NORTHFIELD – For the Norwich men’s hockey team, the post-Thanksgiving weekend is a time for traditions.
Enjoying good food and having family members get together are classic elements to the holiday, and for the last 22 years years the Cadets have also hit the ice for the PrimeLink Great Northern ShootOut.
The event has been the premier early-season Division III college hockey tournament, with the eventual national champion coming from the tournament nine times. At least one team from the tourney has made the Final Four on 16 occasions.
Norwich, Middlebury and Plattsburgh State are the three core members of the tournament, with hosting rights rotating between the schools every three years. The Cadets have been the kings of the prestigious tournament, winning 10 titles. Norwich won most recently in 2018 at Kreitzberg Arena. Plattsburgh State has won six titles, while Middlebury has won four. Concordia (Minn.) became the first invitational team to win the PrimeLink in 2014, while UW-Eau Claire took home top honors in 2019 at Plattsburgh.
Middlebury was set to host the 2020 tournament starting today with Plattsburgh taking on Norwich in the early game and then the host Panthers taking on Milwaukee School of Engineering in the nightcap.
However, like the rest of the first half of the hockey season, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of Division III’s most prestigious holiday tournament for the first time in its history. Middlebury will return as the host for 2021 and then Norwich will host the 24th annual tournament in 2022 at Kreitzberg Arena.
Norwich hosted the inaugural tournament back in 1998, which was the first year of the Cadets playing in Kreitzberg Arena. Norwich won the first ShootOut with a 5-2 win over Middlebury. Since then, Norwich has gone on to win 10 ShootOut titles and compiled a 29-15 record in the 22-year history of the tournament. The Cadets have had 35 All-Tournament selections, 10 Most Valuable Players and six Most Outstanding Rookie selections.
The Cadets have done a remarkable job defending their home ice in the PrimeLink, winning the ShootOut title six times in the seven years they have hosted the event. The only year NU didn’t win at Kreitzberg was when the Cadets lost a 6-5 overtime thriller to Plattsburgh State in 2015.
The last three times Norwich has won the NCAA Division III National Championship, the Cadets have also won the PrimeLink ShootOut title in that same season. Although there is no PrimeLink, Northfield Savings Bank Holiday Tournament or New England Hockey Conference regular season or tournament, Norwich remains optimistic on trying to schedule a handful of games in 2021 if Vermont health and safety guidelines permit.
Norwich PrimeLink ShootOut
All-Tournament selections
1998
Bryce Herperger Michael Ludwar Marc Bellemare (MVP)
1999
Bryce Herperger
2001
Kevin Schieve Vadim Beliaev Aaron Lee Kurtis McLean (MVP)
2002
Matt Schmidt Lou DiMasi Brian Mullaly (Rookie) Kurtis McLean (MVP)
2003
Brian Mullaly
2004
Vadim Beliaev Noah Lucia (Rookie) Garrett Winder (MVP)
2006
David Thompson Rick Cleaver Eric Lauriault Raphael Robitaille
2007
DJ Fimiani Rick Cleaver
2008
Ryan Klingensmith Shawn Baker (Rookie)
2009
Chad Anderson Kyle Thomas Blake Forkey (Rookie) Ryan Klingensmith (MVP)
2010
Shawn Baker Chad Anderson
2011
Travis Janke Corey Hale (Rookie) Pier-Olivier Cotnoir (MVP)
2012
Tory Allan Erik Lyrvall Colin Mulvey (MVP)
2014
Austin Surowiec William Pelletier
2015
Kevin Salvucci Braeden Ostepchuk 2016 Payton Baldillez Alec Brandrup Braeden Ostepchuk Kevin Salvucci (MVP)
2017
Conner Evangelista
2018
Felix Brassard Taeron Lewis Gabriel Chicoine (Rookie) Brett Ouderkirk (MVP)
2019
Coby Downs
