The Norwich Guidon

The Norwich Guidon, student newspaper of Norwich University, is published twice monthly and has won numerous awards for excellence in its class.

Reporters, editors, and managers for The Norwich Guidon are students at the university who work under the guidance of a Communications faculty advisor. Student editors learn electronic pagination using state of the art computer equipment.

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NU hockey team eyes national championship

By Mike Legere
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

Last year, Norwich lost to Wisconsin Superior in overtime in the National Championship game. "We dominated pretty much the whole game," said Marshal Lee, a 25-year-old senior communications major from Calgary, AB. "So we kind of felt like that game was stolen from us, and we should have another national championship under our belt."

With a record of 19-2, Norwich has its eye on Nationals and is looking very strong heading into the end of the season. They have five solid lines this year that are all playing hard and scoring goals. A lot of players have "stepped up" and scored goals when the team really needed them, said Lee.

"Our biggest strength is the way we move the puck. We move the puck better than any team in the country," said Phil Aucoin, a 21-year-old junior communications major from Chelmsford, Mass. "I think the way we move the puck stuns teams. We trap them, and they can't really do anything about it." The team also has a strong defense that gets the puck up to the forwards very quickly, said Aucoin.

The Norwich Cadets have a few key home games coming up against Middlebury and Williams.

"You just can't go out and expect to win. You still have to work hard no matter who you're playing," said Jon Grabie, a 23-year-old junior from Sewell, NJ. "Whether you're playing one of the worst teams in the league or one of the best teams in the league, you got to play the same way. You got to be consistent."

If Norwich makes it to Nationals again this year, they will most likely face many of the same teams that challenged them last year, none of which, should be taken lightly.

"In the final four it's always tough to play the teams from Wisconsin. They play real physical, and they're very big. They shoot the puck real hard, and the style they play is just real tough and dirty, and we aren't used to that," said Aucoin. "I think if we keep focused on what we want to do, and keep playing the way we're playing, the national championship is not too far away. When we're focused, there's really nobody that can skate with us."

"We have the makings of a championship team," said Lee. "Anything less than a national championship is definitely going to be a big disappointment for us. We're really gunning for winning the national championship, not just making it there this year."

"Everyone's hoping to go to nationals, but we're just taking it one game at a time, now," said Grabie.

With Norwich's two recent losses to Trinity and New England College, the men's hockey team loses its number one seed in the nation.

On Jan. 25, Norwich played Trinity at an away game and lost 3-5. Before this game, they were ranked number one in the nation.

"We were ranked number one in the country, so when you're ranked number one in the country, every team that you play is gunning for you, and they play their best game when they play you," said Marshal Lee, a 25-year-old senior communications major from Calgary, AB.

The team beat Trinity 4-1 early on in the season, so for some the loss came as a surprise. But the team also knew that Trinity was not to be taken lightly.

"We knew it was going to be a tough battle, because it was a tough battle at home, so we got out there and found out pretty quick that it was going to be a physical game and a tough game to beat these guys," said Lee. "It was a ping-pong match all the way into the third period, and they kind of just opened it up in the end. Maybe we didn't play as tough as they did, and they had a really good game."

Although the loss was a disappointment, the players didn't seem too bothered by it. They won four straight games until their most recent loss.

"I think it was a loss that we needed, because it made us know that we didn't want to lose any more games, and since then we have been playing really well," said Phil Aucoin, a 21-year-old junior communications major from Chelmsford, Mass.

"It's probably good that it happened to us now and not later in playoffs," said Lee.

On Feb. 14, Norwich lost 7-5 to New England College. Although this is another upset, the team is concentrating on the big games to come.

"We played well, but not good enough to win. I think the other team just outplayed us, and they seemed like they wanted it a little bit more," said Jon Grabie, a 23-year-old junior communications major from Sewell, NJ. "We're just going to worry about Middlebury and concentrate on how we're going to play against them."