RUTLAND, Vt. – The Castleton men's hockey team racked up seven goals in a 7-2 victory over Skidmore in the New England Hockey Conference quarterfinals on Saturday night at Spartan Arena.

With the win, the Spartans advance to play top-seeded Norwich on Saturday, February 25, at 7 p.m. Castleton is now 11-9-6 on the season, while Skidmore ends its slate with a record of 10-12-4.

Ryan Mulder made a season-high 39 saves in the victory, moving into first place in all-time saves in the Castleton men's hockey record book. The junior's 1,512 career saves overtakes Jeff Swanson, who posted 1,511 from 2005-2009. Mulder moved to 10-5-5 on the season with the win in goal.

Brock Labelle had a big night for Castleton, as the senior registered four points on two goals and two assists in his final game at Spartan Arena. He also had what turned into the game-winning goal, as his second score of the game was Castleton's third goal. Otis Goldman tallied a three-point night, scoring twice and adding an assist, while Kurt Johnson potted a pair of empty net goals for two points to put the game on ice.

Adam Moodie and Mickey Foley had goals for the Thoroughbreds, though it wasn't enough as both scores came in the third period with Skidmore down by multiple goals. Jack McDonald shouldered the loss, allowing three goals in just more than one period of play. Brandon Kasel made 14 saves in relief, allowing just one goal.

Goldman got the scoring going in the first period, putting Castleton up 1-0 after finishing a pass from Kevin Rosset at the far post. That score held until the end of the first period, but the Spartans quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second frame.

With Castleton in transition early in the period, Labelle ripped a wrist shot into the top-left corner of the net to double the Spartans' lead just 1:36 into the frame. He then notched his second goal of the game five minutes later, as Goldman found him for a one-timer into an open net on an odd-man rush. The Spartans took a 3-0 lead into the final stanza, where the action picked up for both sides.

With Skidmore on a power play down three goals, the Thoroughbreds pulled their goalie for a 6-on-4 advantage. The effort was for naught, as Johnson cashed in on the empty-net chance to make it 4-0 with just more than 12 minutes to play. Skidmore answered with a goal of its own with just less than six minutes to play in the contest, making it 4-1 as Foley scored on assists from Owen Campbell and Matt Bernot. The Thoroughbreds then pulled their goalie once more, cashing in with an extra attacker to make it 4-2 when Moodie finished on an Anthony Bird assist.

With the net still empty for Skidmore, Bart Moran picked off a pass in his own defensive end before finding Simon Teodorsson in transition. Teodorsson skated into the offensive zone and slid the puck into the empty net to push the lead back to three goals at 5-2. Johnson then found the empty net once more, making it a 6-2 game with just more than two minutes remaining.

A late penalty on Skidmore led to a power-play chance for Castleton, which potted its first power-play goal of the game with 16 seconds left on the clock. After an offensive-zone face-off win, Labelle found Goldman for his second goal of the game to five the contest its final score of 7-2.

Castleton was outshot 41-28 and lost more draws than it won. Despite dropping those two statistical battles, Castleton was on top of its game on special teams, killing off all nine power-play chances that Skidmore had in the contest. The Spartans also went 1-for-7 on power plays.