NORTHFIELD, Vt. -- An early deficit was too much to overcome as the Castleton University women's ice hockey team fell to No. 3 Norwich 5-0 Wednesday evening at Kreitzberg Arena. With their third consecutive loss, the Spartans fall to 5-5-0 (5-2-0 NEHC) while the Cadets improve to 8-1-0 (5-0-0 NEHC) and take over sole possession of first-place in the NEHC standings.

In a matchup between the top two teams in the NEHC, the Cadets struck first and scored the opening goal at the 7:03 mark of the first period. Maddi Blauth deflected an initial shot by Samantha Benoit that squeezed past goaltender Alexis Kalm to give the Cadets a 1-0 lead.

The Cadets scored again to double the lead, this time on the power play. At the 10:37 mark of the period, Carley Sedlar received a pass in front of the Spartans' net from Ann-Frederique Guay and scored over Kalm's left shoulder. The Cadets tallied another goal seven minutes later as Molly Flanagan maneuvered through the Spartans' defense and scored to give the Cadets a 3-0 lead.

The Spartans held strong in the second period, keeping the Cadets off the board. Kalm recorded 15 of her 46 saves during the period. 

The Cadets would tally two more goals in the third period to officially put the game away. Sophie McGovern slotted a pass right across the face of goal and Blossom Truel scored to give the Cadets a 4-0 lead. The Cadets would add a shorthanded goal at the 5:55 mark of the period to solidify the win.

The Spartans had a golden opportunity to get on the board with under two minutes in regulation. Samantha Lawler used a breakaway to get a clear shot on goal but a glove save by goaltender Kate Winstanley kept the Spartans scoreless.

Women's ice hockey returns to action Friday, December 6 as it looks to get back on track against Plymouth State in a NEHC matchup at Spartan Arena. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7 p.m.