HENNIKER, N.H. - Four Little East Conference games have now produced four shutouts for the nationally second-ranked Norwich University women's ice hockey team.
Senior Breanna Ricker (Laconia, N.H.) erupted for her first hat trick of the season and a five-point afternoon on Saturday, helping the Cadets overwhelm New England College, 7-0, at Lee Clement Arena and remain perfect through the opening five games of the 2026-27 campaign.
Norwich improved to 5-0-0 overall and 4-0-0 in Little East play behind a relentless offensive performance that produced a 58-7 advantage in shots. The Cadets scored twice in the opening period, erupted for four more during the second, and added one final shorthanded tally in the third.
Ricker wasted virtually no time setting the tone.
Just 34 seconds after the opening faceoff, Ricker buried her third goal of the season off feeds from sophomore Madalyn Liles (Arlington, Texas) and senior Dani Ammons (Centennial, Colo.), handing Norwich a 1-0 advantage before the game was a minute old.
Ricker struck again at 13:10.
Junior Jordan Brady (Green Bay, Wis.) and Liles supplied the assists on Ricker's fourth goal of the year, doubling the Cadet advantage and giving Liles her second helper of the period.
Norwich carried the 2-0 cushion into the first intermission after controlling much of the opening 20 minutes, then broke the contest open during a four-goal second period.
Junior Alex Leslie (Irishtown, N.B.) supplied the first at 6:25, netting her first goal of the season off assists from senior Madison Anderson (Green Bay, Wis.) and sophomore Maggie Hunter (Royal Oak, Mich.).
The special teams then took over.
With Norwich shorthanded midway through the period, freshman Vanessa Sciampacone (Nepean, Ont.) converted at 11:10 for her second goal of the campaign. Ricker picked up the lone assist, extending her afternoon to three points while the Cadets stretched their advantage to 4-0.
Only 39 seconds later, junior Grace McCluskey (Annapolis, Md.) joined the scoring column with her first goal of the season. Ricker again provided the helper, giving the senior captain four points before the game had reached its halfway point.
Sophomore Ellin Rees (Cardiff, Wales, U.K.) completed the second-period barrage at 19:05, converting on the power play for her first goal of the campaign. Leslie picked up her second point of the period with an assist, while freshman Kaitlyn Dill (Elmhurst, Ill.) added the secondary helper to send Norwich into the second intermission ahead, 6-0.
The Cadets continued to control possession throughout the third while sophomore goaltender Dana Rigan (Lindenhurst, Ill.) protected the shutout at the other end.
Ricker supplied the exclamation point with 4:32 remaining.
With Norwich again playing shorthanded, Ricker finished off an opportunity from freshman Greyce Kennedy (Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia) at 15:28 to complete the hat trick, collect her fifth point of the afternoon, and establish the final 7-0 margin.
The hat trick gave Ricker five goals on the young season. She finished Saturday with three goals and two assists, while Liles recorded two assists and Leslie added a goal and a helper.
Rigan turned aside all seven shots she faced to record the shutout, making four saves in the opening period, two in the second, and one in the third. Norwich, meanwhile, peppered the NEC goal with 58 shots on target.
The Cadets also continued their strong work on special teams. Norwich went 1-for-4 on the power play and scored twice while shorthanded, while New England College finished 0-for-2 with the extra skater and did not register a power-play shot on goal.
Norwich also controlled the faceoff circle, winning 39 of 61 draws. Kennedy went 12-for-16 at the dot, Sciampacone finished 10-for-15, and junior Anna Lisac (Euclid, Ohio) won nine of her 10 draws.
Norwich has now opened its second season of Little East play with four consecutive clean sheets, outscoring Keene State College, Western Connecticut State University, Plymouth State University, and New England College by a combined 26-0.
The Cadets will remain on the road next weekend for two more Little East contests, beginning on Friday, Nov. 20, with a 6:00 p.m. matchup at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
The meeting will serve as a rematch of last season's Little East Championship game, which Norwich hosted at Kreitzberg Arena.
Norwich will then travel to the University of Southern Maine on Saturday, Nov. 21, for a 3:00 p.m. puck drop before returning to Kreitzberg Arena following Thanksgiving break to welcome intrastate rival Vermont State University Castleton for the annual Darn Tough Sock Toss game.
