Box Score NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Senior goalie Tom Aubrun (Chamonix, France) set the new NCAA Division III record with his fifth consecutive shutout in a 5-0 win over Johnson & Wales on Friday night at Kreitzberg Arena in New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) action.
Aubrun stopped all 10 shots he faced to earn his ninth shutout of the season and the 16th of his career, while stretching his consecutive shutout minute streak to 332:40.
Senior Taeron Lewis (Winnipeg, Manitoba) had a goal and an assist, while junior Ryan Boucher (Fitchburg, Mass.) and sophomore Gabriel Chicoine (St. Dominique, France) each recorded two assists to lead the Cadets' offense in the victory.
Senior Jordan Hall (Anchorage, Alaska) scored just 26 seconds into the game to give Norwich a lead it would never look back from. Lewis made a great play behind the net to dispossess a JWU player and then fed the puck out from to Hall who slammed it into the back of the net before JWU goalie Mike Rockwell could react.
Senior defenseman Josh Cronin (Langley, British Columbia) scored his first goal of the season and just the second of his career at the 1:49 mark of the second period to increase the lead to 2-0. Cronin sent a wrist shot from the point through traffic that beat Rockwell in the top right corner of the net. Boucher and Alex Monteleone (Montreal, Quebec) picked up the assists.
Junior Coby Downs (Montclair, Calif.) scored the first of three-straight highlight reel goals with six seconds left in the second period to increase the lead to 3-0. Downs skated through four Johnson & Wales players and then picked the corner, popping the water bottle for his ninth goal of the season.
Downs corralled Jack Griffin's (Duxbury, Mass.) pass at the blue line while doing a 360. He then skated around the defender and then cut back to get past another near the boards. He walked out from the side boards and evaded two more defenders before ripping the twine over the shoulder of Rockwell.
Norwich increased the lead to 4-0 at the 8:30 mark with Brassard sniping a shot off the inside of the left post for his team-leading 18th goal of the season with another pretty goal. Chicoine picked up the primary assist after controlling the puck along the near half boards and then dropping it to Brassard. Brassard picked it up and spun out of a check, he then walked out from the side boards and skated past two different JWU defenders before releasing a wicked wrist shot that beat Rockwell blocker side. Boucher picked up the second assist.
Lewis capped the scoring with another terrific individual effort, fighting off three JWU defenders and then beating Rockwell with a wrist shot glove side just 22 seconds after Brassard's goal.
Norwich (20-2-2, 15-1-1 NEHC) extended its unbeaten streak to 14 straight games with the victory. Aubrun improved to 19-2-2 on the year and picked up his 46th career win.
Norwich will play its final regular season game of the 2019-20 season on Saturday at 4 p.m. when it takes on Suffolk. Prior to the game, the Cadets will honor their nine-player senior class in a special pre-game ceremony.
