NORTHFIELD, Vt.- The Norwich Men's Ice Hockey team's homestand continued Saturday afternoon when they played host to New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) rival Babson in their first meeting since last season's NEHC Semifinal.

Early in the contest, the Beavers held the upper hand, taking four of the first five shots. However, it was the Cadets that would break through first five minutes in. Along the right-wing boards, Paul Schmid (Linz, Austria) would shake loose of a defender and throw the puck cross ice into the far corner. From there, Johnny Johnson (Naperville, Ill.) touched the puck along to Patrick Del Vecchio (Mississauga, On.) who sent it to the front of the net for Schmid to tap into the goal.
About five minutes later, the Beavers would even the score. An innocent looking play caught the defense off guard with Danny Cavanaugh jamming the puck home to tie things up. As the period wore on, Norwich got their legs under them after starting on their heels. The first period ended tied, but the Cadets had some chances towards the end of the frame and Babson goalie Nate Muller fighting the puck.

The Cadets carried that momentum into the second period, as they outshot the Beavers 9-3 in the first seven minutes. As they kept at it, their persistence paid off with two goals in 33 seconds. First was an ill-advised outlet pass by the Babson defenseman that was easily intercepted by Bryan O'Mara (Syracuse, N.Y.) at the left point. O'Mara sent the puck laterally to Alex Lewis (Moncton, New Brunswick) for the one-timer goal, Lewis's first of the season. Second, Zach Ophoven (Burlington, On.) won a board battle, jarring it loose for Lewis, who sent the puck in front to O'Mara, giving Norwich a two goal lead which they would take to intermission after outshooting Babson 18-7 in the frame.

Four and a half minutes into the third, the Cadets extended their lead even further. Immediately off a faceoff win by Schmid, the puck came back to Cooper Bertrand (Caledon, On.) who passed the puck to the left-wing circle where Del Vecchio was waiting. Del Vecchio's quick wrist shot beat Muller and made it a 4-1 game. The two sides would exchange powerplays in the third, neither of which converted giving Norwich the 4-1 victory, the fifth of the season for Sami Molu (Toronto, On.).

"I thought tonight was one of the most complete team efforts that we've put together all season," said Head Coach Cam Ellsworth.

The long homestand continues next weekend for the Cadets where they will host the top two teams in the NEHC, starting with third ranked Elmira on Jan 12 at 7 PM.