KEENE, N.H.- Coming off an emphatic Little East Conference (LEC) opening win, the Norwich Women's Ice Hockey team took on Keene State Saturday night, where Breanna Ricker (Laconia, N.H.) turned in a career performance.

Ricker potted her first of the contest in the opening minute. Olivia Boyer (Saint Paul, Minn.) recovered the puck in the defensive zone and connected with Livia Brooks (Walpole, Mass.), setting up a two-on-two. Brooks's original shot got blocked, but Ricker recovered the puck and buried it by the Owls' goaltender Ai Chung to put the Cadets ahead.

Norwich kept the pressure on, but Chung turned them aside repeatedly. Six minutes in, Keene State went to their first power play, which yielded a goal by Brianna Finke soon after the faceoff to even the score. The Cadets continued to push the offense, but Chung stood tall, keeping the score level at one after twenty minutes despite a 26-3 shot edge for the maroon and gold.

In the second, Norwich continued to press and broke the deadlock four minutes in. After several attempts, Maggie Hunter (Royal Oak, Mich.) centered the puck in front for Boyer, which Chug stopped, but the rebound came to Brooks, who potted it in a yawning cage to give the Cadets the lead back.

Three minutes later, Norwich went to their first man advantage of the night, where they cashed in. Anna Lisac (Euclid, Ohio) and Lauren Tuzik (Frankfort, Ill.) exchanged passes before Tuzik sent a shot towards the goal, deflected home by Geena Cookinham (Gilmanton Iron Works, N.H.). Thirty-eight seconds later, on another power play, Ellin Rees (Cardiff, Wales, U.K.) set up Dani Ammons (Centennial, Colo.) for an opportunity that was stopped, but Ricker put home the rebound. The three-goal gap remained after forty minutes as the Cadets continued to dominate.

Norwich added two more tallies in the third period courtesy of special teams. Rees picked up a shorthanded goal halfway through the period, picking off an errant pass and converting on a breakaway. With under three minutes left, on the man advantage, Ricker completed the hat trick by tipping home an Alex Leslie (Irishtown, N.B.) point shot.

Along with Ricker's hat trick, Rees added three points in a game where Norwich dominated, outshooting the Owls 74-11, with the power play going a sterling three for five.

"Our staff challenged the team after the first period and the group elevated their game to another level," said Head Coach Justin Simpson. "We really stepped on the gas in the 2nd and 3rd period. It was really nice to see our power play click as well, going 3/5. We've had a lot of scoring chances on the power play so it was nice to see us capitalize on a few today".

The Cadets will return to Kreitzberg Arena for their next contest when they continue LEC play against New England College on Nov. 15 at 3:00 p.m.