Middlebury Panthers (3-0-1) vs. Norwich Cadets (5-0-1) 4 PM Stafford Arena; Plattsburgh, NY
Video Middlebury Audio Norwich Audio
The Lowdown: Thanksgiving Throwdown
Green Mountain State foes Norwich and Middlebury have one of the oldest rivalries in NCAA Division III hockey, having faced of on 145 separate occasions. The Panthers hold a 80-58-7 series advantage, but the Cadets have had the last - or at least most recent - laugh, going 5-0-1 in the past six meetings.
In 1998, the rivalry expanded to include the Primelink Great Northern ShootOut, an annual Thanksgiving weekend tournament featuring a core of Norwich, Middlebury, SUNY Plattsburgh and a fourth invitational team. The Cadets and Panthers have faced off in the tournament finals five times with Middlebury taking the crown in 1998 and 2008 and Norwich winning in 2001, 2004 (shootout) and most recently in 2012. Overall, the Cadets have eight Primelink trophies and the Panthers have four.
This year's Primelink, hosted by Plattsburgh, features three nationally ranked teams in the host Cardinals (3rd USCHO, 2nd D3H), the Cadets (2nd USCHO, 6th D3H) and Middlebury (15th USCHO; 10th D3H), with University of Wisconsin-Superior rounding out the field. The four teams made up the D-III Frozen Four in 2002 with UW-S defeating Norwich in the finals.
Key to the game: Bartender, another shot
The Cadets and Panthers own two of the best shot differentials in the country with the Cadets giving up only 16.7 shots per game while taking 43.2. The Panthers take 39.5 to their opponents 19.5. Something will need to give and the team with the better goalie performance will probably end up facing off against likely finals partner Plattsburgh.
Marc Marinsek (G, '15) split time in net for the Cadets with Chris Czarnota (G, '14) last year, but Marinek has been the primary goaltender this season. Marinsek has a .926 Save% and a stingy 1.15 Goals Against Average. For the Panthers, Mike Peters (G, '15) has been the only goaltender to see action this season. Peters has an .875 Save% and a 2.41 Goals Against Average.
Players to watch
Matt Silcoff (F, '16) Last year's NESCAC Rookie of the Year has been off to a slow start, netting just one assist (0-1-1) in the first four games. The Thornhill, Ontario native had three points last season (2-1-3) against Norwich, including two goals in the Panthers 5-4 loss to the Cadets it the 2012 PrimeLink finals.
Chris Dusyznski (F, '14) The Cadets leading goal scorer this season (8-1-9) led off the scoring in last year's PrimeLink finals.
In honor of the lack of love loss between these Green Mountain State rivals, here's the studio version of Phish's "Rift". Phish formed at the University of Vermont.
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