CASTLETON, Vt. – For the third straight game Castleton opened the day's scoring but it was all Potsdam St. from then on as the Bears secured a 14-3 victory on Thursday afternoon at Spartan Stadium. 

The Spartans were outshot 41-27 in the contest and picked up 35 ground balls to Potsdam's 44 as they dropped to 1-4 on the year. The Bears won an impressive 16 of 21 faceoffs in the game while also going 3-for-5 on extra man opportunities to improve to 1-2 overall. 

Taylor Swarter registered a team-high two points with one goal and one assist whil Alex Denny picked up a team-high six ground balls. Ryan Crowningshield added three ground balls and two caused turnovers. 

Three different players recorded hat tricks for Potsdam, led by Ed Doherty and Dalston Day with three goals and two assists apiece. Eric Soderquist added three goals and one assist while Jon Woodworth dished off three helpers with a single goal. Brandon Grace was an impressive 15-for-20 on faceoffs with nine ground balls. 

Freshman Sam Frackleton led off the scoring as he carried it from the far wing and beat his defender before putting it home for the 1-0 lead at 12:22. However, Potsdam responded two minutes later on a goal by Soderquist and took a 2-1 lead with 9:26 left with a score by Doherty. Berkley Stone and Doherty pushed the Bears' lead to 4-1 and Soderquist added two goals, including the final with 1.7 seconds left in the half, for a 6-1 advantage after first period. 

Potsdam added three goals in the second quarter, including a nice individual effort from Day to give the Bears a 9-1 lead with five seconds left in the half. 

In the third, Zach Devoid opened the scoring off an assist from Swarter at 12:10. Potsdam countered with the final three goals of the third for a 12-2 lead after three quarters. Swarter scored to cut the deficit to 12-3 early in the fourth but the Bears scored the final two goals for the 14-3 victory. 

Junior Peter Latulippe made seven second-half saves to finish with 13 on the day as he took the loss for Castleton. Pete Gropp earned the win as he made 13 saves and allowed just three goals in 60 minutes of action. 

The Spartans return to action on Saturday when they host Maine-Farmington at 3:30 pm.