MEN'S HOCKEY

MALDEN, Mass. - Jim Koehler scored a pair of goals, and five other Cadets lit the lamp as the 10th-ranked Norwich University men's hockey team routed Tufts, 7-1, on Friday evening.

The Cadets, who bounced back impressively from their heart-breaking 3-2 loss to No. 3 Plattsburgh State on Tuesday, improve to 9-3-0 (5-1-0 ECAC East). The Jumbos, meanwhile, fall to 3-6-1 (2-3-1 NESCAC).

Rick Cleaver opened the scoring with 5:28 remaining in the first period when the senior potted his team-leading 12th goal of the season. Then, with 3:04 to play in the opening stanza, Koehler scored what proved to be the game-winning goal. Norwich completely dominated the first period, outshooting Tufts, 19-5.

Tufts sliced the NU lead in half just four minutes into the second period when Cory Korchin put the Jumbos on the board, making the score 2-1. The Cadets responded with a pair of goals within a 57-second span later in the period to erase any thoughts of an upset.

Nikita Kashirsky began the two-goal outburst with a power play goal with 6:16 showing on the second period clock. Then, at the 5:19 mark, Koehler scored his second goal of the game to give the Cadets a commanding 4-1 lead entering the final 20 minutes.

Norwich scored twice in the first two minutes of the third period to put the game away. Chad Anderson tallied his sixth goal of the season just 55 seconds into the final frame, and Raphael Robitaille scored just 42 seconds later to make the score 6-1 in favor of the Cadets with 18:23 to play.

Roman Krivda, who was playing in his first game as a Norwich Cadet, scored the final goal of the night at the 14:10 mark. The native of Ukraine, who transferred to NU during the semester break, dressed for the first time on Friday night and made an immediate impact.

David Thompson stopped 19 of the 20 shots that he faced en route to the victory. The sophomore, who has been steady in net all season long for the Cadets, improves to 7-1-0 overall this season.

Norwich outshot Tufts, 48-20, in the game. The Cadets were 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Jumbos were 0-for-4.

The Cadets resume their four-game road swing on Saturday, Jan. 12, when they travel to New London, Conn., to take on Connecticut College at 3 p.m.  The game can be heard on the radio (WDEV: AM-550, FM-96.1) and on the internet (http://www.cadetsradio.com/), with George Commo calling the action.