CASTLETON, Vt. – Castleton opened North Atlantic Conference play this afternoon with a decisive 22-3 victory over the Thomas Terriers at Spartan Stadium. 

The Spartans led 13-2 following the first two periods of play and never looked back, as they climbed back to .500 overall at 3-3 (1-0 NAC) with their second straight victory. The Terriers, meanwhile, remain winless at 0-3 on the year.

Castleton turned in a dominating performance, holding the edge in almost every statistical category. The hosts outshot the opposition 46-18 while also holding the edge in groundballs (50-29) and faceoffs (23-4). 

Senior Peter Latulippe picked up the win in net, stopping two shots with two goals allowed in 30 minutes of action. Connor Lamberton suffered the loss after producing ten saves in 45:09 of play.

Sam Siegel and Nik Rancourt paced the Spartan attack, collecting three goals and one assist apiece. Taylor Swarter added two goals with one assist, including an impressive diving score, while Jason Sedell chipped in one score with two assists, three groundballs and one caused turnover. Joshua Gosselin was also a significant contributor, tallying one goal with one assist and a season-high eight groundalls. 

For Thomas, Bryan Ferris was the top offensive player, finishing the game with a hat trick and two groundballs. Colby Blondin produced two assists and a game-high ten groundballs, whereas Sheldon Jones ended the day with eight groundballs and five caused turnovers.

Castleton jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening 3:18 of play thanks to scores from Gosselin, Swarter and Rancourt. Ferris opened the Terrier account at the 9:08 mark with his first goal of the game, followed by three goals from Castleton, including Connor Kelly's first as a Spartan, to push their advantage to five.

The Spartans maintained that momentum in the second frame, with four goals in a span of 5:15 to extend their lead to nine. Ferris notched his second score of the day at the 7:11 mark, but the hosts responded with back-to-back goals from Micky Prozinski and Siegel to close out the first half with a 13-2 lead.

Siegel opened the scoring in the third just 27 seconds into the frame with his second goal of the day on a man-down possession to give the hosts a 12-goal advantage. Ferris completed his hat trick just over two minutes later, but the Spartans went on a 9-0 run over the final 25:25 of play to secure a 22-3 victory. 

Castleton returns to action next Tuesday at 4 pm when they host the SUNY Canton Kangaroos at Spartan Stadium in non-conference play.