Box Score
Video Highlights by Tanner Acebo, NU Sports Information
NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University men's ice hockey team got two goals from sophomore forward Austin Surowiec (Louisville, Ky.), while freshman goalie Braeden Ostepchuk (Lethbridge, Alberta) made 11 saves to lead the Cadets to a 4-0 shutout victory over Saint Anselm on Saturday afternoon at Kreitzberg Arena.
Norwich (18-2-1, 14-0-0 ECAC East) needs five points in its final four Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East games in order to clinch its 17th straight league regular season title.
The Cadets struck twice in the first period in a span of 3:22 with sophomore forward Nick Pichette (Massena, N.Y.) and Surowiec notching goals to stake NU to a 2-0 lead before the 10-minute mark of the first period.
Pichette scored unassisted after he sped down the right wing and wristed a shot that Saint Anselm goalie Shane Joyce got a glove on, but wasn't able to get all of it as it fluttered into the back of the net to make it 1-0 Norwich at the 5:24 mark.
Surowiec notched his first of the night and eighth of the season just a few minutes later when he slammed home a rebound in front of the crease after an initial shot by Trevor Stewart (Denver, Colo.) was turned aside by Joyce. Tyler Piacentini (South Weymouth, Mass.) also picked up an assist on the goal.
Surowiec scored his ninth goal of the season at the 17:56 mark when he flung a puck out of his defensive zone that rolled into an empty net for Saint Anselm after the Hawks pulled Joyce to try and get on the board.
Freshman forward Justin Charbonneau (Bromont, Quebec) capped the scoring with another empty-net goal at the 18:17 mark of the third period to make it 4-0 Norwich.
Ostepchuk turned aside all 11 shots he faced to improve to 9-2-0 on the season and pick up his third shutout. Joyce made 30 saves for Saint Anselm to fall to 6-8-2.
Norwich outshot Saint Anselm 34-11 for the game.
Prior to the game, Norwich honored Bo Reichenbach, the older brother of NU sophomore goalie Ty Reichenbach (Billings, Mont.) with a special pre-game ceremony. Bo is a Navy Seal veteran that lost both of his legs after stepping on an IED in Afghanistan in 2012. He is currently a member of the USA Warriors sled hockey team and he has also been invited to train with the USA Paralympic team.
Norwich also raised nearly $1000 for the Wounded Warrior Project with a maple syrup raffle.
The Cadets return to action next weekend when they host Castleton State on Friday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. at Kreitzberg Arena. NU will then close out the home portion of the regular season on Saturday when it hosts Skidmore at 4 p.m., which will serve as Fan Appreciation Day and Senior Day.
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