NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Just two years removed from claiming the program's third national championship with a 3-2 double overtime victory over St. Norbert in 2010, the Norwich University men's ice hockey team will make its third straight Division III semifinal appearance after shutting out Wentworth 3-0 in the an NCAA quarterfinal round game on Saturday night at Kreitzberg Arena.
Chris Duszynski (Okotoks, Alberta), Kyle Thomas (Waltham, Mass) and Pier-Olivier Cotnoir (Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec) each scored a goal while sophomore goaltender Parker Carroll (West Chester, Pa.) made 19 saves to lead Norwich (24-2-2) to the victory.
Duszynski scored just 20 seconds into the game to give the Cadets the only lead it would need on its way to qualifying for its 10th D-III Frozen Four, all coming in the 17 seasons NU head coach Mike McShane has been at the helm of the program.
Duszynski pounced on a loose puck in the slot to beat Wentworth goalie Alex Peck after freshman defenseman Alec Thieda (Rochester Hills, Mich.) ripped a shot from the blue line off the goal post that bounced right back to Duszynski.
NU held the 1-0 lead into the first intermission and maintained an 11-5 shot advantage over the first 20 minutes.
Norwich struck quickly again in the second period as Thomas wristed a shot past Peck's glove while backing away in the slot for his 16th goal of the season coming off assists from Blake Forkey (Boca Raton, Fla) and Doug Lindensmith (Sterling Heights, Mich.).
Cotnoir capped the scoring with his team-leading 21st goal of the season and 12th power play tally on a rocket one-time blast from the point that ricocheted off the inside of the left post and into the back of the net before Peck could see it. Thieda picked up an assist on the play after he fed Cotnoir from the other point.
Carroll improved to 16-1-1 on the year and has now won eight straight starts, including all four playoff games so far. Peck made 21 saves and finishes the year at 13-3-1.
Wentworth finishes its season at 21-7-1. The Leopards were making their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance and picked up their first ever NCAA victory on Wednesday with a 3-1 win over Plymouth State in the first round.
Norwich will now face St. Norbert (18-5-5) for the third straight season in the NCAA Semifinals at 4 p.m. at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, N.Y. The Green Knights defeated Gustavus Adolphus 4-1 in their quarterfinal matchup.
Norwich and St. Norbert have combined to win three of the last four national championships with the Green Knights taking titles in 2008 and 2011 and Norwich winning in 2010.
(Portions of this release courtesy of Norwich Sports Information)
