MANCHESTER, N.H. – Castleton fell behind 3-0 in the opening period of play and was never able to recover, as the St. Anselm Hawks claimed a 5-1 victory in New England Hockey Conference action at Sullivan Arena this evening.

The Spartans (0-2, 0-1 NEHC) were outshot in the contest 34-20 and failed to convert on any of their four power play opportunities. The Hawks (1-0, 1-0 NEHC), meanwhile, capitalized on two of their six power plays and held the edge in faceoffs 33-29 en route to their first win of the season. 

Fabio Kläy provided the lone Castleton goal in the contest, while Kevin Rosset and Patrick Thornton added one assist apiece. Mark Meads led the St. Anselm attack with three points from two goals and one assist, whereas Nick Leonard contributed three assists of his own in the season-opening victory. 

The Hawks struck the Spartans with a three-spot in the initial frame of play to take an early lead. Kerrigan netted the opener midway through the first before Peter Sikalis tacked on a second score in the 13th minute of play. Meads capped off the first period scoring with his first goal of the season on a power play opportunity with three minutes left in the frame to hand St. Anselm a three-goal lead.

The hosts carried their offensive momentum into the second period of play, as the Hawks collected their fourth score of the game to extend their lead to four. At the 3:46 mark in the second, St. Anselm had a power play opportunity, and Meads took advantage, netting his second score of the game on assists from Nick Leonard and Bryan Sullivan to put the squad in front 4-0.

Castleton finally got on the board in the third period when Kläy netted his first career goal just 2:20 into the frame. However, St. Anselm responded just over 13 minutes later when Sullivan scored an empty netter to bring the game to its final result, 5-1. 

In net, Ryan Mulder dropped to 0-2 on the season after allowing three goals with seven saves in 20 minutes of play. Brody Wagner relieved him in the final two frames, producing 22 saves with just one goal allowed and a .957 save percentage. Shane Joyce, meanwhile, picked up the win for the Hawks after tallying a .950 save percentage with 19 saves.  

The Spartans return to the ice tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 pm when they square off with the New England College Pilgrims in NEHC action at Lee Clement Arena.