Northfield, VT – Freshman F Pier-Oliver Cotnoir scored a pair of goals, and four other Cadets tallied markers as the No. 2-ranked Norwich University men's ice hockey team defeated Castleton State College, 6-2, in an ECAC East contest Friday evening in front of more than 2,000 spectators at Kreitzberg Arena.
With the victory, Norwich (17-1-4, 13-1-2 ECAC East) clinches its 12th straight ECAC East regular season title. The Cadets will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ECAC East Tournament, which is slated to begin on Saturday, Feb. 27.
Norwich opened the scoring at the 5:58 mark of the first period when freshman F Kyle Thomas deftly redirected a shot by senior D Eric Tallent past Castleton goaltender Arthur Hollinger. Tallent's blast came from the left point, and Thomas got his stick on it to allow the puck to slip past Hollinger and put the Cadets on top, 1-0. It marked Thomas' team-leading 15th goal of the season.
The Cadets made it 2-0 at the 13:13 mark of the first period when Cotnoir scored off a pretty feed from freshman F Matt McCann. Senior D Steve Coon started the play out of the Norwich zone with a long up-ice pass to McCann. McCann then tipped a pass to Cotnoir, who beat Hollinger from the slot area.
NU extended its lead to 3-0 just three minutes later when junior F Chad Anderson scored off a pass from Thomas. Anderson camped just outside the crease and Thomas slid a pass onto his stick from the right-hand corner. Anderson wasted no time ripping the shot past Hollinger for his 10th goal of the season. Thomas and freshman F Blake Forkey picked up assists on the goal, which was Anderson's 10th of the year.
Norwich enjoyed several power play opportunities in the second period, including an extended two-man advantage, but the Cadets did not score again until the 17:47 mark when Cotnoir netted his second marker of the game. Sophomore D Owen Carpino was credited with an assist on the tally, which was pounded into the top portion of the net and bounced out so quickly that it took a few moments before everyone realized he had scored. It marked Cotnoir's eighth marker of the season.
Castleton (9-8-5, 7-6-3 ECAC East) got on the scoreboard less than one minute later when Justin Alonzo picked up a Norwich turnover and fed Josh Harris for his eighth goal of the year. Harris corralled the puck near the slot area and Klingensmith did not have much of a chance on the play. The goal, which came on the power play, was scored at the 18:39 mark of the second period. Stuart Stefan also picked up an assist on the tally, which made the score 4-1 in favor of the Cadets.
Norwich held an 11-4 edge in shots during the middle frame, and the Cadets skated into the second intermission with a commanding 4-1 advantage.
The Cadets increased their lead to 5-1 at 4:13 of the third period when senior F Craig Serino won a faceoff back to senior F D.J. Fimiani, who pumped a laser of a shot past Hollinger for his fifth goal of the campaign. Norwich scored its sixth goal of the contest at 10:27 of the third period when freshman F Tory Allen took a pass from junior D Greg Eskedjian, skated in all alone on Hollinger and flipped the puck into the net.
Castleton capped the scoring at the 11:32 mark of the third when Alonzo scored off a rebound. The marker, which came on the power play, was assisted by Kirk Bolduc and Harris. Bolduc's original shot was saved by Klingensmith, but the rebound found Alonzo's stick, and he was able to shoot the puck into the net to make it 6-2.
Klingensmith finished with 16 saves to pick up his 16th victory of the season. Hollinger made 27 stops in the losing effort.
Norwich went 0-for-5 on the power play, while Castleton was a perfect 2-for-2 with the extra attacker.
Courtesy of: Norwich Sports Information
