RUTLAND, Vt. – Simon Teodorsson scored the go-ahead goal with 4:02 remaining in regulation to hand the Spartans their third straight victory with a 2-1 win over the St. Anselm Hawks this afternoon in New England Hockey Conference action at Spartan Arena.

With the game tied at 1-1 in the final minutes of regulation, Will Laking gathered the puck at the post before dishing the it off into the crease to Teodorsson, who wristed it home for the eventual game-winning goal. The Spartans improve to 4-12-1 on the season and 3-6-1 in the conference with the win, while the Hawks drop to 8-6-1 (5-5-1 NEHC) overall in the losing effort.

The Spartans and Hawks were level on shots at 27 apiece and neither team was able to score on the 13 combined power plays. Derek Gingera and Teodorsson provided the Castleton scores, while Ryan Mulder improved to 3-6 on the year with 26 saves and a .963 save percentage. Vin D'Amato tallied the lone St. Anselm goal, and Shane Joyce suffered his fifth loss of the year in net with 25 saves. 

After scoring two goals the night before, Gingera wasted little time to make his presence known with his third goal of the weekend just 5:13 into the first. Caleb Fizer created the one-on-one opportunity with a perfect saucer pass to Gingera at the blue line before the senior skated away from the defense and finished the breakaway top shelf to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead.  

The Hawks found an equalizer in the waning minutes of the second when D'Amato netted his second goal of the year and fourth of his career. The junior forward picked up the puck near the left boards before skating through the crease and finishing a shot off the post to bring the game back to level terms, 1-1.

The Spartans nearly reclaimed the lead just five minutes into the third when Fizer received a breakaway chance. Fizer came out of the penalty box and immediately collected a pass from Kurt Johnson at the blue line. The freshman forward then skated into the crease to create a one-on-one opportunity and fired a shot on target that was pushed aside by Joyce. Johnson was there to knock home the rebound, but Joyce came up big again to deny the effort and maintain the even affair.

The two teams continued to battle for the lead throughout the final frame, and with 4:02 left in play, Teodorsson notched the eventual game-winner at the 15:58 mark with his fourth goal of the year. The Hawks pushed for a late equalizer and played most of the final two minutes of play without the goalie, but the Spartan defense stood strong to secure the 2-1 victory.

Castleton faces, arguably, its toughest stretch of the season in the coming weeks, as it plays at No. 4 Babson and No. 6 UMass-Boston next weekend before hosting 12th-ranked Norwich on Jan. 29.