The Norwich men’s and women’s hockey teams’ dominance in the regular season has placed them just one win away from a lifetime achievement. With two wins from the Cadet teams on the ice in the NCAA Division III tournament quarterfinals, both squads will qualify for the NCAA Frozen Four. “I haven’t been in this position before with Norwich,” said Norwich women’s hockey junior forward Breanna Ricker. “I’m super proud of this group and proud of all the girls, and I think we’re all just super excited for the weekend to start.””It’s been really special to still be able to come to the rink this time of the year and really just enjoy the moment with this season,” said Norwich men’s hockey forward Jed Brazo. The Norwich women’s hockey team earned a first-round bye to the NCAA Quarterfinals after a regular season that saw them finish with a 25-2-0 overall record to earn the No. 2 seed in their tournament. The wins ran high for the Cadets starting on Friday, Nov. 21, with a 5-0 shutout against the University of Southern Maine Huskies. Norwich would close out the regular season with 22 straight wins, leading to an undefeated Little East conference record at 18-0-0 and an undefeated home record at 15-0-0. That campaign was finished with a 3-1 win in the Little East championship against UMass Boston, their first conference title since 2023. “I’m not really sure how we did it, to be honest, otherwise we’d have the blueprint to do that every season,” said Norwich women’s hockey head coach Justin Simpson. “It’s a kudos to the team. They kept believing. They believed in our systems and our vision and our culture in our own ice identity.”The Cadets credit their success to a deep roster. By the numbers, The Cadets have four different goal scorers with double-digit or more goals and nine players with at least 20 points or more. Livia Brooks and Ricker lead the cast of goal scorers with 19 apiece, joining Olivia Boyer as the top three point-getters for the Cadets. “We have so much depth starting at the goaltender all the way up to the forwards,” Ricker said. “That’s something I feel like we haven’t had a lot of in the last couple of years, and I think that’s helped us get really far.” The Norwich men’s hockey team also credits its depth for its success. The Cadets had three different goal scorers in double figures and seven players finished with 20 points or more. Zach Ophoven, Boyd Stahlbaum and Collin Elliot all finished with 15, 11, and 10 goals respectively, putting themselves as the three leading goal scorers. They join the crowd of seven Cadets with 20 or more points, that group led by Ben van Waterschoot, who tallied a team-high 22 assists, leading to his 31 points on offense. The balanced team play led to a 19-5-4 overall mark and a 13-2 Little East record, finishing as the Little East regular season champions. “It’s just depth from top to bottom,” said Norwich men’s hockey junior defender Hayden Heinrich. “Starting with our goaltending and defense … then up front. There’s different guys scoring every night. We’ve got a lot of speed, we’ve got size, we’ve got skill and I think that combination has really allowed us to have some success down the stretch.”Norwich is looking to put their accomplishments from their regular seasons as one small piece of their bigger hockey tradition. Both teams are looking to add another tournament trophy to their collection, after both winning their prior national titles in the 2010s. The women’s team is searching for its first national championship since 2011, while the men are looking for their first since 2017.”For Justin and I, with Norwich hockey comes expectation,” said Norwich men’s hockey head coach Dominick Dawes. “I think both teams have done a great job of handling that. The community supports it, and I think that’s what attracted both of us here as coaches and that what attracts all the hockey players here.””Norwich, Northfield, central Vermont, there’s an expectation here to win,” Simpson said. “With that comes a lot of fanfare too, and we’re excited to see Kreitzberg jamming on Saturday.”The Norwich women’s hockey team will host the No. 7 seed Hamline Pipers on Saturday, March 21, inside Kreitzberg Arena. Puck drop in Northfield, Vermont, will be at 3 p.m.The Norwich men’s hockey team is on the road to face the No. 3 seed Hamilton Continentals on Saturday, March 21. Puck drop in Clinton, New York, will be at 7 p.m.
