NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Castleton men's hockey team opened up conference-play with a matchup against 10
th-ranked Norwich Friday night, and for the first time since 2019 the Spartans left Kreitzberg Arena victorious, using a trio of goal-scorers to bring home a 4-3, upset victory over the Cadets.
Bryce Irwin, Zach Boulet, and Andrew Stefura all found the back of the net in a game in which Castleton (1-3-0, 1-0-0 NEHC) never trailed, while
Brandon Collett racked up 30 saves to secure his first victory of the season.
The Spartans had a chance to jump out to an early lead after drawing an interference penalty at the four-minute mark, but were only able to get one shot on net against a stout Norwich penalty kill. Soon thereafter, Castleton found themselves on the back foot after a major penalty call against Brandon Picard set up the Cadets (3-1-0, 2-1-0 NEHC) with a five-minute powerplay.
After killing the initial penalty, a high stick call on Cedrick Theodore just 20 seconds later sent Norwich right back on the powerplay, but thanks in large part to a showcase from Collett between the pipes, the Spartans kept the game tied at zero. Finally back at even strength, Castleton took less than a minute to score the game's opening goal.
Recovering the puck in his own zone, Stefura found Balint Mesterhazy who sent a pass toward Irwin at center ice. Skating along a defender, the junior carried the puck into the attacking zone before rifling a shot into the top corner to put Castleton up 1-0. The score was Irwin's first of the season and sent the Spartans into the first break up one.
The Cadets opened the second period by getting off four shots in the opening minute, but Castleton put their bodies on the line to stay in the lead, blocking three of them. After fighting off Norwich's initial attack, it was the Spartans taking over and doubling their lead on Boulet's first career goal five minutes into the period.
Theodore started with the puck in his own zone before passing it along to Zach Papapetros. Advancing the puck into the neutral zone, the sophomore sent a cross-ice pass to Boulet who took it into Norwich's zone and sent a shot to the far post to make it 2-0.
The Cadets would respond quickly with goals at the 7:10 and 8:48 mark to tie the game at two, but Boulet's second goal with under five minutes to go in the period put Castleton right back in front. This time the freshman carried the puck from his own defensive zone after blocking a Norwich pass, beating a defender before making a beautiful wrap-around move and slotting the puck in for his second of the night, giving the Spartans the 3-2 edge heading into the final period.
Seven minutes into the third period the Spartans got their fourth powerplay opportunity of the night and did not waste it, with Stefura scoring just 30 seconds in on a feed from Irwin and Zach Trempner to make it a two-score game once again.
Norwich scored their third of the night with 20 seconds to go, but could not get a second shot past Collett, clinching the 4-3 victory for Castleton.
The Spartans will look to carry this momentum into their next matchup against New England College Saturday, November 12. Puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m.
