Rutland, Vt. - Castleton put out an impressive defensive effort, limiting Southern Maine to just 15 shots on goal, as the Spartans defeated the Huskies 3-1 at Spartan Arena on Saturday evening. 

The Spartans improve to 11-5-2 with the win, and stretch their unbeaten streak to six games, going 5-0-1 in those contests. Erick Cinotti earns his ninth win of the season, making 14 saves. The victory was the 29th of his Spartan career, making him the all-time winningest goalie in Spartan history. 

Castleton jumped out to an early lead when Kyle Pichler punched home a loose puck in front of the net. Ryan Delorme ripped a laser from the point, and Pichler was there to collect the rebound and place it in the net, giving the Spartans a 1-0 lead just 1:54 into the match.

In the waning seconds of the first period, Josh Harris cashed in on his hot hand. Pichler intercepted an errant Huskies pass and threaded the needle to Harris in the right slot, who wristed it home to extend the Castleton lead to 2-0. For Harris it was his fifth goal in two games.

The Huskies responded with an early goal in the second period. Stephen Gallo took the puck into the Castleton zone and ripped a dart that Cinotti couldn't quite keep out of the net. The tally pulled the Huskies back to within one. 

With 12:53 to go in the third, Castleton added an important insurance goal. As Southern Maine recovered from killing off a power play, Harris found Brian Greene creeping in from the right point. Greene one-timed the puck over Huskies goaltender Josh Hillegas and into the top corner of the net to give the Spartans a 3-1 lead.

In the final minutes, the game became extremely physical as the Huskies kept grinding away at the Spartans, but Castleton held on to earn the 3-1 victory. 

Hillegas made 27 saves in the net for Southern Maine, who fall to 6-11-0 on the year and 3-8-0 in the ECAC East. With their two conference wins this weekend, the Spartans have moved into a tie for second in the ECAC East standings with a 6-4-1 record. 

Castleton will return to the ice on Jan. 25 when they travel to Henniker, N.H. to take on New England College. On Saturday, Jan. 26 the Spartans battle St. Anselm.