RUTLAND, Vt. – Cam Reid corralled a rebounded shot from fellow rookie Matteo Turrin and blasted a snapshot into the twine in overtime to help the Vermont State University Castleton men's hockey team take down UMass Boston, 2-1, Friday night at Spartan Arena.
Reid contributed on both of the Spartans' (6-10-0, 3-6-0 NEHC) goals, earning a secondary assist on Andrew Stefura's first-period dart. Bryce Irwin, Matteo Turrin, and Zach Trempner were also credited with helpers in the victory. Balint Mesterhazy had an impressive showing on the dot, tying his career high of 13 faceoff wins.
Dominic Rodrigue was phenomenal in the crease with 42 stops, the second-best mark of his junior campaign. Stone Stelzl lived up to his given name with a rock solid, four-block night to retain the team lead at 20.
VTSU Castleton jumped on the Beacons (5-9-2, 3-6-0 NEHC) quickly as Reid and Irwin turned a cleared puck into a scoring opportunity. Stefura collected the pass just shy of the center line, slipping past a defender and sliding a shot inside the right pipe.
Although the Spartans killed both of their penalties in the early part of the second frame, UMass Boston retained possession for a majority of the period and peppered Rodrigue with shots. A deep attempt from Corey Clifton got tipped by Jude Kurtas and was initially saved. The puck rolled slowly in front of the goal line which allowed Jakob Teply to knock in the game-tying tally.
The Beacons' shot advantage continued to grow in the third period with a 15-7 margin in the final 20 minutes of regulation, but Rodrigue was unrelenting and thwarted a delivery with 11 seconds left to force overtime.
Two minutes into the extra stanza, Turrin blocked a net-bound delivery from Conor Foley as Trempner swung the puck back to the Montreal, Quebec product along the far boards. Turrin dashed toward the Beacon goal and fired a wrist shot to the left side, bouncing off Antonio Tarantino as Reid took advantage of the right-side gap and blasted in the game-winner.
The Spartans finish the weekend tomorrow (January 13) with another New England Hockey Conference clash against Johnson & Wales at 4 p.m.
