Northfield, Vermont – The Norwich men's ice hockey team returned to the ice at Kreizberg Arena for the first time since January 27th. Returning home, the team faced Southern Maine for the second straight game.
The early games of the playoffs featured back-and-forth battles on both ends of the ice. Sami Mol (Toronto, Ontario) And USM netminder Mason Palmer will be tested. The Cadets weathered a Husky storm midway through the period before regaining their skating legs and maintaining their territorial advantage.
Late in the period, the Cadets took the lead. After a pass mistake on the USM attacker's side, Patrick O'Neill (Indiana, Pennsylvania) He would skate the puck in a different direction. In a 2-on-1, O'Neal will center. Nick Cordeiro (Mississauga, Ontario) The first shot missed the net. Cordeiro gathered the puck behind the cage, banked it onto Palmer's back and poured it into the net to take the lead, giving Norwich a 1-0 lead at intermission.
The back-and-forth battle continued until the middle of the game, with Moll making a few stops early on and Palmer continuing with a battle for goal. USM pinned Norwich in the defensive zone in the final minutes after the Huskies survived one Cadets chance after another. However, Moll and the Cadets' defense came up big and held a one-point lead heading into the third goal.
Early in the third, the Cadets held the territory advantage, but the Huskies tied the game at half-way through. Cole Ouellette won a footrace to the puck in the left corner and passed the puck to Christopher Morrison, who set up Kayden Ilott's one-timer for the Molls to tie the game. It was USM who scored after a short press from Norwich in an attempt to regain the lead. Ethan McDuff wins a faceoff in the defensive zone and brings in Curtis Judd. Judd breaks the deadlock with a wrist shot from Moll's glove. FYI, Jakub Suran hit an empty-netter on the second-to-last run, clinching the Huskies' victory.
The Cadets finished the season with a total of 14 wins, 11 of which came in NEHC competition.
