GORHAM, Maine -- Junior Chad Anderson's (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia) goal midway through the third period proved to be the game winner as Norwich University held off the University of Southern Maine, 4-3, in an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Men's East game Saturday at the USM Ice Arena.
The win was the second straight to open the season for the 12th-ranked Cadets. The Huskies fall to 1-1-0.
Anderson converted a set up from rookies Blake Forkey (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Matt McCann (Newmarket, Ontario), beating USM sophomore goalie Koray Celik (Ile-bizard, Quebec) from about 20 feet out at 11:58 to make it 4-2 at the time. The goal was the first of the season for Anderson.
Senior captain Chris Travis (Scituate, Mass.) pulled the Huskies within one at the 18:00 mark, backhanding a shot by Norwich senior goaltender Ryan Klingensmith (Morton, Pa.) for a short-handed tally. The Huskies were able to pull Celik with 37 seconds remaining in favor of the extra attacker, but were unable to get the equalizer to force overtime.
Norwich led 1-0 in the first period on a goal by freshman Scott Schroeder (Drake Saskatchewan) at 3:45. Southern Maine tied the game at 15:34 on freshman Craig Perham's (Arundel, Maine) first collegiate goal.
The Cadets took the lead for good in the opening minute of the second period as Forkey potted his first goal. Sophomore Tim Houston (North Andover, Mass.) gave the visitors a two-goal advantage with his first goal of the season at 8:19.
The Huskies got one back before the end of the period as junior Zach Joy (Dover, N.H.) scored a power-play goal off an assist from Travis. The goal was the third in two games for Joy.
Celik finished the game recording 25 saves while Klingensmith stopped 20 shots. Sophomore Owen Carprino (Nashua, N.H.) and McCann each had two assists for Norwich.
Southern Maine will travel to Waterville, Maine, on Tuesday (7:30 p.m.) to play Colby College in a non-conference game. Norwich will host the Primelink Shootout next Friday and Saturday. The Cadets will play Wisconsin-Stout, last year's NCAA Division III runner-up, in the opening round.
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