RUTLAND, Vt. — Sam Anderson's strike with 1:39 to go lifted Albertus Magnus over Vermont State University Castleton, 5-4, in men's hockey action Thursday night.
The Spartans (5-8) were powered by juniors Bryce Irwin and Zach Papapetros who each recorded a goal and a helper. Justin Stairs bagged his first score of the year as fellow senior Stone Stelzl also found the twine. Cam Reid was marked as a distributor on two strikes while Jason Atkinson, Jackson Kobelka, Jackson Edwards, and Hunter Sarro — in his 2023-24 debut — chipped in one dime.
Dominic Rodrigue knocked down 90 percent of attempts delivered by the Falcons (8-4), recording a season-high 45 saves. Stairs topped all skaters with four blocks, his best single-game mark since 2021-22.
Albertus came out of the locker room swinging, breaking through in less than two minutes as Gustav Miller redirected a clear attempt by the Spartans to connect with Kyle Dann who sent in the night's first tally. The Falcons continued to pepper the home net but Rodrigue was relentless, gobbling up the next 14 shots. Late in the period, Stairs received a dish from Kobelka just inside the blue line and hurled a dart past Carson Ironside to knot the contest at 1-1 as the Spartans began to tighten the shot count.
The visitors controlled possession to open the second frame until being hindered by two penalties, but the Spartans were unsuccessful against a sturdy penalty kill. Shortly after returning to full strength, Albertus saw Charles Lavoie drive the puck into attacking territory and pass it off to Paden Hicks. While Spencer Silver set a pick on Stairs, Hicks launched a shot just under the crossbar to put the Falcons back in front. The Spartans immediately answered as Edwards passed up a near breakaway to find Stelzl who fired a game-tying one-timer. Albertus countered with a swift response of their own as Dann notched his second score of the day.
The contest's growing intensity boiled over when the Falcons accrued a five-minute contact to the head penalty joined by a game misconduct, as well as a two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct against the bench. Castleton took advantage of the 5-on-3 opportunity when an Irwin shot bounced off the pipe to Papapetros who slung in the rebound, knotting the contest at 3-3. Another game misconduct and a cross-checking later, the Spartans found themselves with a second two-man advantage. Reid linked up with Irwin at the goal line, allowing the junior forward to thread the puck into the net to give Castleton its first lead of the night. Right after a Spartan penalty forced a 4-on-4 scenario, Albertus tied proceedings once again on a goal by Tim Manning.
With under two minutes left in regulation, Eric Chamandy sent a wrist shot through traffic and Anderson redirected it for the game-winning tally. The Spartans added a skater and created offense in the final moments, but Stelzl and Reid had goal-bound tries get blocked by Manning as the Falcons held on for a 5-4 triumph.
After the semester break, Castleton resumes New England Hockey Conference play against sixth-ranked Elmira on Friday, January 5 at Spartan Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
