NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton men's hockey team was bested by the 14th-ranked Norwich Cadets, 7-1, in New England Hockey Conference action Friday night at Kreitzberg Arena.

The Spartans (7-13-0, 4-9-0 NEHC) were first on the scoresheet as Matteo Turrin struck off a feed from Jackson Edwards and Cam Reid in the ninth minute. VTSU Castleton blocked 15 shots as a team, led by Zach Papapetros and Bryce Irwin with three stops apiece. Dominic Rodrigue put forth a 36-save effort between the pipes in his 15th appearance of the year.

After falling behind 1-0 in the opening period, Norwich (11-6-3, 8-3-3 NEHC) rattled off seven unanswered goals across the ensuing 45 minutes. Cooper Bertrand and Patrick O'Neal supplied first-stanza tallies to give the Cadets a 2-1 lead. Patrick DelVecchio found the back of the net twice while Clark Kerner, Holden Doggett, and Colin Elliott each scored once in the last two frames to lock up the win.

Castleton travels into the Granite State tomorrow (January 27) to challenge New England College at 4 p.m.