After spending three seasons covering the MASCAC in person, setting foot in Kreitzberg Arena for the first time felt like a D3 Hockey Pilgrimage. Full respect to Hanaway Rink in Holderness, NH, the home of the Plymouth State Panthers, but the home of the Six-Time National Champion Norwich Cadets owns an aura all its own.
The prestige extended beyond the building as both the 2nd ranked Women’s team and the (disrespectfully) unranked men’s team played host to the inaugural Little East Conference Championships. UMass Boston had the massive obstacle of challenging the unbeaten (in LEC play) women’s team, while 12th ranked Babson were, to some degree, the favorite heading into the men’s final.
UMass Boston (16-9-2) @ Norwich (25-2-0)
The gap between these teams’ offensive ability was evident from the opening faceoff, with Norwich outshooting the Beacons 14-2 in the opening frame. Breanna Ricker opened the scoring 12:18 into the first on a perfectly placed shot against Leah Bosch. Bosch was the story of the period, as she prevented a game where Norwich’s Grade A scoring chance generation could have easily tilted the scoreboard to 3 or 4 to 1 in the opening frame.
The second period bore fruit for Bosch’s efforts. After a poorly executed outlet pass, the Beacons cashed in on a Norwich icing to even the game at 1 on a goal from Adriana Crepaldi. The shots were 14-6 in the second frame, but the pressure seemed to mount on the host team, as the weight of an upset is heavier than people realize.
Norwich handled the pressure in the third, limiting the Beacons to a single shot on goal. In the tightly contested period, the Cadets transitioned their offensive cycle to the perimeter, reducing the risk of a UMass Boston counterattack, but the danger of their speed put them on a power play following an Aisling McFadden trip with just under three minutes left on the clock. It took less than forty seconds for Alex Leslie to collect payment for the mistake, putting the Cadets back in the lead 2-1. Despite pulling Bosch, and throwing their best effort at Norwich, Breanna Ricker added an empty net goal with forty-five seconds remaining, securing the Little East Championship.
Seeing this Norwich Women’s team complete the perfect season was incredible. This win didn’t come as easily as they might have hoped, but anytime your opponent is in a win-or-go-home game, nothing comes easily. Next up for this group is their pursuit of a 3rd national championship.
Babson (20-5-2) @ Norwich (18-5-4)
The pace of this game was at a breakneck speed from the opening faceoff as both teams tried to find an upper hand in the attacking zone, while locking in defensively. Babson led the shot creation early, but it was Norwich’s Nick Cordeiro who marked the scoresheet first after putting a missile past Nate Mueller. Babson responded immediately, trying to find the equalizer, but in their aggressive pushback, Zach Ophoven extended the Norwich lead after beating Mueller on a goal in transition. Babson carried a 10-6 SOG edge into the intermission.
Babson continued their attack into the second period, and just before the halfway mark, their dogged effort in the net front led to Mike Stevens halving the Cadets’ lead. Both teams had a man advantage after the goal, but neither group was able to finish their opportunities, carrying the 2-1 score into the third.
The final frame was everything championship hockey is about. Babson threw their best at Sami Molu, giving him 11 shots, the most he saw in any period, but he was infallible. Just past the ten-minute mark, Niko Benjamin scored the most electrifying breakaway goal that I’ve ever seen live in a college hockey game. The crowd rallied behind him, and Babson’s composure never seemed to recover. Despite a great effort after pulling Mueller, Cooper Bertrand finished an empty netter to extend the score to 4-1, the inaugural Little East Title secured.
The Cadets’ will return to the National Tournament, and after tight interconference games against Middlebury and Stevenson, it’s not out of the question for them to make some noise on college hockey’s biggest stage.
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