NORTHFIELD, Vt.- In their first action of the regular season, the eighth ranked Norwich Men's Ice Hockey team took the ice in front of their home crowd against third ranked Endicott where they held the fourth annual Darn Tough Sock Toss.
 
Off the opening draw, the Cadets had the Gulls on their heels posting four shots in the first three minutes. Even when Endicott put shots on the net, they came from outside the high danger area and freshman goaltender Sami Molu (Toronto, On.) did not allow many second chance opportunities.
 
Just passed the halfway mark of the first period, sophomore defenseman Devon Thibodeau (Pelham, On.) would send junior captain Clark Kerner (Kansas City, Kan.) streaking the other way. Kerner put a move on the Endicott defender that had him skidding toward the end board, which created space in the middle for Zach Ophoven (Burlington, On.) whose shot went through netminder Atticus Kelly to break the ice and trigger the thousands of socks that came pouring onto the ice, which will be donated to local shelters. That goal would fuel the Cadets' fire, as they continued to hold the territorial edge going into the first intermission holding a 12-5 shot advantage.
 
The message that was sent in the Gulls' locker room at the break was received, as Endicott came out firing in the second period with three shot attempts in the first thirty seconds before tying the game. As the Cadets looked to establish a presence in the offensive zone, a cross-ice pass was intercepted, which turned into a two-on-one counterattack where Jackson Sterrett set up Ryan Willett for a one-timer from the right faceoff circle for the equalizer.
 
Any Endicott momentum afterwards was stalled within a matter of minutes. As the Cadets were buzzing, Endicott's Drew Lorinchak was given a five-minute major for hitting from behind, his second penalty of the game. Not long after the halfway point of the man advantage, Kerner's wrist shot from the center point deflected off the stick of Johnny Johnson (Naperville, Ill.) in front of the cage, breaking the tie at the halfway point of regulation on a powerplay that generated six shots. Once the sides returned to even strength, the Gulls pushed for the tie, but were turned away as the Norwich lead remained 2-1 after 40 minutes.
 
Not even a minute into the third period, Andrew Kurapov took a seat in the sin bin for a cross check. 45 seconds into the man-advantage, Kerner took a drop pass from Cooper Bertrand (Caledon, On.). As he entered the attacking zone, he made a behind-the-back move around the defender leaving space for Bryan O'Mara (Syracuse, N.Y) at the goal mouth for the tap-in goal for Norwich's second powerplay marker of the game, Kerner's third assist on the night, and Bertrand's first collegiate point.
 
As the rest of the period unfolded, the Cadets protected the lead by outshooting the Gulls, and keeping them pinned to the outside of the attacking zone. As time was running down on Endicott, the two sides were dinged with coincidental minors, where the Gulls would pull Kelly to gain an advantage in manpower. Eventually, Adam Shuchart (Marietta, Ga.) sent the puck the length of the ice for the empty net goal, the first of his collegiate career, clinching a 4-1 Cadet win.  
 
"I'm pleased with a great effort to start the year," Head Coach Cam Ellsworth said. "We had some gutsy individual efforts against a phenomenal hockey team. I'm proud of the result, but more importantly the effort."
 
Norwich will look to ride the strong opening night effort when they open New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) play on Nov 3 when they travel to Geneva, N.Y. to take on defending National Champion Hobart at 7 PM.