PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Two goals at pivotal moments in a pair of conference road victories have earned Norwich University men's ice hockey sophomore defenseman Ocean Fancy (Orleans, Mass.) Little East Conference (LEC) Defender of the Week honors for the first time in his career, as announced by the league office on Monday.
Fancy totaled two goals and two assists as the nationally-ranked Cadets defeated Plymouth State University, 7-3, on Friday before rallying past New England College, 2-1, in overtime on Saturday.
The two victories kept Norwich perfect at 3-0-0 overall and moved the Cadets to 2-0-0 in conference play.
Fancy opened the weekend with a three-point performance at Plymouth State, recording one goal and two assists as Norwich erased an early deficit and scored six of the game's final seven goals.
His first point came midway through the second period, when Fancy helped set up freshman Nick Metelkin (Wind Gap, Pa.) for a goal that gave Norwich a 3-2 advantage.
After Plymouth State pulled even less than two minutes later, Fancy supplied the response himself.
With the Cadets on the power play, the sophomore converted at 12:46 off assists from senior Cooper Bertrand (Caledon, Ont.) and senior Zach Ophoven (Burlington, Ont.), restoring Norwich's lead at 4-3.
The goal stood as the game winner.
Fancy added his second assist early in the third period, helping create Bertrand's power-play goal that extended Norwich's advantage to 5-3.
He finished the 7-3 victory with one goal, two assists, five shots on goal, and a plus-1 rating as part of a Norwich attack that generated 36 shots.
Saturday presented an entirely different challenge.
After scoring seven times at Plymouth State, Norwich found itself trailing New England College, 1-0, well into the third period despite generating sustained offensive pressure throughout the afternoon.
Fancy eventually broke through. A New England College holding penalty sent Norwich to the power play at 8:05 of the third, and Fancy converted at 9:32 for his third goal of the season, erasing the deficit and pulling the Cadets even at 1-1.
The equalizer ultimately forced overtime, where freshman Easton Swift (West Hartford, Conn.) delivered the game-winning goal at 3:42 to preserve Norwich's unbeaten start.
Fancy finished the weekend with four points on two goals and two assists, with both of his goals coming on the power play. His two tallies also represented the game-winning goal on Friday and the game-tying goal on Saturday.
The Defender of the Week selection is the first weekly conference honor of Fancy's collegiate career.
His recognition also gives Norwich back-to-back LEC Defender of the Week recipients to open the 2026-27 campaign. Bertrand earned the season's first honor after scoring twice, including the overtime game winner, in Norwich's 7-6 season-opening victory over then-No. 9 University of New England.
Through the opening three games, Fancy has already recorded three goals and four assists for seven points, producing a point in each Norwich victory while helping the Cadets open the season 3-0-0.
Norwich will now return to Kreitzberg Arena for four consecutive home games, beginning Friday, Nov. 13, with a 7:00 p.m. matchup against longtime rival Babson College. The Cadets will then host the University of Southern Maine on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 4:00 p.m.
