NORTHFIELD, Vt.- By virtue of a victory in a shootout over intrastate rival Middlebury Saturday night, the Norwich Men's Ice Hockey team reclaimed the championship of the annual LayerEight Shootout. This marks the twelfth time the Cadets have taken home the championship in the tournament's 27-year history, their first since 2021 and first on home ice since 2018.

The Panthers had the early jump in the contest, with Sami Molu (Toronto, Ont.) answering the early call. Norwich responded by putting Middlebury goaltender Andrew Heinze to the test. With six and a half minutes remaining in the back-and-forth opening period, the Cadets broke through first.

After the puck got cleared from the Panther attacking zone, Middlebury looked to recover in their defensive end where a forechecking Ben van Waterschoot (Whitby, Ont.) forced a turnover on the left wing boards before sending a cross ice pass to Nick Cordeiro (Mississauga, Ont.) who one-timed it home to open the scoring and giving Norwich a one goal lead at intermission.

After Middlebury successfully killed off an early penalty in the second period, they leveled the score with Revy Mack sending home a shot in front of Molu. The two teams continued to trade opportunities with Heinze and Molu looking sharp. With under four minutes left in the frame, the Panthers took the lead with Jack Silverman burying a rush chance to put Middlebury in front after forty minutes.

The Panthers looked to extend their lead earlier in the third, but Molu stood tall, keeping the game within striking distance. After withstanding the early pressure, Norwich knotted the score on the man advantage eight minutes in.

After a Samuel Larsson (Stockholm, Sweden) zone entry, Frank D'Ancona (Fort Myers, Fla.) possessed the puck along the right wing boards before setting up Boyd Stahlbaum (Peterborough, Ont.) for a net drive. Heinze denied Stahlbaum's stuff-in attempt, but the rebound came to Devon Thibodeau (Pelham, Ont.) at the left faceoff circle, where he beat Heinze to even the score. The Cadets pushed to break the tie, including more power play time, but Heinze stood firm, forcing overtime.

In the extra period, the Panthers had the first two opportunities that were blocked aside before Heinze and Molu made three saves each, forcing the shootout. D'Ancona notched the lone shootout marker, while Molu shut down all three Middlebury shooters, including Dante Palombo, to clinch the tournament title.

"It was a great effort tonight," Head Coach Dominick Dawes '04 said. "The guys stuck with it, and guys stepped up when it counted, and its a great way to go into break!"

For scoring the game-winner in the shootout and three total assists in the tournament, D'Ancona was recognized as the Most Valuable Player. Thibodeau and van Waterschoot were also honored with All-Tournament Team plaudits. 

After rounding out the 2025 portion of their schedule, the Cadets return to action on Jan. 2 at 7:00 p.m. when they host Nazareth as part of the Northfield Savings Bank Holiday Tournament.