BOSTON, Mass. – The Castleton men's hockey team opened their season with a non-conference matchup against Wentworth Institute of Technology Friday night, falling 5-1 to the Leopards on the road.
The Spartans (0-1) were narrowly outshot 32-28 in the contest, but held a 40-37 advantage in the faceoff game. Despite drawing twelve penalties, Castleton was unable to convert on any of their nine powerplay chances, while Wentworth (1-0) converted on one of their five opportunities.
The Spartans saw early looks from Zach Trempner, Zach Papapetros and Grady Birk all turned aside by the Leopards' goaltender before it was Wentworth opening up the scoring on their 11
th shot of the period to take the 1-0 lead six minutes in. A second goal with under four minutes to play saw Castleton fall behind 2-0 entering the first intermission.
Kicking off the second period with 30 seconds left on the powerplay, the Spartans controlled the tempo getting three shots on net that were all once again saved by Wentworth's Jack McGovern. Instead, the Leopards were able to capitalize on their first chance of the period to extend their lead to three just over three minutes in.
Castleton responded well with a goal of their own at the 10:50 mark from
Hunter Sarro. The junior's first career goal came from a pass off the boards from Balint Mesterhazy that Sarro cut back at the left circle and ripped low and hard into the net to cut the deficit back to two.
The Spartans looked poised to score again after going on the powerplay at the 16:10 mark, but a turnover in the attacking zone turned into a one-on-one that goaltender
Brandon Collett was unable to stop, resulting in a shorthanded goal by Wentworth that pushed the lead to 4-1.
The Leopards would score one more insurance goal with five minutes to go in the final period to make it a 5-1 game and hand Castleton their first loss of the season.
The Spartans will look to earn their first win of the year Saturday, October 19 when they host Plattsburgh State in their home-opener. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
