ATTLEBORO, Mass. – The Vermont State University Castleton men's hockey team took down Johnson & Wales, 6-2, in the squad's New England Hockey Conference opener Friday night.
Matteo Turrin scored his first two career goals in his third collegiate game while sophomore Anthony Persi also recorded his first strike with the Spartans (1-2, 1-0 NEHC). Josef Vyvial, Bryce Irwin, and Stone Stelzl each added a score with Vyvial and Irwin earning one assist apiece. Zach Trempner, Jackson Edwards, and Zack Whittaker had two helpers among the nine skaters credited with assists.
In the crease, Josh Ward made his first appearance of the year, knocking away 25 shots taken by the Wildcats (0-2, 0-1 NEHC) in all 60 minutes of action. Turrin and Stelzl provided assistance in the resistance with three blocks apiece. The defensive pair of Zach Papapetros and Cedrick Theodore had a stellar night with a team-best plus/minus of +3.
The Spartans kicked off the contest with numerous shots on net as JWU netminder Jake Inzirillo and the Wildcat defense were tested repeatedly. Soon after the halfway mark of the opening period, Theodore and Vyvial got the puck to Irwin at the goal line. At a nearly impossible angle, a shot from the junior winger found its way in for VTSU Castleton to go ahead 1-0.
After preserving the one-goal lead into the second stanza, Turrin reaped the benefit of a power play 73 seconds out of the break with his first tally in green and white. The Montreal, Quebec product found paydirt again later in the frame, this time on even strength for the eventual game winner. A Spartan major penalty caused a five-minute power play as JWU converted the man-up chance quickly with 21 seconds to go in the period.
Still up a skater, the Wildcats' Brendan Doyle cut the gap to one less than two minutes into the final session. Although JWU peppered the Spartans with shots, Ward locked down and saved three attempts to kill another power play. Balint Mesterhazy won a pair of faceoffs and blocked a shot, swinging momentum back to the visitors' end. Back-to-back scoring darts by Vyvial and Stelzl put the contest out of reach for the Wildcats as Persi's goal minutes later punctuated the victory. Ward and company held off a final charge from the hosts to mark the first win of the 2023-24 campaign.
Next on the ledger for VTSU Castleton is a short trip north to UMass Boston tomorrow, November 4 for a 4 p.m. puck drop against the Beacons.
