Rutland, Vt. - The Spartans trailed for the majority of the game but used a massive third period to earn a 4-1 victory over St. Michael's on Saturday evening at Spartan Arena. Castleton scored all four of their goals within a 10:33 span in the third frame to earn the comeback victory.

Thomas Shelley earned his second consecutive victory in net, making 15 saves and allowing just one first-period goal. Dave Donzanti took the loss for the Purple Knights but made 30 saves between the pipes. Derek Gingera and Corbin Marcotte each finished with a goal and an assist for Castleton.

In the first period, the home team surrendered a goal in transition allowing the Purple Knights to take a 1-0 lead. William Cote found Kevin Altidor streaking through the neutral zone. Altidor stopped at the left point and ripped a rocket that beat Shelley to go up 1-0.

In the second, Castleton turned up the heat on Donzanti, but couldn't crack the St. Michael's goaltender. The Spartans outshot SMC 14-6 in the second frame, but went the entire period without scoring and entered the second intermission still trailing. 

The third brought an explosion of offense for the Spartans as they piled on 21 shots in the frame. Ryan Frost got the scoring going for Castleton finishing a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play that left him wide open on the left flank for the goal. Five minutes later, Corbin Marcotte finished off a rebound on a Castleton power play to give the Spartans a 2-1 lead.

With under four minutes left, the Spartans struck again, with Derek Gingera adding to their tally. The sophomore finished off a loose puck in front to put Castleton up 3-1. With 2:13 remaining, Ross Herzog scored the dagger, beating a St. Michael's defender down the ice and wristing the puck nearside past Donzanti to put Castleton ahead 4-1.

The Spartans' offensive outburst of four third-period goals marks the most they've scored in a single period this season. The win improves the squad to 11-10-3 on the season, and moves them to 7-7-3 in the ECAC East. The Spartans will play their final regular season game on Feb. 15 when they host Skidmore.