Northfield, Vt. - Senior Eric Tallent scored the game-winning
goal with five minutes remaining to help the No. 2-ranked Norwich
University men's ice hockey team beat Trinity College, 7-4, in an
entertaining ECAC East-NESCAC Interlock game Saturday afternoon at
Kreitzberg Arena.
Norwich and Trinity skated into the third period tied at 4-4,
and the game remained deadlocked until the 15:00 mark when Tallent
scored a power play goal. Tallent's marker, his sixth of the
season, was assisted by freshman Scott Schroeder and senior Steve
Coon.
Freshman Colin Mulvey added an insurance goal less than two
minutes later when he netted his eighth tally of the season off
feeds from sophomore Tim Houston and senior Craig Serino at the
16:44 mark. Freshman Kyle Thomas capped the scoring at the 19:02
mark when he added an empty-net goal.
The Cadets (14-0-3, 10-0-1 ECAC East) broke on top 1-0 at the 8:10
mark of the first period when freshman Mark Collins potted his
first career goal. Houston started the play when he gathered the
puck in the right corner. The second-year forward then moved it out
to sophomore Pasha Kozhokin at the right point. Kozhokin fired a
shot that Collins redirected past Trinity goalkeeper Wesley
Vesprini (Lexington, Mass.) to give the Cadets the
early lead.
Norwich made it 2-0 at the 12:55 mark of the first period when
freshman Blake Forkey intercepted a pass at the Trinity blueline
and fed junior F Chad Anderson, who one-timed a wrist shot past
Vesprini.
The Bantams (8-5-2, 4-3-2 NESCAC) got on the scoreboard later in
the first period when freshman Zachary Lombardi (Locust
Valley, N.Y.) netted a power play goal. Junior
Matthew Quigely (Pittsburgh, Penn.) won a
faceoff to the right of Norwich senior Ryan Klingensmith and
Lombardi snapped a shot past the Cadets' net minder to make it 2-1.
Trinity had a golden opportunity to tie the score at 2-all with
10 seconds to play in the first period after Trinity junior
Adam Houli (Howell, N.J.) was dragged down by Coon
and was awarded a penalty shot. Klingensmith stayed with Houli all
the way, though, and denied Trinity's leading scorer with a nice
pad save.
Trinity got its offense cranked up early in the second period,
scoring two goals in a span of 24 seconds to take a 3-2 lead.
Sophomore Joe Tierney (Reading, Mass.) struck
first, scoring off a pass from sophomore Jeff Menard
(Burlington, Mass.) at the 4:43 mark. Then, freshman
Michael DiCenso (Greenville, R.I.) put the
Bantams on top 3-2 when he scored off assists from Quigely and
Sebastian Kimmel (Chico, Calif.) at the 5:07 mark.
The Bantams' lead was short-lived, though, as Norwich netted the
equalizer just 44 seconds later on junior Greg Eskedjian's fourth
goal of the season. Schroeder and Thomas were credited with assists
on the marker, which came at the 5:51 mark.
The Cadets moved in front 4-3 less than two minutes later when
sophomore Shawn Baker scored off feeds from freshman Pier-Oliver
Cotnoir and Mulvey at the 7:27 mark.
Trinity would not go quietly, however, as freshman Joe
Kestner (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) scored off a pass from
junior Derek Sandberg (St. Lazare, QC) with
just 20 seconds to play in the second period. The Bantams had a lot
of momentum on their side going into the second intermission, but
it was the Cadets that carried the play in the third period to
garner the victory.
Norwich outshot Trinity 13-5 in the third period. The Cadets
held a 35-26 edge in shots for the game. Klingensmith finished with
22 saves to earn the win for NU between the pipes. Vesprini stopped
28 shots for the Bantams.
Norwich was 1-for-3 on the power play, while Trinity went
1-for-6 on the man-advantage.
Rutland
Herald article
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