2017 NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIP
Manitobans Help Norwich Win NCAA Division III Title
By Scott Taylor Photos by Michael Weisse / Norwich University
Norwich University or the Military College of Vermont was once known as The American Literary , Scientific and Military Academy . In fact , the United States Dept . of Defense recognizes it as “ The Birthplace of the Reserve Officer Training Corps .” This year , the Norwich Cadets became the NCAA Division III men ’ s hockey champions . The Cadets beat the Trinity College Bantams of Hartford , Conn ., 4-1 in the championship game . Amazingly , two Manitobans and three former MJHL players helped this school of 3,400 students in rural Vermont win a national crown . These guys might be a long way from home , but they ’ re never far from the rink .
THE CHAMPIONS SCORE AGAIN
Taeron Lewis has always been a winner . In fact , he just won his eighth championship as a hockey player to go with three championships as a member of the South Winnipeg Chiefs baseball team . In late March , Lewis was one of “ The Dawgs ,” the Norwich University Cadets ’ energy line . They jumped on the ice , delivered a few hits , skated hard , brought up the volume in the building and helped the Cadets beat the Trinity College Bantams of Hartford , Conn ., 4-1 in the championship game of the NCAA Division III men ’ s hockey championship . Lewis , a former Winnipeg Blues star and a member of the Blues ’ 2014 MJHL Championship team , is a freshman at Norwich and just a few days after celebrating a national championship , was excited to start training and prepare for the 2017-18 season . “ Yeah , I ’ m excited to get going again ,” he said . “ I want to win another one . I ’ m going to give myself a week to relax and then I ’ m going to start training for next year . I love it here . I love the school and I love the team . As a freshman , I was just happy to contribute , but now I want to keep this going . Nothing beats winning .” Norwich University or the Military College of Vermont , not only won the NCAA Division III title , they did it in style . With that 4-1 win in the National Final , Norwich finished the season 27-1-3 .
92 GAME ON 2017 CHAMPIONS EDITION