GORHAM, Maine – The Vermont State University Castleton men's hockey team shut out Southern Maine University 5-0 on Friday evening. The Spartans improved to 3-13-1 in the New England Hockey Conference, while the Huskies dropped to 2-14-1.

Jackson Kobelka got things rolling for the Spartans with the help from Balint Mesterhazy and Stone Stelzl to put the Spartans on the board after one period of play.

Halfway through the second period, Aiden Robson and Emmett McHardy connected with Chance Heaphy who slotted home his opportunity to give Castleton a 2-0 lead. 

Fan favorite Josh Ward took between the pipes for Castleton and was sensational in the net. The junior from Ottawa, Ontario stopped all 33 shots he faced to collect his first career shutout in the Spartans' victory.

Castleton continued to dominate the Huskies up and down the ice. On a powerplay opportunity, Andrew Stefura set up Emmett McHardy for his seventh goal of the season to give Castleton a 3-0 lead.

The Spartans entered the third period with all the momentum on their side. Mesterhazy provided his second assist to Kobelka once again, who bagged his second of the game to extend Castleton's lead to four and notched his first multi-goal game of his career. 

Castleton finalized their scoring with first-years Colby Speth and Trevor Castino assisting senior Zach Trempner for his fifth goal this season and the 15th of his career. The Spartans took game one against the Huskies with a final score of 5-0.

The two sides return to action tomorrow at 4 p.m. at USM Ice Arena.