Rutland, Vt – The Spartans won their fourth contest out of five, defeating the Thoroughbreds of Skidmore College by a score of 5-2. Dan Bell scored two goals for the Spartans who improve to 6-4-1 on the year and 4-4-1 in the ECAC East.

The Spartans controlled the pace of the game from the first drop of the puck, outshooting the Thoroughbreds 20-2 in the first period. Castleton scored at the 10:33 mark when Charles Bando knocked a rebound past Skidmore goalie Spencer Sodokoff. Josh Harris and Gabriel Cromp earned assists on the play, putting the Spartans up 1-0.

The Thoroughbreds found an answer just 27 seconds later, scoring on their first shot on goal. Defenseman Chris Powers ripped a slap shot from the point that sneaked in over Spartan goalie Erick Cinotti's shoulder and into the back of the net to tie the game.

In the second period, the Spartans took advantage of a power-play opportunity at the 10:05 mark of the second period to take a 2-1 lead.  Ryan Delorme had the puck at the top of the point and passed it to his left where Dan Bell was set up. Bell fired a shot over the blocker of Sodokoff for his first goal of the contest.

The Spartans added another tally just over a minute later to extend their lead to 3-1.  Justin Alonzo stole the puck in the Thoroughbreds' defensive zone and passed it to Kyle Pichler who rocketed a shot off the post.  Alonzo was there for the rebound and poked the puck over the line.

Skidmore made it 3-2 at the 18:31 mark of the second period while on the power play.  Zach Menard took a shot from the left face off circle that Cinotti saved but couldn't corral the puck.  Brendan Cottam found the loose rebound and slid it past Cinotti.

The Spartans answered back with just under a minute to go in the second period. Tyler Gaudry took a slap shot from the point that flew past the glove of Sodokoff to make it 4-2.

In the third, the Spartans did their best to hold the lead, keeping Skidmore off the board. With 1:02 to go, Bell added his second score of the game when he lofted the puck from center ice into the Thoroughbreds empty net, making the score 5-2.

Cinotti finished the game with 20 saves for the Spartans, earning his fifth win of the season. Sodokoff turned away 30 shots, taking the loss.

Castleton will return to action on December 30 when they take on Lawrence in the Oswego Hockey Classic, hosted by SUNY Oswego.