BABSON PARK, Mass.- The Norwich Men's Ice Hockey team earned a weekend split against New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) rival Babson by virtue of their 3-1 victory Saturday afternoon.

After having the first couple of opportunities towards Beaver goaltender Mason Rosado, the Cadets would strike first in the opening minutes. After collecting the puck at the left point, Jed Brazo (Homer, N.Y.) put a shot on Rosado that was stopped. Nick Cordeiro (Mississauga, On.) had several chances on the doorstep that were stopped, but Ben van Waterschoot (Whitby, On.) would not be denied and jammed home the ice breaker just under three minutes in. Soon after, Sami Molu (Toronto, On.) would see his first action of the day as both teams traded flurries, but the score remained 1-0 after twenty in an evenly played frame.

In the second, Babson pressed for the tie, dominating possession, but Molu kept them off the scoresheet, stopping all 17 shots he faced in the stanza. The Cadets regained momentum briefly towards the end on the back of consecutive man advantages, but Rosado shut the door keeping the score the same after two.

In the first five minutes of the third, after the pressure continued to start the third, the Beavers broke through with a wrist shot from Jimmy Fallon beating Molu off the rush for the equalizer. 1:19 later, Norwich responded. Cole Fagan (North Andover, Mass.) swept away a Beaver chance springing Bryan O'Mara (Syracuse, N.Y.) on a breakaway. As he was hauled down, O'Mara stayed with the play and found the back of the net as Norwich regained the lead for good.

The two teams continued to trade chances, but eventually the Cadets would extend their lead with under five minutes left. Hayden Heinrich (Richmond Hill, On.) sent the puck behind his own cage to Adam Shuchart (Marietta, Ga.) before he sprung a two-on-one with a pass to Fagan. Fagan cut to the middle and roofed a shot over Rosado as he was falling to the ice to make it a two-goal game. After pulling Rosado for the extra attacker, Babson pressed but were denied by Molu, including a desperation leg save to clinch the win.

After the brief road swing, Norwich will return to Kreitzberg Arena where they will welcome Salve Regina for the first time since 2021 on Feb. 7 at 7 PM in the latter half of a men's/women's doubleheader.