RUTLAND, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton men's ice hockey team opened its Terry Moran Invitational Tournament in style Friday evening, shutting out Lebanon Valley College, 5–0.

The Basics

• Final Score: VTSU Castleton 5, Lebanon Valley 0
• Location: Spartan Arena – Rutland, Vt.
• Records: Castleton 4-4-1 | Lebanon Valley 3-6-0

How It Happened
Castleton set the tone early, coming out of the locker room firing on all cylinders. The Spartans piled up 15 shots on target in the opening half of the first period, with two more attempts blocked. They finally broke through at 10:39, when Marcus Bellomo cleaned up a Josef Vyvial rebound in front of the net. Logan Dapprich also earned an assist.

Bellomo struck again just three minutes later—this time on the power play—once again aided by Dapprich, with Cole Bowditch adding the secondary assist to put Castleton ahead 2–0 after one.

The second period followed the same script, but this time Castleton buried three goals. Luke Chakrabarti, the reigning LEC Player of the Week, opened the scoring in the fifth minute off helpers from Tyler Burke and Cam Reid to make it 3–0. Less than a minute later, Burke added one of his own, assisted by Cole Mathews and Trevor Castino, pushing the lead to four.

Castleton's final tally came at 12:23 as Vyvial added a power-play goal, with Jackson Edwards and Bellomo picking up the assists.

Lebanon Valley managed just eight shots through two periods but finally found some rhythm in the third, holding Castleton scoreless. Still, the Dutchmen never threatened the Spartans' 5–0 cushion.

By the Numbers

• Bellomo earned First Star honors, finishing just shy of a hat trick but posting three points on two goals and one assist.
• Burke added two points of his own with a goal and an assist.
• Josh Ward claimed the Third Star after recording the team's first shutout of the season, turning away 19 shots in a full 60 minutes.
• Ten different Spartans tallied assists, with Dapprich the only player registering two.
• Castleton dominated across the board, owning a 56–19 advantage in shots and a 44–26 edge in faceoffs. Castino led the team on the draw, going 21-for-24.

Fancy Meeting You Here
Kyle Richards '14 and classmate Reid Lesswing '14 will see each other from opposite benches on Saturday, as Lesswing and his St. John Fisher Cardinals square off against his alma mater. A defender for Castleton from 2010–14, Lesswing recorded 15 points on two goals and 13 assists across 98 games, serving as team captain during his senior season.

Up Next
The Spartans return to action tomorrow, November 29 at 4 p.m., facing the Cardinals in the Championship Game of the Terry Moran Invitational as they look to claim the cup for the second straight year.