COLCHESTER, Vt. – Will Laking turned in a two-goal performance to lead the Castleton Spartans to a 6-2 victory over the St. Michael's Purple Knights on Saturday afternoon.

Charles Bando, Trevor Hanna, Kurt Johnson and Corbin Marcotte provided one goal apiece, as the Spartans improved to 8-14 on the season and 6-9 in conference play. The Purple Knights, on the other hand, fall to 8-13-2 (5-10-1 ECAC East) overall in the losing effort.

Castleton jumped out to an early lead when Laking capitalized on a power play opportunity for his first goal of the contest just 5:25 into the first period. Less than eight minutes later, Bando found the back of the net for the fourth time this season to double the Spartans advantage to two.

At the 5:39 mark in the middle frame, Hanna received a one-on-one opportunity and took advantage of it, as the freshman forward deked the Purple Knights' Dave Donzanti and finished a shot just over his shoulder, giving the away side a 3-0 lead.

With 4:36 remaining in the second, the Spartans pushed their advantage to four when Laking scored his second power play goal of the game. Ryan Smith and Jimmy Burns were credited with assists on the play after Laking slotted home his seventh goal of the season, which is tied for the team lead.

Castleton continued to pressure the St. Michael's defense, and in the third period, Johnson and Marcotte added one goal apiece to make it 6-0 in favor of the visitors.

The Purple Knights scored a pair of goals late in the third, but the comeback was too little too late, as the Spartans clinched their sixth road win of the season with a 6-2 victory over St. Michael's. 

Ryan Mulder turned in another fantastic performance for Castleton, pushing aside 41 of the 43 shots that he faced with a .953 save percentage to earn his fifth win of the season. Donzanti, meanwhile, suffered his ninth loss of the year after allowing six goals with 18 saves.

The Spartans are back in action next weekend when they play a home-and-home series against the Skidmore Thoroughbreds with Senior Night scheduled to take place on Friday at 7 pm in Spartan Arena.