NORTHFIELD, Vt.- The Norwich men's ice hockey team welcomed UMass Dartmouth to Kreitzberg Arena for the first time since Jan. 4, 2008, and rolled to a 6–2 victory on Saturday afternoon behind a relentless offensive effort and a blistering start.

The Cadets seized control almost immediately, striking just 10 seconds into the contest. Off the opening faceoff, Hayden Heinrich (Richmond Hill, Ont.) sprang Ben van Waterschoot (Whitby, Ont.) and Zach Ophoven (Burlington, Ont.) on a two-on-one rush. Van Waterschoot delivered a perfectly weighted backhand pass across the slot, and Ophoven finished cleanly to give Norwich an instant 1–0 lead.

Moments later, Norwich went to the power play and doubled its advantage before the game reached the two-minute mark. Frank D'Ancona's (Fort Myers, Fla.) initial shot was blocked down in traffic, but Boyd Stahlbaum (Peterborough, Ont.) recovered the puck and fired a cross-ice pass to Cooper Bertrand (Caledon, Ont.), who buried the chance to make it 2–0.

UMass Dartmouth settled in defensively and managed to kill off consecutive penalties, leaning on goaltender Marshall McKallip to stem the tide. The Corsairs then earned their first power play of the afternoon, but Norwich's penalty kill stood firm. Goaltender Sami Molu (Toronto, Ont.) made several timely saves to preserve the shutout through the remainder of the opening period.

Norwich picked up right where it left off in the second period, extending the lead just under two minutes in. Devon Thibodeau (Pelham, Ont.) disrupted play in the neutral zone and quickly transitioned the puck to Owen Sclisizzi (Milton, Ont.), who joined Stahlbaum on an odd-man rush. Sclisizzi slid the puck across, and Stahlbaum tapped it home to make it 3–0.

The Cadets continued to roll as the period progressed. Following another successful penalty kill, Norwich struck twice in a span of 22 seconds, effectively breaking the game open. Off a faceoff win, Ophoven and van Waterschoot worked the puck to Nick Cordeiro (Mississauga, Ont.), whose shot slipped through McKallip to push the lead to four.
In the ensuing sequence, Niko Benjamin (Surprise, Ariz.) cleared the defensive zone, and Colin Elliott (Peterborough, Ont.) carried the puck into the offensive end before feeding D'Ancona in the slot. D'Ancona snapped the puck home to make it 5–0, prompting a goaltending change as Graham Burke entered for UMass Dartmouth.

The Corsairs showed resilience late in the period, finally breaking through to cut into the deficit. Tyler Stewart scored at even strength, and UMass Dartmouth added a power-play goal by Hunter Scanlon shortly thereafter, trimming the Norwich lead to 5–2 after 40 minutes of play.

Norwich maintained control throughout the third period, continuing to pressure Burke and limiting the Corsairs' offensive chances. Despite sustained zone time for the Cadets, the three-goal margin held until late in the contest.

With two minutes remaining, Burke headed to the bench for an extra attacker. Norwich capitalized quickly. Off a defensive-zone faceoff win, Matt Harvey (Fort Covington, N.Y.) moved the puck to Elliott, who lofted a pass ahead to Benjamin. Benjamin finished into the empty net, sealing the 6–2 victory and capping the Cadets' dominant afternoon.
Molu earned the win in net for Norwich, while the Cadets' balanced attack featured contributions throughout the lineup, highlighted by early scoring, special teams success, and strong defensive structure.

"It was one of our best starts of the year with the two goals in the opening five," said Assistant Coach John Roberts. "We had some great moments, but also had some down moments that we will need to learn from. At the end of the day, we walked away with 5 out of 6 points on the weekend, which was crucial for league standings and a good way to head into a huge weekend against Babson and Southern Maine."

Norwich will open its final regular-season homestand on Friday night at 7:00 p.m., when the Cadets welcome Southern Maine to Kreitzberg Arena for continued Little East Conference play.