NORTHFIELD, Vt.- On the back of a three goal third period, the Norwich Men's Ice Hockey team picked up a seismic New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) win over Elmira on Friday night where Ben van Waterschoot (Whitby, On.) and Clark Kerner (Kansas City, Kan.) each tallied a goal and two assists in the first start of the season for Bryce Walcarius (Aylmer, On.).

From the get-go, the Cadets held a decided advantage in territorial play, putting Soaring Eagle netminder Kyle Curtin to the test. Seven and a half minutes in, they would break through. While Norwich was cycling the puck around the offensive zone, van Waterschoot and Colin Elliott (Peterborough, On.) exchanged passes before Jason Galotti (Hanover, Mass.) took possession. Galotti left it for Elliott who rifled a one-timer by Curtin to break the ice.

Five minutes later, after a successful penalty kill, Elmira would tie the game with Ryan Reifler converting on an odd man rush. However, the Soaring Eagles returned to the penalty kill a minute later and the Cadets capitalized on the opportunity with van Waterschoot tipping home a Cooper Bertrand (Caledon, On.) pass on the doorstep to regain the lead. Norwich kept pressing, but it remained a one-goal game at the break.

A minute and a half into the second stanza, Elmira re-tied the game. Another rush chance led to an opportunity for Seth Ferguson whose shot found its way through Walcarius for the equalizer. The two sides would trade opportunities throughout the period, but the score remained tied at two after forty minutes.

Exercising desperation, Elmira put Walcarius to the test in the third as they sought their first lead of the evening but were unsuccessful despite holding a carryover man advantage. Countering the Soaring Eagles's possession, Zach Ophoven (Burlington, On.) created a turnover before setting up Holden Doggett (Oakville, On.) for the eventual game winner, giving Norwich their third lead of the game.

Minutes later, the two teams were assessed coincidental minors before Elmira took an ensuing foul to put the Cadets up four-on-three. During the advantage, Kerner gained the zone and carried the puck around the cage, causing Curtin to lose his net. After a chance for van Waterschoot, Bertrand buried the puck in the yawning cage making it a two-goal game for Norwich's second powerplay goal of the game on three opportunities.

With six minutes to go down two, the Soaring Eagles would summon Curtin to the bench for an extra skater while on a power play. The Cadet penalty kill, aided by a faceoff win by Anthony Domina (Odenton, Md.) and a block by Hayden Heinrich (Richmond Hill, On.), did not permit a Soaring Eagle shot. After the kill concluded, Walcarius made several more stops before Kerner generated a takeaway and sunk the empty netter clinching the 5-2 win.

The Cadets and Soaring Eagles will conclude their weekend series Sat. afternoon Feb. 15 at 4 PM when Norwich will honor the members of the 2024-25 graduating class.