NORTHFIELD, Vt.- Coming off a loss on Friday to William Smith, the thirteenth-ranked Norwich Women's Ice Hockey team came into Kreitzberg Arena looking to carry the momentum they generated late in that game into their long-awaited New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) Championship game rematch with twelfth ranked Elmira.

It was tough sledding for the Cadets out of the gate, as the Soaring Eagles had the first six shots of the contest. Any time Norwich attempted to break out of their defensive zone, they skated into a quagmire in the neutral zone and had a difficult time establishing offense. Despite the Elmira press, they took an offensive zone penalty halfway through the period. While that did not yield a goal, it allowed the Cadets to get their legs underneath them offensively.

Two minutes after the teams returned to even strength, freshman Livia Brooks (Walpole, Mass.) made a move around a defender on the left wings side. Once the defender was shaken off, Brooks centered the puck to net mouth where Madison Anderson (Green Bay, Wis.) was camped out. Anderson cleaned up the loose change putting Norwich ahead 1-0 with her first collegiate goal, in addition to being the first collegiate point for Brooks. Immediately after, the Soaring Eagles were granted a powerplay of their own which was not fruitful. Norwich took the one goal lead into intermission despite being outshot 12-4, with Leocadia Clark (Stowe, Vt.) locked in between the pipes.

Thirty-seven seconds into the second period, Elmira found the equalizer with Alayna Tool cleaning up her own rebound off the rush. But they could not sustain any momentum, as the Soaring Eagles flocked to the sin bin creating a lengthy 5-on-3 for the Cadets. They would put five shots on goal in that timeframe, but none passed Leonie Kuehberger who kept the game tied. For the rest of the period, the two teams traded scoring chances at both ends, but Clark and Kuehberger kept the game tied at one apiece after 40 minutes.

The third period was a struggle in the first few minutes with neither side giving the other any space to work with. Seven and a half minutes in, Norwich was awarded a five-minute powerplay off a major penalty for direct contact to the head. What was a golden opportunity for the Cadets nearly turned into a shorthanded chance for Elmira, but Clark turned that away while the lengthy powerplay was unsuccessful with Clark also turning aside ensuing Soaring Eagle chances.

With two minutes to play, Taylor Girouard (Burlington, Mass.) rushed into the offensive zone and a shot went wide. The loose puck found Breanna Ricker (Laconia, N.H.) who sent it to Wilda Ohman (Lulea, Sweden) which was originally stopped by Kuehberger, but waiting for the rebound was Marja Linzbichler (Graz, Austria) who broke the deadlock. The three players who connected on the game winning goal all recorded their first collegiate points with the tally.

After gaining possession, Elmira would pull Kuehberger for the extra attacker, in their press the puck came out of their offensive end and Aimee Headland (Nottingham, U.K.) won a foot race to put home the empty netter sealing a 3-1 Norwich win.

"It was a solid team win," said Head Coach Sophie Leclerc Doherty. "I am proud of this group for their response from yesterday. We showed a lot of grit-I am excited about the direction we're headed. Our young players are gaining confidence and its fun to watch. I'm looking forward to getting back to work this week."

The Cadets will now hit the road and will continue NEHC action when they visit UMass Boston on Nov 10 at 6 PM.