Simply The Best:
Cadet hockey defeats nemesis Wisconsin Superior 5-4 in OT;
out skates St. Thomas 2-1 for Division III National Title

By Robert M. Noble
Norwich Guidon Sports Editor

They won it all! After three trips to the NCAA finals in the past four years, the NU hockey team is the Division Three National Champion. The Cadets battled past nemesis Wisconsin Superior in a 5-4 overtime thriller on Friday, March 17, and secured the championship 2-1 against a talented St. Thomas team that throttled Plattsburgh 7-1 an evening earlier.

"It's unbelievable, it's a special feeling that doesn't happen every day," said NU hockey head coach Mike McShane said.

"You just relish the feeling of what it has done for the program, the kids and our fans,' McShane said. "It's not just my feeling, it is an overall feeling. It has been a long season but it has been a great one."

The Cadets entered the tournament seeded number one in the country with a 29-2-1 record and were set to face a tough Wisconsin-Superior team that spoiled their championship hopes a season earlier. The Cadets came into the tournament ready to win and would settle for nothing less than the national championship.

"The team unity that we have is the basic element that led us to this national championship," said senior Rob Jackson, 22, a physical education major from Warrick, RI. "Ever since we have been here we have been really close, and each time a new guy comes into what we like to call 'the family' we welcome him with open arms. I think that is what led us to such a stellar year."

The Cadets have dominated all season long, and this tournament, the pinnacle of many of their hockey careers, would prove to be yet another weekend of Cadet domination. They faced a skilled and physical Wisconsin-Superior team that let it be known early in the semifinal game that they were not prepared to go out without an intense battle.

"We had a meeting and talked about how things are going to go wrong during a game, just like things go wrong in life, and you can't help that. It is how you react to that adversity that makes you a champion and so we decided we had to stay together no matter what, win or lose," Jackson said.

"It's an unexplainable feeling, it's the best feeling in the world winning a championship because that is what you work hard for and there is no other feeling that can beat that," said captain Mike Ludwar, 24, a business management major from Greyson, Saskatchewan.

As with anything truly worth working for, the national championship was by no means handed to the Cadets. Wisconsin-Superior came into the game firing all their guns and scored only 49 seconds into the contest.

Norwich knew that this game must be played with an extreme sense of urgency and responded with goals from Tim Krykostas and Casey Beaulac. Wisconsin-Superior then racked up a power play goal in addition to two others to leave the Cadets down 4-2 going into the third period.

As they have all season long, the Cadets responded to the adversity that was placed before them. The duo of Keith Aucoin and Jim Nagle tallied up another point for the Cadets to put them within one. Marshall Lee fired in the final point of regulation to tie things up at four.

The stakes could not have been much higher with the teams tied at four going into overtime in a game that was as fast and physical as any that Norwich had played all season. It ended ever so sweetly with an injured Casey Beaulac scoring off a pass from Aucoin to send the Cadets to the finals.

"I really felt that we had commitment to defense the whole weekend, we all gelled together and even though we were down a few in the first game we persevered and pulled through it," said Ludwar. "Then Casey (Beaulac) got a big overtime goal and it just carried on into the next day."

"We were down 4-2 and we didn't really have any momentum going, but we stuck together as a team," said Keith Aucoin, 21, a business management major from Chelmsford, Mass. "We came out and played really well in the third and got two quick goals to catch the momentum and were able to score in overtime." With one victory under their belts, the Cadets had their sights set on the division crown and only one thing stood in their way. St. Thomas had pounded on a strong Plattsburgh team, 7-1, and were looking to hand the Cadets a similar defeat.

"We knew they had a lot of big guns and we knew they had a lot of good players," Ludwar said. "You have to be aware that they're on the ice, and in the same respect we have a talented team, and if you only worry about yourself and your team then that is where you have success."

"We felt real good going into the championship game," said Jim Nagle, 22, a senior CIS major from Woburn, Mass. "After coming back and weathering the storm on Friday night we felt if we did all the little things right and really battled hard; we had a good chance to win."

Although Friday's game against Wisconsin-Superior was one of the most physical the Cadets had played all year, the contest against St. Thomas would be one full of agility and speed. It was clear the championship was going to be won in terms of truly skilled hockey.

From the first face-off of the contest it was apparent that these teams were two of the best in the country and it was going to be a fast paced game for the full 60 minutes. The first period ended with both sides of the scoreboard blank. It was not for lack of competitive play but rather a testament to the skill of both goalies who fought off a barrage of shots from both teams.

The scoring began late in the second period when Tim Krykostas connected with Jim Nagle to give Norwich the first point on the board. However, St. Thomas responded early in the third period with a power play goal that left the teams tied at one.

The final point in the game that led to an eventual Norwich victory was scored by Norwich's all-time leading scorer Marc Bellemare, with the assist coming from fellow senior defenseman Mike Ludwar. The game would finish in a 2-1 Norwich victory and give the Cadets their first ever NCAA Division III national championship.

"With like 30 seconds to go we cleared the puck out of the zone and they couldn't get it back in," said senior Rob Jackson. "And it was crazy. We were just sitting there saying that we are going to win the national championship, we're going to win, we're going to win; guys didn't even know what to do."

The 200 Norwich fans that traveled to Superior-Wisconsin began to erupt as the seconds on the clock ticked away and the celebration for the first ever Norwich national championship began.

There were tears of joy, hugs of congratulations, and sighs of relief for a team that had put every ounce of their being into winning a national championship.

Senior Jim Nagle's mother, Eleanor Nagle, finally stopped biting her nails and shouted congratulations to her son, an irreplaceable team, and an amazing coach. The Norwich University Cadets were now the 2000 NCAA Division III National Champions and had their place in the record books inscribed on the national trophy.

"A lot of other schools would get to the championship and their fans would not be there," Jackson said. "We did it for ourselves, but we also did it for the fans. This is for them, this national championship. There are a lot of seniors that remember when we were only sophomores and playing at the (Barre Outdoor Arena) and only a .500 record and there were guys there every game that have helped us all the way through."

"It was unreal. Our fans are the best ever, there are no other fans like them," Ludwar said. "We have the best fans in the league by far."