RUTLAND, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton women's ice hockey team returned to the win column in dominant fashion, downing the Owls of Keene State College 10–1 on Saturday afternoon.
Taylor Adams recorded a hat trick in the victory.
The Basics
- Final Score: VTSU Castleton 10, Keene State 1
- Location: Spartan Arena – Rutland, Vt.
- Records: Castleton 4-5-0 (3-3-0 LEC) | Keene State 4-3-0 (2-3-0 LEC)
How It Happened
Castleton came out of the locker room with something to prove after Friday's overtime loss, putting up seven shots—one on goal—in the opening six minutes. The Spartans' efforts finally paid off when
Amanda Vaughn intercepted an Owl pass in the offensive zone, raced down the ice, and recorded an unassisted tally to make it 1–0.
Just 41 seconds later, the Spartans struck again—this time
Moa Carlsson found paydirt with a score nearly identical to Vaughn's, extending the lead to 2–0. Only 26 seconds after that,
Ellie Schliebener capitalized on a passing play with
Annika Nelson to make it 3–0 with 13 minutes remaining in the opening period. The burst forced a Keene timeout and a goaltender change. The Owls stiffened defensively from there, and Castleton carried the 3–0 lead into the first intermission.
Keene found its footing early in the second period, scoring at 2:05 to cut the deficit to 3–1. The goal did little to slow Castleton, which added two more in the frame.
Olivia Carter struck at 4:00 off assists from
Megan Culp and Nelson, and 1:31 later
Meg Aiken netted a power-play goal with help from Carlsson and Carter, giving Castleton a 5–1 advantage after two periods.
Unsatisfied with a four-goal cushion, the Spartans continued to pour it on in the final frame. Adams opened the period with an unassisted goal at 1:03 to make it 6–1. Castleton added four more goals before the final horn, prompting another goaltender change for Keene at 9:30. Adams scored twice more to complete her hat trick, while
Mikayla Brightman contributed a pair of goals. Vaughn assisted on both of Brightman's tallies, and
Rachel McNeil added an assist on the second.
By the Numbers
- Adams led the Spartan offense with three goals, while Vaughn tallied three points on one goal and two assists. Adams also dominated the faceoff circle, going 17-for-22.
- Four Spartans finished with multi-point performances.
- Goaltender Gianna McCusker allowed just one goal and needed to make only 12 saves thanks to strong defensive support.
- In a chippy contest featuring 13 penalties, Keene State committed eight infractions—two of which resulted in Castleton power-play goals.
Up Next
The Spartans will take a brief break for Thanksgiving before returning to the ice on December 5 to host the Cortland Red Dragons in a 6 p.m. nonconference matchup.
