve to 7-1-0 on the year and rebound from his first career loss earlier this week against Plattsburgh.

Norwich picked up four huge points on the weekend to put two points on both Babson and UMass Boston in a hotly contested battle atop the ECAC East standings. The Cadets also got a little revenge on Babson after falling to the Beavers 2-1 in last year's ECAC East Tournament Championship game at Kreitzberg Arena.

The Cadets return to action next weekend when they travel to St. Michael's and Middlebury for two 7 p.m. contests on Friday and Saturday.  

-CADETS-