NORTHFIELD, Vt.- With her second point on the afternoon, senior captain Neris Archambault (Pepperell, Mass.) scored the overtime winning goal handing fourth ranked Plattsburgh State their first defeat of the season in the opening game of the Northfield Savings Bank East-West Classic, giving the Norwich Women's Ice Hockey team their first win over their rival since Nov. 8, 2017.

Things started slowly for the Cadets, coming off a ten-day layoff, with the Cardinals establishing a presence in the offensive zone early, but were shut down by Leocadia Clark (Stowe, Vt.). Plattsburgh State would end up with a powerplay opportunity which was kept to the outside and only generating one shot. After the penalty kill, it became a battle of goaltenders with Clark and Lilla Nease matching each other save for save, resulting in a scoreless first period.

In the middle frame, the Cardinals came out flying and held Norwich without a shot for a six-minute span with Clark making several big stops. Eventually, Plattsburgh State would break through. Late in the period, a rush from her defensive end by Adriana Urban was centered to Julia Masotta in front. The puck glanced off Masotta's stick to Ciara Wall for the game's opening tally. The Cadets would head back to the penalty kill as the period wound down and would go into intermission down a goal and with the Cardinals holding a 7-3 shot advantage in the period.

Norwich would finish the kill, and even the score early in the third. Just before the five-minute mark, Marja Linzbichler (Graz, Austria) gained entry to the zone and sent it up the right board to the point for a shot by Archambault. Nease made the original shot, but the rebound came to Breanna Ricker (Laconia, N.H.) as she was falling to the ice for the tying goal. After some uneven action, the Cardinals went back to the powerplay for the third time. An advantage that had three shots, but Clark kept the score even. At the other end, Norwich had chances before regulation expired, but were denied by Nease sending the game to overtime.

Off the opening puck drop of the extra period, the Cardinals held possession in their offensive zone, but they were kept to the outside with the Norwich players right in their face. Plattsburgh looked to dump the puck deep into their offensive end to prevent an offsides, but the attempt was cut off by Olivia Boyer (Saint Paul, Minn.). As Boyer headed to the bench for a change, she sent the puck to Aimee Headland (Nottingham, U.K.) on an odd-man rush. Headland centered the puck to Archambault who tapped the puck by Nease clinching the Norwich victory.

"I thought it was a great back-and-forth game with chances for both teams," Head Coach Sophie Leclerc Doherty said. "Ricker, Linzbichler, and Rylie McIntyre (Brunswick, Maine) were the engine for this team to win. We competed for 60 and were ready to finish in OT. I was proud of our effort and I cannot wait for game two." 

With the win, the Cadets will face New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) rival Elmira in the East-West Classic Championship Game on Dec. 10 at 4 PM.