PLYMOUTH, N.H. - A one-goal deficit after 20 minutes quickly disappeared once the seventh-ranked Norwich University men's ice hockey team found its stride Friday evening.
The Cadets erased a 2-1 first-period deficit with three goals in the second, then broke open a one-goal contest by scoring three more times in the third to secure a 7-3 victory over Plymouth State University in the Little East Conference (LEC) opener for both programs at Hanaway Rink.
Norwich scored six of the game's final seven goals and closed the night with four unanswered after Plymouth State drew even at 3-3 midway through the second period.
The victory keeps Norwich unbeaten through the opening two games of the season while extending the Cadets' unbeaten streak in the all-time series against Plymouth State to eight games. Norwich now holds a 7-0-1 advantage against the Panthers, with the lone tie coming last season in a 3-3 draw at Hanaway Rink that saw the Cadets take the ensuing shootout, 1-0.
Freshman Easton Swift (West Hartford, Conn.) supplied the opening strike Friday, giving Norwich the lead while the Cadets were shorthanded.
After Plymouth State went to its first power play at 13:35 of the opening period, Swift turned the disadvantage into Norwich's first scoring opportunity. Just 30 seconds into the penalty kill, the rookie broke through for an unassisted shorthanded goal at 14:05, tallying the first goal of his collegiate career and putting the Cadets ahead, 1-0.
Plymouth State answered on the same power play just over a minute later, converting at 15:12 to level the contest.
The Panthers then grabbed their first lead with 56.9 seconds remaining in the opening period, sending Norwich to the first intermission facing a 2-1 deficit despite holding a 7-6 edge in shots on goal.
The Cadets wasted little time resetting the game once the second began.
A Plymouth State interference penalty just 49 seconds into the frame handed Norwich its first power play, and the Cadets capitalized before the advantage reached the one-minute mark.
Sophomore Frank D'Ancona (Fort Myers, Fla.) finished the sequence at 1:41, burying Norwich's first power-play goal of the evening off feeds from senior Zach Ophoven (Burlington, Ont.) and senior Cooper Bertrand (Caledon, Ont.) to pull the Cadets even at 2-2.
Norwich increasingly dictated the pace from there, eventually piling up 18 shots on goal during the middle period alone.
Freshman Nick Metelkin (Wind Gap, Pa.) gave Norwich the lead at 7:59 with his first collegiate goal. Ophoven collected his second assist of the period, while sophomore Ocean Fancy (Orleans, Mass.) picked up the secondary helper.
Plymouth State responded once more, cashing in on a power play at 9:48 to knot the contest at 3-3. That would be the final time the Panthers found the back of the net.
Less than three minutes later, Norwich regained the lead for good. Fancy finished a sequence from Bertrand and Ophoven at 12:46, giving the Cadets a 4-3 advantage while completing three-point evenings for all three players involved in the goal.
The tally ultimately stood as the game winner. Norwich continued to create pressure throughout the remainder of the second, finishing the period with an 18-10 advantage in shots and carrying the one-goal lead into the final 20 minutes.
Bertrand provided the first insurance goal early in the third. With 3:20 gone in the period, the senior defenseman joined the rush and found the net for his third goal of the young season, finishing a setup from Fancy and D'Ancona to stretch the Norwich advantage to 5-3.
Plymouth State received an immediate opportunity to respond when Norwich was whistled for slashing just 13 seconds later, but senior Sami Molu (Toronto, Ont.) and the Cadet penalty-killing unit denied the Panthers throughout the ensuing two-minute advantage.
Norwich continued to pull away at the midway point of the period.
Senior Ben van Waterschoot (Whitby, Ont.) recorded his first goal of the season at 10:12, converting off assists from Metelkin and sophomore Samuel Larsson (Stockholm, Sweden) to make it 6-3.
The Cadets maintained the three-goal cushion through the closing minutes before van Waterschoot struck again.
After matching penalties created four-on-four action late in the period, van Waterschoot found the net with 45.5 seconds remaining for his second goal of the night. Metelkin picked up his second assist and third point of the game, while freshman Avry Shaw (Estero, Fla.) supplied the secondary helper to establish the final 7-3 margin.
The offensive production came from throughout Norwich's lineup.
Ophoven finished with three assists, while Bertrand, Fancy, and Metelkin each recorded one goal and two assists. Van Waterschoot supplied the Cadets' only multi-goal performance with his third-period pair, while D'Ancona added a goal and an assist.
Bertrand and Fancy have now produced three-point performances in each of Norwich's first two games.
Norwich finished with a 36-22 advantage in shots on goal, including an 18-10 edge during the decisive second period and an 11-6 advantage in the third. The Cadets attempted 67 total shots to Plymouth State's 40 while also blocking 13 Panther attempts.
Molu turned away 19 of the 22 shots he faced to earn his second victory of the season. He was perfect over the final 30:12, stopping the final 13 shots sent his way after Plymouth State's tying goal in the second period.
Norwich also controlled the faceoff circle throughout the evening, winning 48 of 69 draws for a 69.6-percent success rate.
D'Ancona led that effort with an 18-7 record at the dot, van Waterschoot went 12-5, freshman Jake Kavanagh (Kirkland, Quebec) won eight of his nine draws, and senior Owen Sclisizzi (Milton, Ont.) finished 8-for-13.
The Cadets went 1-for-3 on the power play while Plymouth State finished 2-for-4. Norwich's penalty killers also supplied Swift's first-period shorthanded goal, giving the Cadets goals in three different manpower situations on the evening.
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The victory pushes Norwich's unbeaten all-time mark against Plymouth State to 7-0-1 and gives the Cadets their first conference victory of the 2026-27 campaign.
Norwich will have less than 24 hours before returning to Little East action, traveling to Henniker, N.H., on Saturday, Nov. 7, for a 4:00 p.m. matchup against New England College.
The Cadets will then return to Kreitzberg Arena the following weekend, welcoming Babson College before hosting the University of Southern Maine.
