NORTHFIELD, Vt.  – Another back-and-forth battle for UMass Boston Men's Ice Hockey against Norwich University, ranked fifth nationally, ended in defeat as the Beacons fell in overtime to the Cadets, 1-0, on the road Friday night after the two sides battled for 60 minutes with both goalies standing strong in net for their respective teams.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 0, #5 Norwich University 1

UMass Boston (6-9-0, 3-5-0 NEHC)

#5 Norwich University (11-3-1, 7-1-1 NEHC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
The opening 20 minutes of play was marked was marked with strong goaltending from both sides with UMass Boston senior goalie Sam Best stopping all eight shots he faced in net while senior goalie Drennen Atherton matched Best in stopping eight shots as well, keeping the game scoreless through one.

The Norwich offense would come to life in the second period, tripling their shots on goal against Best with 15 in the middle frame while the Beacons were only able to muster up five against Atherton. UMass Boston's penalty kill continued its strong showing this year with a perfect 2-for-2 performance with a man down. The Beacons' penalty kill sits at 88.1% on the season now and have allowed just two power play goals in their last five games.

An opportunity to take the lead came about for UMass Boston in the third when they would go on a power play at the beginning of the period, but all three Beacon shots were turned away by Atherton who ended up making 11 saves in the final 20 minutes, to help force a five-minute sudden death overtime.

Just 56 seconds into the overtime, senior forward Noah Williams located junior defender Joe Nagle on the right side of the defensive end. Nagle turned up ice and fired from just beyond the right circle, freezing Best, and netting the overtime game-winning goal as UMass Boston fell 1-0 to Norwich University.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Sam Best made 32 saves on the 33 shot attempts he faced from Norwich University
• Drennen Atherton stopped all 24 shots UMass Boston fired on net
• Both teams were nearly even in the faceoff battle with the Cadets winning 23-of-45 faceoffs while the Beacons took 22-of-45
• UMass Boston is 0-6-1 in their last seven games against Norwich with their last win coming back in 2018, a 4-2 win, at home

 
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston finishes their four-game road trip tomorrow afternoon against New England College in a New England Hockey Conference matchup scheduled to get underway at 4:00 PM. The Beacons took down the Pilgrims in decisive fashion at home earlier this season, 5-2, on November 4^th.