KEENE, N.H. – The Vermont State University Castleton women's hockey defeated Keene State 3-1 Wednesday evening. 

The two sides faired evenly in the opening period. Castleton favored in shots 12-11 on goal and 22-15 in total. Gianna McCusker took between the pipes against the Owls and displayed a strong outing, starting with 11 saves in the first period and finishing with 23 in total to earn her first colliegate victory.

Castleton lit the lamp first in Wednesday's showdown with Annika Nelson connecting with Mikayla Brightman in front of the net who slotted home a low hanging shot to give Castleton the first lead of the game.

The Spartans gained momentum and began to control the game at their own pace. Alex Johnson grabbed the puck from the Spartans' defensive zone and passed it along the boards to Meg Aiken. Picking her head up, Aiken found an open Brooke Noble sprinting up the ice to give herself a breakaway opportunity where she beat the goalie for her sixth goal of the year to put Castleton up 2-0.

Keene's Ellie Patrick scored early in the third period to cut into Castleton's lead making it a 2-1 game. 

The Spartans didn't let the early third-period goal affect their game and stayed in control with the help of Rainey Lay and Megan Ward on Castleton's defensive side. 

The Spartans secured the victory, with Schliebener scoring in the last 16 seconds of the game. This improves the Spartans' record to 7-11-1 on the year.

VTSU Castleton returns to action Friday, January 31 at 4 p.m. against Salem St. at Spartan Arena.