NORTHFIELD, Vt. —
The Norwich men’s and women’s hockey teams’ dominance in the regular season has placed them just one win away from a lifetime achievement.
With two wins from the Cadet teams on the ice in the NCAA Division III tournament quarterfinals, both squads will qualify for the NCAA Frozen Four.
“I haven’t been in this position before with Norwich,” said Norwich women’s hockey junior forward Breanna Ricker. “I’m super proud of this group and proud of all the girls, and I think we’re all just super excited for the weekend to start.”
“It’s been really special to still be able to come to the rink this time of the year and really just enjoy the moment with this season,” said Norwich men’s hockey forward Jed Brazo.
The Norwich women’s hockey team earned a first-round bye to the NCAA Quarterfinals after a regular season that saw them finish with a 25-2-0 overall record to earn the No. 2 seed in their tournament.
The wins ran high for the Cadets starting on Friday, Nov. 21, with a 5-0 shutout against the University of Southern Maine Huskies. Norwich would close out the regular season with 22 straight wins, leading to an undefeated Little East conference record at 18-0-0 and an undefeated home record at 15-0-0. That campaign was finished with a 3-1 win in the Little East championship against UMass Boston, their first conference title since 2023.
“I’m not really sure how we did it, to be honest, otherwise we’d have the blueprint to do that every season,” said Norwich women’s hockey head coach Justin Simpson. “It’s a kudos to the team. They kept believing. They believed in our systems and our vision and our culture in our own ice identity.”
The Cadets credit their success to a deep roster. By the numbers, The Cadets have four different goal scorers with double-digit or more goals and nine players with at least 20 points or more. Livia Brooks and Ricker lead the cast of goal scorers with 19 apiece, joining Olivia Boyer as the top three point-getters for the Cadets.
“We have so much depth starting at the goaltender all the way up to the forwards,” Ricker said. “That’s something I feel like we haven’t had a lot of in the last couple of years, and I think that’s helped us get really far.”
The Norwich men’s hockey team also credits its depth for its success. The Cadets had three different goal scorers in double figures and seven players finished with 20 points or more. Zach Ophoven, Boyd Stahlbaum and Collin Elliot all finished with 15, 11, and 10 goals respectively, putting themselves as the three leading goal scorers. They join the crowd of seven Cadets with 20 or more points, that group led by Ben van Waterschoot, who tallied a team-high 22 assists, leading to his 31 points on offense.
The balanced team play led to a 19-5-4 overall mark and a 13-2 Little East record, finishing as the Little East regular season champions.
“It’s just depth from top to bottom,” said Norwich men’s hockey junior defender Hayden Heinrich. “Starting with our goaltending and defense … then up front. There’s different guys scoring every night. We’ve got a lot of speed, we’ve got size, we’ve got skill and I think that combination has really allowed us to have some success down the stretch.”
Norwich is looking to put their accomplishments from their regular seasons as one small piece of their bigger hockey tradition. Both teams are looking to add another tournament trophy to their collection, after both winning their prior national titles in the 2010s. The women’s team is searching for its first national championship since 2011, while the men are looking for their first since 2017.
“For Justin and I, with Norwich hockey comes expectation,” said Norwich men’s hockey head coach Dominick Dawes. “I think both teams have done a great job of handling that. The community supports it, and I think that’s what attracted both of us here as coaches and that what attracts all the hockey players here.”
“Norwich, Northfield, central Vermont, there’s an expectation here to win,” Simpson said. “With that comes a lot of fanfare too, and we’re excited to see Kreitzberg jamming on Saturday.”
The Norwich women’s hockey team will host the No. 7 seed Hamline Pipers on Saturday, March 21, inside Kreitzberg Arena. Puck drop in Northfield, Vermont, will be at 3 p.m.
The Norwich men’s hockey team is on the road to face the No. 3 seed Hamilton Continentals on Saturday, March 21. Puck drop in Clinton, New York, will be at 7 p.m.