NORTHFIELD, Vt.- The Norwich Men's Ice Hockey team continued their season-opening three-game homestand Friday night when they took on Plymouth State for the first time since March 14, 2021, in their inaugural Little East Conference (LEC) contest.

Both netminders, Connor Strobel and Sami Molu (Toronto, Ont.), were tested out of the gate, with Molu playing a key role in an early penalty kill, soon after Cadet's breakaway misfired.  Both sides traded unsuccessful power plays in the opening frame before Norwich got one late in the period, which they converted on. After a shot went wide, Frank D'Ancona (Fort Myers, Fla.) retrieved the puck from the right corner and shuttled it to Devon Thibodeau (Pelham, Ont.) at the near point. Thibodeau's wrist shot was deflected at the net mouth by Colin Elliott (Peterborough, Ont.), triggering the Darn Tough Sock Toss in the final minute of the first and giving Norwich the lead at intermission.  
The momentum from the goal in the last minute of the first period gave Norwich momentum, as they dominated the early stages of the second period, during which they extended their lead. Hayden Heinrich (Richmond Hill, Ont.) caused a turnover at the center red line. Boyd Stahlbaum (Peterborough, Ont.) carried the puck into the attacking end before dishing it off to Jed Brazo (Homer, N.Y.). Brazo sent a shot by Strobel's glove from the bottom of the left circle, stretching the lead to two.  

Molu came up with several key saves on a four-on-four and the subsequent Panther man advantage to keep the Cadets ahead. Soon after, the Cadets stretched the lead to three. D'Ancona misfired on a shot, but Cooper Bertrand (Caledon, Ont.) kept the play alive at the left point and found Elliott camped out in front of the net for his second goal of the game. Just over a minute later, Plymouth State's Will Redick closed the Panther deficit to two, where the score stood at the break.

In the early minutes of the third, Norwich regained the three-goal lead. As he was going to the bench, Thibodeau got the puck to Elliott, who sprang D'Ancona on a two-on-one, which he buried by Strobel for his first collegiate goal. Keeping with the theme of first collegiate goals, Ocean Fancy (Orleans, Mass.) buried his four minutes later after Brazo won a board battle and got a feed from Nick Cordeiro (Mississauga, Ont.), and sent a shot through a mass of bodies. The Panthers added one more later in the third to bring the contest to its final margin.

Elliott and D'Ancona led the way offensively with three points each, while Molu held down the fort in goal with 40 saves to preserve Dominick Dawes '04's first win as bench boss of his alma mater.

"I thought we responded well to what we talked about all week," said Dawes. "We generated numerous opportunities and performed better in managing key moments in the game. That's an excellent hockey team, and I thought we handled the emotion and environment well. I'm looking forward to honoring the 2000 group tomorrow!"

The Cadets will conclude their season-opening homestand at 4:00 p.m. on Nov. 8 when they host New England College to continue LEC action. Before the game, a ceremony will be held to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the 1999-00 National Championship, the first in both school and program history.