Rutland, Vt. - Nicoline Jensen lit the lamp just under three minutes into the contest, giving Castleton a 1-0 lead. That was all the team needed as Paula Stephens made 14 saves to shutout Southern Maine giving the Spartans the 1-0 win in front of a large home crowd on Saturday night at Spartan Arena.

The team earned the program's first home playoff victory, advancing to the ECAC East Semifinal round for the second time in three years. The team won a road playoff game in 2012, beating Salve Regina 1-0 in overtime to advance, but had never before won a playoff game in front of home fans.

Stephens earned her fourth shutout of the season, and her second career postseason shutout. The ECAC East Goaltender of the Year made several point blank saves to keep the Spartans ahead of the Huskies and move them into the semifinal round. Liz Bergstrom made 34 saves for Southern Maine, keeping her team in the game, but took the loss.

The home team jumped out to an early lead when Jensen struck for her 13th goal of the season. Hannah Wright dished the puck out of the defensive zone to Lisa Kilroy on the right side of the neutral zone. Kilroy slid the biscuit to Jensen who carried the puck from the left point across the Spartans offensive zone into the left slot and fired a wrister. The puck flipped over Bergstrom's pad, beating the goalie over her shoulder to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead.

In the second period, Southern Maine applied significant pressure, putting 10 shots on the Castleton net. Stephens denied them all, preserving the Spartans' thin advantage through the frame. 

In the third, Castleton had several chances to score, but Bergstrom put up a valiant stand, keeping the Huskies within a goal. In the final minute, the Southern Maine forecheck pressured the Spartan defense, forcing a defensive zone turnover. Cassandra Sherman wrapped around the net with the puck, but Spartan defender Lisa Buratynski deflected the Southern Maine forward's shot before it got to Stephens at the net. 

With the win, Castleton improves to 15-9-2 on the season, and advances to the ECAC East Semifinals where they will face second-seeded Salve Regina in Newport, R.I. The semifinal berth is the second in Castleton history.