NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The latest chapter of one of New England's longest-standing men's ice hockey rivalries belonged to the sixth-ranked Norwich University men's ice hockey team on Friday night, as the Cadets built an early three-goal cushion and turned aside an unbeaten Babson College side, 4-2, before 1,743 fans inside Kreitzberg Arena.
Meeting for the 92nd time and renewing the matchup that decided last season's Little East Conference Championship, Norwich scored twice in each of the opening two periods and answered Babson's first goal almost immediately to improve to 4-0-0 overall and 3-0-0 in LEC play.
The loss was the first of the season for the Beavers, who entered the evening receiving votes in the national poll with a 2-0-1 record.
Sophomore Frank D'Ancona (Fort Myers, Fla.) gave Norwich the early advantage at 5:14 of the opening period.
Senior Cooper Bertrand (Caledon, Ont.) and freshman Johnny Maruna (Willowick, Ohio) combined to create the opportunity, with D'Ancona finishing for his fourth goal of the young campaign and a 1-0 Norwich lead.
Babson received the game's first power play just 27 seconds later, but senior Sami Molu (Toronto, Ont.) and the Cadet penalty kill kept the Beavers off the board.
Norwich doubled the margin later in the period.
Sophomore Samuel Larsson (Stockholm, Sweden) put a shot toward goal at 15:10 before senior Owen Sclisizzi (Milton, Ont.) supplied the finish, giving Sclisizzi his first goal of the season and sending the Cadets into the first intermission with a 2-0 advantage.
The two-goal margin held through the opening minutes of the second before freshman Easton Swift (West Hartford, Conn.) pushed Norwich further in front at 4:29.
Senior Ben van Waterschoot (Whitby, Ont.) earned the assist on Swift's third goal of the season, extending the Cadet lead to 3-0.
Babson found its first breakthrough almost immediately afterward.
A Norwich interference penalty at 5:00 gave the Beavers another opportunity with the extra skater, and Babson converted just eight seconds into the advantage to cut the margin to 3-1.
Norwich's response came just 66 seconds later.
Sophomore Ocean Fancy (Orleans, Mass.) helped create the opportunity before Maruna buried his first collegiate goal at 6:14, immediately restoring the three-goal advantage and putting the Cadets ahead, 4-1.
The quick answer highlighted a second period in which the teams combined for three goals over a span of just 1:45.
From there, Norwich turned its attention toward protecting the advantage.
Babson generated sustained pressure later in the second, including another power-play opportunity midway through the period, but Molu stood tall. The senior netminder stopped 10 shots in the frame as the Cadets carried their 4-1 advantage into the second intermission.
Norwich received two power plays during the third period but could not add to its lead, leaving Babson an opportunity to make a final push.
The Beavers trimmed the deficit to two at 13:53, making it 4-2 with just over six minutes remaining.
Molu and the Norwich defense allowed nothing further.
Babson generated four shots on goal over the closing five-plus minutes, but Molu turned aside each attempt while the Cadets blocked two additional looks in the final minutes to close out another conference victory.
Molu finished with 24 saves on 26 shots to improve to 3-0-0 between the pipes this season. He made six saves in the first period, 10 in the second, and eight more during the final frame.
Norwich finished with a narrow 28-26 advantage in shots on goal and received scoring from four different players. Maruna led the offensive effort with a goal and an assist, while D'Ancona, Sclisizzi, and Swift each found the back of the net.
Bertrand, Larsson, van Waterschoot, and Fancy each supplied an assist.
The Cadets also controlled possession at the faceoff dot throughout the night, winning 44 of 67 draws for a 65.7 percent success rate.
D'Ancona was particularly dominant, winning 16 of his 20 faceoffs, while Sclisizzi went 10-for-17 and van Waterschoot claimed seven of his nine draws.
Norwich's defensive effort also included 11 blocked shots. The Cadets killed three of Babson's four power plays while finishing 0-for-2 on their own opportunities with the extra skater.
Friday night's victory continued Norwich's unbeaten start while handing Babson its first setback of the campaign in the latest installment of a rivalry that has now spanned 92 meetings.
Norwich will have another quick turnaround, returning to Kreitzberg Arena on Saturday, Nov. 14, to continue Little East Conference play against the University of Southern Maine. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
