NORTHFIELD, Vt.- An offensive eruption took place at Kreitzberg Arena Friday night, as the Norwich Men's Ice Hockey team found the back of the net eight times en route to an emphatic New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) win over intrastate rival Vermont State Castleton.

The Spartans controlled the opening minutes, but any momentum they tried to build was stymied when they went to their first and only penalty kill where the Cadets made Castleton pay. Nick Foster (Amherst, Mass.) sent the puck in behind for Bryan O'Mara (Syracuse, N.Y.). After holding on to it, O'Mara found Cooper Bertrand (Caledon, On.) at the right point for a wrist shot that beat Spartan goaltender Simon Brenter for the opening score just under three minutes in on Norwich's second shot of the contest. 1:42 later, a Spartan defender sent a blind, behind-the-back pass right on to Anthony Domina's (Odenton, Md.) tape to give Norwich an early two goal lead.

The Spartans would answer with two goals of their own in a 25 second span. First was Jackson Edwards off a rush, followed by Luke Chakrabarti burying his own rebound to tie the game. Soon after, the Cadets began to dictate the terms and eventually break the brief deadlock. Johnny Johnson (Naperville, Ill.) won a board battle and sent the puck to Foster whose wrist shot from the top of the slot beat Brenter to regain the lead heading into the break.

Three minutes into the second stanza, the Cadets added to their lead. After gaining possession in the defensive end, Nick Cordeiro (Mississauga, On.) carried the puck in on the entry before sending it to the right wing for Joe Schubert (Oconomowoc, Wis.) before Schubert sent it cross ice to Johnson who wired it short side on Brenter making it a two-goal game with Schubert tallying his first collegiate point. Norwich would continue to dominate the contest, holding the Spartans to two shots in the second and zero on two man advantages. In the final minute, Harris Hilfiker (Middletown, N.J.) outletted the puck to O'Mara who mesmerized the Spartan defense leaving Clark Kerner (Kansas City, Kan.) wide open on the doorstep to make it a three-goal game after forty minutes leading to an early exit for Brenter.

Nine minutes into the third, the Cadets added to their lead with O'Mara deflecting home a wrist shot from Hayden Heinrich (Richmond Hill, On.), but the Spartans answered with a Zach Trempner tally two and a half minutes later. In the final five minutes Bertrand scored his second goal of the contest, and Jed Brazo (Homer, N.Y.) added one more for good measure with two seconds remaining to bring the final to 8-3.

The two intrastate foes will face off again Jan. 18 at 4 PM in Kreitzberg Arena to complete the weekend series.