The Middlebury men's hockey team dropped a 7-1 decision to 11th-ranked Norwich in the opening game of the LayerEight Shootout hosted by Plattsburgh State. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The Cadets had three shots in the opening minutes of the initial stanza, with the best chance coming 1:16 into play on a spinning bid from Matt Harvey just inside the blue line that was saved by Middlebury goalie Thomas Giroux.
• Norwich nearly got on the scoreboard 3:53 into action, but Johnny Johnson's one-timer on the doorstep after a pass from behind was denied as Giroux got a piece of the chance with his blocker.
• The Cadets tallied first with 8:13 elapsed when Holden Doggett converted just outside the crease from a tough angle into the right panel of the net.
• Wyatt Pastor produced the best scoring opportunity for Middlebury during the opening frame on a one-timer from the right slot, but it was thwarted by the stick of Norwich netminder Sami Molu.
• The Cadets doubled their lead at 18:07 when Brady Harroun ripped a shot from the left circle that trickled through traffic and just over the goal line for the 2-0 advantage.
• Jin Lee looked to cut into the deficit 40 seconds into the middle stanza on the rush, but his attempt was saved by Molu with his stick. 
• Norwich pushed its advantage to three (3-0) at the 6:47 mark with a power-play tally. Bertrand skated into the offensive zone, rifling a shot over the shoulder of Giroux.
• Middlebury answered just 17 seconds later after a Cadet turnover in its defensive zone. Lee jumped on the loose puck, sending a cross-ice pass to Andrej Hromic who tucked a one-timer from between the circles into the top-right corner going bar down.
• The Panthers nearly made it a one-goal contest 11:51 into the second stanza, but a one-timer from John Burdett was padded away by Molu moving to his right.
• Giroux kept the deficit at two with a pair of sprawling back-to-back point-blank stops with roughly five minutes left in the period.
• Norwich scored three goals in the final stanza for the final 7-1 victory.

NOTES 

• Giroux finished with a career-high 25 saves in the contest, including 13 in the first period.
• Hromic's goal was his team-leading third of the season, while Pastor tallied his second assist.
• The programs met for the 160th time with Middlebury holding a 82-69-9 advantage in a series that dates back to the 1926-27 season.
• This is the 25th edition of the tournament that began in 1998. 

The Panthers play in Saturday's 3:30 p.m. consolation game against St. Olaf, a 2-1 tough-luck loser to the top-ranked Cardinals in Friday's other contest.