CASTLETON, Vt. – Backed by a late goal in the third period, Vermont State University Castleton posted a 4-2 win over UMass Dartmouth in Little East Conference (LEC) action on Friday night. The Spartans move to 11-7-1 overall and 7-5-0 in conference play, while the Corsairs are now 10-8-0 and 5-6-0 in the LEC.
The Spartans opened the game's scoring quickly, connecting in front just 40 seconds into the first period. It was a scrum in front of the Corsairs net that saw the puck slide out of the fray to the stick of sophomore forward Emmett McHardy for a shot at the right post.
Vermont State University made it a 2-0 lead at the 2:43 mark as a nice cross pass from the left to right circle by rookie forward David Coyle, saw McHardy fire a shot in past the reach of Corsairs goalie
Graham Burke.
UMass Dartmouth was able to take advantage minutes later despite being a man-down. Taking a penalty, the Corsairs worked to keep the puck out of their own zone and got a 2-on-1 advantage into the Spartans end. Junior center
Doug Doren fired in a shot that was saved by the VTSU goalie, but senior assistant captain and winger
Kevin Johnston was there on the right doorstep to bang home the loose rebound.
The Corsairs netted the equalizer at 9:38 on an outstanding individual effort by sophomore defender
Hunter Scanlon. Speeding into the zone, he fired a shot in at the Spartans goalie that was kick saved away but not contained. Scanlon found the loose puck and slammed it home for the 2-2 score.
After a scoreless second period, VTSU Castleton took the lead late in the frame on a miscue by the Corsairs defense in their own zone. The puck came loose just inside the neutral zone and was picked up by rookie forward Marcus Bellomo as he raced into the UMD zone, firing a shot past Burke for the go-ahead tally at 16:05.
The Corsairs worked to net the equalizer, but the Spartans took advantage of an empty-net for UMD as Coyle scored on a long range shot to move the score to 4-2 and conclude the game.
In addition to the goals by Johnston and Scanlon, the Corsairs saw rookie center
Kailin Chen win seven face-offs. Senior captain and defender
Lane Ruffner blocked three shots, while rookie defender
Alex Pagliari was also credited with three blocks in the game. In goal, Burke shouldered the loss with 44 saves on the night.
UMass Dartmouth returns to the ice on Saturday, traveling to Norwich University for a 4pm tilt against the Cadets in Northfield.
