NORTHFIELD, Vt.- The Norwich Men's Ice Hockey team earned a pivotal result in the stretch run of Little East Conference (LEC) play on Friday night, picking up a shootout victory over UMass Boston at Kreitzberg Arena. The win provided a momentum boost for the Cadets as conference positioning tightens, with timely scoring and strong goaltending leading the way.

Both teams came out with pace in the opening minutes, trading early chances at even strength. Zach Ophoven (Burlington, Ont.) nearly opened the scoring on a rush when his attempt rang off the post, signaling Norwich's attacking intent. Midway through the period, the Cadets were forced to the penalty kill but handled the situation cleanly, and the successful kill proved to be a turning point.

Norwich struck twice in a span of just 16 seconds to seize control of the game. The opening goal began in the right corner, where Niko Benjamin (Surprise, Ariz.) worked the puck free and moved it along to Frank D'Ancona (Fort Myers, Fla.). D'Ancona quickly tapped the puck to Colin Elliott (Peterborough, Ont.), who circled into space along the left side of the zone and snapped a wrist shot from the high slot past UMass Boston goaltender Alex Koenig to give the Cadets a 1–0 lead.

Off the ensuing faceoff, the Cadets doubled the advantage. A Beacons clearing attempt from their defensive zone was knocked down by Nick Cordeiro (Mississauga, Ont.), creating a net-front scramble. Devon Thibodeau's (Pelham, Ont.) initial follow-up was denied by Koenig, but Ophoven stayed with the play and buried the loose puck to make it 2–0.

UMass Boston attempted to respond late in the period. Still, Norwich goaltender Sami Molu (Toronto, Ont.) was steady in net, turning aside late chances to preserve the two-goal lead heading into the first intermission.

The Beacons wasted little time cutting into the deficit in the second period. Just 20 seconds after the drop of the puck, Kyle Isenburg scored to bring UMass Boston within one. Despite the early goal, Norwich controlled much of the play throughout the middle frame, generating sustained offensive pressure and outshooting the Beacons 10–5 in the period. Koenig, however, was sharp, making several key saves to keep the game at 2–1 entering the third.

After killing off a carryover power play to start the final period, UMass Boston found the equalizer four minutes in. Chris Merryman finished a sequence in the Norwich zone to knot the score at 2–2.

Norwich continued to dictate possession for much of the remainder of regulation, creating quality chances but unable to find a go-ahead goal as Koenig stood tall. With neither side able to break the tie, the contest moved to overtime.

UMass Boston controlled the early stages of the extra session, forcing Molu to make a pair of saves to keep the game alive. Koenig answered at the other end with two stops of his own before Molu closed the period with two clutch saves in the final moments, sending the game to a shootout.

In the shootout, D'Ancona provided the decisive tally, converting his attempt, while Molu was perfect between the pipes, stopping all three UMass Boston shooters to seal the victory.

Molu's performance anchored the Cadets throughout the night, particularly during overtime and the shootout, as Norwich picked up a critical conference win on home ice.

"I thought there was excellent energy in the building tonight," said Head Coach Dominick Dawes '04. "We had our chances, and Sami earned us the extra point. But at the end of the day, we need to finish the job."

The Cadets will continue LEC play on Saturday, Jan. 31, when they host UMass Dartmouth at 4 p.m. at Kreitzberg Arena.