Norwich, Vt. – The Castleton women's ice hockey team fell to rival Norwich in its 2012-2013 ECAC East opener on Friday night, suffering their first loss of the season. The Cadets used their explosive offense to down the Spartans 7-0. 

Norwich got out to an early lead with two goals in the first period. With 6:18 remaining in the first, Stephanie Invernizzi (Hingham, Mass.) netted a goal off a pass from Haley Gibson (Richmond, Ont.) that opened the scoring. The Cadets struck again four minutes later when Brittany Sharman (Ayer's Cliff, Que.) snuck a shot past Castleton goalie Paula Stephens (Seattle, Wash.). At the first intermission, Norwich led the Spartans 2-0.

The Cadets were able to tack on three more scores in the second period and add two in the final period to finish the game with a 7-0 victory.

Stephens finished the game with 32 saves, receiving the loss while Norwich keeper Loren Carrier earned the shutout victory in a nine-save effort. The Spartans fall to 2-1 on the season and will take on St. Michael's Saturday afternoon.