Norwich ready to go again
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Staff Report - Published: January 1, 2009
NORTHFIELD — After a 23-day break to lick more than the usual number of wounds, the Norwich men's ice hockey team will skate back into action tomorrow evening in the opening round of the 10th Annual Times Argus Invitational against Neumann College at 7 p.m.
The opening game of the four-team tournament is between Elmira and Gustavus Adolphus at 4 p.m.
The Cadets enter the tournament with a 4-2-2 record after starting the season with three consecutive wins. After that things went south against top competition. The Cadets tied Plattsburgh State in the opening round of the Primelink Tournament, and then lost to Middlebury in the championship game. The following weekend the cadets lost to Hamilton on the road and managed just a tie with Amherst.
The final game before the break was a 7-0 whitewash of in-state foe St. Michael's. Despite the record Norwich is ranked 12th in the nation, but there are no patsies in the tournament with Elmira ranked 5th, Neumann and Gustavus Adolphus also receiving votes in the poll.
Senior Nikita Kashirsky leads the Cadets in scoring with nine points, but the Cadets strength has been the team's scoring balance with seven players having scored at least two goals and 12 players having scored at least one goal.
Defensively the Cadets have allowed just 16 goals with the primary netminder, junior Ryan Klingensmith (five starts), sporting a 1.95 goals against average while stopping more than nine of every 10 shots he's faced.
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