NORTHFIELD, Vt.- In their penultimate contest before the semester break, the Norwich Women's Ice Hockey team took home ice Friday night to host SUNY Morrisville in non-conference action in the first meeting between the two programs since the 2018 NCAA Quarterfinals, where the Cadets outlasted the Mustangs in the first collegiate start for Dana Rigan (Lindenhurst, Ill.).

On the opposite end of the ice, the Cadets put Morrisville goaltender Sydney Canham to work early and often. After several opportunities were turned aside, Norwich broke the ice with just over eight minutes left to play in the opening frame. Penny Saich (Norwell, Mass.) and Grace McCluskey (Annapolis, Md.) prevented a Mustang breakout in front of the Cadet bench. After glancing off McCluskey, the loose puck came to Natalie Heutmaker (Eagan, Minn.), who skated into the attacking zone and fired a shot five-hole on Canham to give Norwich the lead. The Cadets continued to press, but Canham kept it a one-goal game at the break, despite Morrisville not tallying a shot on goal.

Norwich continued to turn up the pressure on Canham in the second period, throwing pucks and bodies at the net, but the score remained. Against the flow of play, the Mustangs tied the game directly off a turnover on their first shot on goal of the game with just under eight minutes left in the middle frame.

As Norwich continued to press, they broke the deadlock with just over four minutes left to play. Heutmaker won a board battle along the left half-wall and sent it to Libby Lane (Northville, Mich.), covering the left point. Lane sent it across to Maggie Hunter (Royal Oak, Mich.) with time and space to wind up a slap shot, sending the puck over Canham's blocker for her first collegiate goal, regaining the lead for the Cadets, which they took into the break while holding a power play.

After the successful kill for Morrisville, they got their first sustained pressure on Rigan early in the third as they sought the equalizer. After Rigan made several saves, the Cadets continued to press to extend their lead, but Canham kept the contest within striking distance. After back-to-back successful Norwich penalty kills, they would cement the game in the last minute.

Dani Ammons (Centennial, Colo.) cleared the puck out of the defensive zone, sending it all the way down. Anna Lisac (Euclid, Ohio) won the footrace, negating an icing and had a shot turned aside by Canham, but Madison Anderson (Green Bay, Wis.) cleaned up the rebound to make it a two-goal game. Canham went to the bench for the extra attacker shortly thereafter. Still, Norwich prevented Morrisville from setting up, cementing the 3-1 win with Canham making 47 saves on the night, while Heutmaker tallied two points.

"Canham, the Morrisville goalie, played exceptionally well and made a number of significant saves," said Head Coach Justin Simpson. "It was nice to have contributions from our younger players today with Maggie and Natalie scoring and Dana getting his first NCAA win. We need to be more disciplined as a group and limit the number of offensive zone penalties we take."

The Cadets will round out their 2025 calendar Saturday afternoon, Dec. 6, when they hold their first-ever matchup with SUNY Cortland at 3:00 p.m.