MIDDLETOWN, R.I.- The Norwich men's ice hockey team made a statement in its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2023 on Saturday night, rolling past Salve Regina 6-1 in Middletown to punch its ticket to the NCAA Quarterfinals.

The Cadets wasted little time taking control, erupting for two goals in a span of just 19 seconds and never looking back. Nick Cordeiro (Mississauga, Ont.) led the way with one goal and two assists, while Boyd Stahlbaum (Peterborough, Ont.) and Zach Ophoven (Burlington, Ont.) each added two points in a dominant all-around effort. With the victory, Norwich extended its unbeaten streak to 12 games.

"We just needed to play to our identity, and that's kind of what we talked about," head coach Dominick Dawes '04 said. "We weren't really too concerned about Salve. Obviously, they've had a unique year and had a lot of time off. A big thing for us was getting on them and wearing them down, and I think we did that early. I think you could tell that they got tired, and I think we just took advantage. Them not playing in a while, I think, really played its toll. But credit to them — hell of a year. They deserved to be here. They deserved to host this game. I just thought we did a really good job handling what we needed to handle."

Salve Regina, playing its first game since Feb. 10, came out with an early jump and tested Norwich goaltender Sami Molu (Toronto, Ont.) in the opening minutes. After weathering that initial push, the Cadets stunned the home crowd with a quick-strike barrage just four-and-a-half minutes into the contest.

The first goal started from the defensive zone, where Niko Benjamin (Surprise, Ariz.) jump-started an odd-man rush by sending Colin Elliott (Peterborough, Ont.) and Frank D'Ancona (Fort Myers, Fla.) the other way. Elliott fed D'Ancona, who beat Seahawks goaltender Selby Warren on Norwich's fourth shot of the night to open the scoring.

Seconds later, the Cadets struck again. Hayden Heinrich (Richmond Hill, Ont.) cut down a play in the neutral zone, sending Stahlbaum on a rush and found Jed Brazo (Homer, N.Y.), who converted to double the lead and cap the early flurry.

"We knew they like to play a lot in transition, so we knew it was going to be up and down the ice," Ophoven said. "We had to make sure we got back and covered each other so we wouldn't get beaten up on the ice. That was big going into it — and obviously scoring early helped."

Norwich continued to control the pace even as the game briefly turned to special teams, with both sides getting chances on the man advantage during a penalty-filled stretch.

Once five-on-five play resumed, the Cadets added to their lead. Ben van Waterschoot (Whitby, Ont.) sprung Cordeiro on a breakaway and buried his chance to send Norwich into the first intermission with a commanding 3-0 advantage.

"Mindset-wise, we obviously knew they had a couple weeks — maybe a month — off from real game action, so we wanted to start strong and kind of play behind them, get pucks deep, and play our fast game," Cordeiro said. "I think against any team, when we play our fast game, we've got a good chance of winning every game."
Salve Regina looked to push back early in the second period and gained some momentum on a power play, but Molu came up with a series of key saves to keep the Seahawks off the board and preserve Norwich's three-goal cushion.

"Sami's the backbone of this team," Cordeiro said. "He's a brick wall, and when you have a brick wall like that behind you, it gives you confidence. Games are all about energy and momentum, so every time he makes a big save, it gives us momentum and energy. Then we can go the other way, put shots on net, and score. So yeah, Sami definitely gives us way more confidence knowing he's back there."

The Cadets seized momentum again late in the period and struck once more on the power play in the final minute of the second, as Cordeiro and Ophoven connected to push the lead to 4-0 heading into the final frame.

Norwich kept its foot on the gas in the third. Just over a minute into the period, Ben van Waterschoot found the back of the net, continuing his torrid second-half run with his 27th point since Jan. 10. Moments later, Stahlbaum added another power-play goal to make it 6-0.

Salve Regina broke up the shutout just under seven minutes into the third on a 5-on-3 goal from Jack Arizo, but by then the outcome was well in hand as Norwich closed out an emphatic road victory.

Dawes credited the team's consistency and internal leadership for the run it has pieced together over the final stretch of the season.

"It honestly has nothing to do with me," Dawes said. "I think it has a lot to do with them and the character in that room and the buy-in in that room. It's been unbelievable since the first day. I think we've just gotten better week by week, day by day. Like any year, there are a lot of ups and downs. It's never perfect. But they've shown up and given their all every single day, and I think that's why they're prepared for the moment. We've just got to take it game by game and week by week."

With the win, Norwich advances to the NCAA Quarterfinals, where the Cadets will travel to face Hamilton, the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) representative that defeated Neumann 6-2 in its first-round matchup.

Dominick Dawes Postgame Interview

Nick Cordeiro and Zach Ophoven Postgame Interview