NORTHFIELD, Vt. - A pair of goals separated by just over three minutes early in the second period gave the nationally-ranked Norwich University men's ice hockey team the breathing room it needed on Saturday afternoon, as the Cadets remained unbeaten with a 4-2 Little East Conference (LEC) victory over the University of Southern Maine at Kreitzberg Arena.
Norwich moved to 5-0-0 overall and 4-0-0 in conference play, continuing its perfect start behind four different goal scorers, another productive afternoon from its special teams, and 16 saves from senior goaltender Bryce Walcarius (Aylmer, Ont.).
The Cadets finished with a 31-18 advantage in shots on goal and won 38 of the game's 64 faceoffs, while holding Southern Maine scoreless across four power-play opportunities. Norwich went 1-for-4 with the man advantage.
Norwich needed just 4:19 to break onto the scoreboard.
Sophomore Frank D'Ancona (Fort Myers, Fla.) continued his productive opening stretch by burying his fifth goal of the campaign, with senior Cooper Bertrand (Caledon, Ont.) supplying the assist to put the Cadets ahead, 1-0.
Norwich successfully killed a pair of Southern Maine power plays later in the opening period, but the Huskies drew even at the 16:49 mark and sent the teams to the first intermission tied at one.
The Cadets wasted little time reclaiming control after the break.
Freshman Nick Metelkin (Wind Gap, Pa.) struck just 1:27 into the second period for his second collegiate goal. Freshman Easton Swift (West Hartford, Conn.) and freshman Cole MacLean (Kingston, Ont.) picked up the assists as Norwich regained a 2-1 advantage.
Only 3:21 later, senior Hayden Heinrich (Richmond Hill, Ont.) doubled the margin with his first goal of the season.
Freshman Luke Rubin (Fulton, Md.) and D'Ancona earned the helpers on Heinrich's tally, giving D'Ancona a two-point afternoon while pushing Norwich in front, 3-1, at 4:48 of the middle stanza.
The two quick strikes proved to be the only goals of the second period, as Norwich carried the two-goal cushion into the final 20 minutes.
The Cadets then converted their best special-teams opportunity of the afternoon early in the third.
With Norwich on the power play, senior Ben van Waterschoot (Whitby, Ont.) found the back of the net at 4:41 for his third goal of the season.
Freshman Johnny Maruna (Willowick, Ohio) and MacLean were credited with the assists, giving MacLean his second helper of the game and stretching the Norwich advantage to 4-1.
Southern Maine answered at 9:48 to cut the margin back to two, but the Cadets never allowed the Huskies any closer.
Walcarius made nine of his 16 saves during the final period, including five during a Southern Maine power play shortly after Norwich had established its three-goal advantage. He later turned aside additional opportunities down the stretch as the Huskies tried to climb back into the contest.
Norwich's penalty kill finished a perfect 4-for-4, surrendering only five shots across eight minutes of Southern Maine power-play time. The Cadets generated six shots on their own four power plays, converting van Waterschoot's third-period tally.
D'Ancona and MacLean paced Norwich offensively with two points apiece. D'Ancona finished with a goal and an assist, while MacLean registered two assists in his first appearance of the season.
Bertrand, Swift, Rubin, and Maruna each added one assist, while Metelkin, Heinrich, and van Waterschoot joined D'Ancona in the goal column.
Norwich also controlled the faceoff circle throughout the afternoon. D'Ancona won 10 of his 14 draws, van Waterschoot went 10-for-15, and freshman Jake Kavanagh (Kirkland, Quebec) finished 8-for-14 as the Cadets posted a 59.4-percent success rate at the dot.
The Cadets will remain at Kreitzberg Arena for two more Little East contests next weekend before turning their attention toward Thanksgiving break.
Norwich will welcome the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth on Friday, Nov. 20, at 7:00 p.m. for the annual Darn Tough Sock Toss, before hosting the University of Massachusetts Boston on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 4:00 p.m.
The Cadets will then travel to SUNY Plattsburgh for the LayerEight Shootout on Friday, Nov. 27, and Saturday, Nov. 28. Norwich will meet intrastate rival Middlebury College in the opening round of the tournament.
