NORTHFIELD, Vt.- After a delayed start due to the bleed over from the opening half of the Kreitzberg Arena postseason twin bill, the Norwich Men's Ice Hockey team took the ice and skated to a 3-2 victory over Elmira in the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) Quarterfinals Saturday night.

The Cadets broke the ice on their first opportunity just over a minute into the contest. Dave Overbeeke (Wilton, Conn.) poked the puck free from a board battle to Clark Kerner (Kansas City, Kan.). Kerner found Johnny Johnson (Naperville, Ill.) on the doorstep whose initial shot was stopped by Kyle Curtin, but he potted his own rebound to put Norwich ahead. After choppy action for most of the frame, the Soaring Eagles answered with a powerplay goal with Ryan Reifler sending a cross-ice pass to Chance Gorman.

After the goal, Elmira seized the momentum, but Sami Molu (Toronto, On.) kept the game level. As the period wound down, the Cadets went to a man advantage where they would regain the lead. Ben van Waterschoot (Whitby, On.) took the puck from the right boards off a faceoff win and centered it to Bryan O'Mara (Syracuse, N.Y.). His opportunity was stopped, but he took the rebound and passed it to Kerner with the yawning cage.

After a successful penalty kill, and several saves by Molu to open the second stanza, Norwich grabbed the momentum and added to their lead. From behind the net, Holden Doggett (Oakville, On.) sent the puck to Cooper Bertrand (Caledon, On.) at the point. After circling around the zone with the puck, Bertrand found O'Mara in a soft spot who wristed inside the left post and passed Curtin for the two-goal lead. The two sides traded unsuccessful powerplays, as the period wound down holding up Norwich's two-goal lead.

Looking to close the gap, and with an early Norwich penalty, the Soaring Eagles held the territorial advantage early in the third. After two successful penalty kills by Elmira, it was Norwich's turn to sit in the sin bin where the visitors would draw within one with Curtin on the bench with Reifler deflecting home a Gorman pass. While seeking the equalizer, Gorman took a penalty allowing the Cadets to kill the rest of the clock to take home the win, in which Kerner and O'Mara each posted a goal and an assist and Molu made 27 stops, including 11 in the third.

With the win, the Cadets will advance to the NEHC Semifinals, where they will meet fourth-seeded Skidmore. The contest will take place on the campus of Hobart College on March 8, at a time to be announced.