NORTHFIELD, Vt.- The Norwich Women's Ice Hockey team opened a stretch of four games in seven days by continuing Little East Conference (LEC) play against New England College (NEC), where the Cadets earned another emphatic victory.
From the opening puck drop, the Cadets dominated possession, peppering Pilgrim goaltender Anna McGinty with shots before breaking through with their first goal just under five minutes in. Dani Ammons (Centennial, Colo.) collected the puck in the neutral zone and got the puck to Grace McCluskey (Annapolis, Md.), starting the rush. McGinty kicked aside McCluskey's original shot, but Penny Saich (Norwell, Mass.) potted the rebound to put Norwich ahead on her first collegiate goal.
Minutes later, NEC went to their first power play of the contest, where the Cadets extended their lead. Olivia Boyer (Saint Paul, Minn.) cut down a Pilgrim breakout pass by the Pilgrim bench and passed it off to Ammons. Going for a line change, Ammons gave it to Breanna Ricker (Laconia, N.H.), whose dump-in fluttered by McGinty, extending the Norwich lead to two with a shorthanded goal, their second in 1:50.
As the period wore on, the Cadets continued to mount pressure in the attacking end and extended their lead to three in the last five minutes. Alex Leslie (Irishtown, N.B.) circled the wagons around the attacking zone from the left point to the right halfwall before dropping the puck off to Sophie Zemianek (St. Albans, Vt.). While being tripped, Zemianek fed Livia Brooks (Walpole, Mass.) at the left post for the third goal of the opening frame. NEC closed the gap to two a minute and a half later with Pnina Basov capitalizing on a turnover behind the goal, making it a two-goal game at the break with Norwich holding a 24-2 shot advantage.
The Cadets continued pouring on the pressure in the second period. Still, McGinty came up with several saves on glorious chances for Geena Cookinham (Gilmanton Iron Works, N.H.) and Anna Lisac (Euclid, Ohio) to keep it a two-goal game after forty minutes despite a 42-4 shot advantage for the maroon and gold. Not taking their foot off the gas, Norwich converted on the man advantage early in the third. After Cookinham and Leslie played catch at the top of the zone, Leslie found Ammons at the left halfwall before she centered the puck to Boyer, who deflected it home.
Four minutes later, Boyer scored her second of the contest after cleaning up a rebound of a Brooks opportunity. After the goal, Dana Rigan (Lindenhurst, Ill.) relieved Madison Brunet (Timmins, Ont.) in the Norwich net for her first collegiate action between the pipes. Towards the end of the period, Cookinham rifled a goal top shelf off a feed from Libby Lane (Northville, Mich.) to close out the scoring.
In the contest, Boyer (two goals, one assist) and Ammons (three assists) led the way with three points each, while Zemianek and Leslie added two helpers each from the back end to go along with two assists for Brooks.
"We're entering a stretch of 4 games in 7 days, it was great to start this segment of our season off with a strong win," said Head Coach Justin Simpson. "We spoke to the team about playing to our identity and setting the pace from the opening puck drop. Our group did a great job playing fast from the start of the game."
The four-game stretch in a week continues Wednesday night when the Cadets visit Williams for a 6:45 p.m. puck drop in a crucial non-conference tilt.
