RUTLAND, Vt. – The Castleton women's hockey team completed the regular season sweep over Plymouth State Tuesday night, scoring three second-period goals to complete the comeback in a 5-3 victory.
 
Identical to their matchup last week, it was the Panthers (6-12-1, 4-9-1 NEHC) striking first in Tuesday's contest, using a quick counter and rifling a shot past Spartan keeper Jessie Foote to open the day's scoring.
 
Foote, making her first start of the year Tuesday, racked up 17 saves in her second career win.
 
Castleton (9-8-2, 7-5-1 NEHC), as they have done all season, took almost no time to respond, leveling the game once again just under three minutes later. Nancy Benedict and Jenna Krikorian fought for the puck in Plymouth State's corner before sending it out to Courtney Gauthier. The graduate student battled for the loose puck and poked it back toward Krikorian, who sent a low shot under the Panthers' keeper and in The goal was her second in three games and leveled the score at one.
 
Plymouth would score two unanswered goals over the next 15 minutes to take a 3-1 lead two minutes into the second period, but the Spartans responded in the big way over the remainder of the period.
 
Darby Palisi got things going with Castleton's fourth shorthanded goal of the season halfway into the frame. Julia Carpenter jumped the passing lane in the Spartans' zone and found Palisi at center ice. The junior took it all the way down the ice before rifling a shot toward net. After the initial save was made, Palisi corralled her own rebound, carried it around net and lifted it up and over the Panthers' netminder to cut the deficit to one.
 
Five minutes later, Gauthier got in on the action to tie the game at three. Taking the puck into Plymouth State's zone, the captain found Emily Harris who one-timed the shot wide, but once again got her own rebound. The sophomore then circled the puck around the Panthers' goal and found Gauthier in front for the one-time score. The graduate student's goal tied the game at three at the 15:55 mark, but Palisi and the Spartans were not done yet.
 
With just over a minute left, Ryanne Mix sent the puck toward net, but a wide shot bounced high off the glass behind Plymouth State's goal. Harris was first to the puck once again, timing her stick perfectly to get the puck in front of net, where Palisi was positioned perfectly for her second score of the day, sending Castleton into the final break up 4-3.
 
Despite starting the third period on the penalty kill, the Spartans controlled play before Palisi completed her hat trick to put Castleton up 5-3. The junior controlled the puck in front of the net before sending it out to Alexandra Snow at the top of the zone, Snow sent the puck back toward net, only for her shot to miss wide and bounce off the boards right to the stick of Palisi, who tried not once, but twice before scooping the puck into the back of the net for the score.
 
The goal gave Palisi her first career hat trick and set up Castleton for the eventual 5-3 win.
 
The Spartans continue their homestand with a matchup against William Smith College Friday, Feb. 4 in their 14^th annual Pink the Rink game. Puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m.