RUTLAND, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton men's ice hockey team completed a Little East Conference weekend sweep on Saturday, shutting out Keene State, 6-0.
 
The Basics
• Final Score: Castleton 6, Keene State 0
• Location: Spartan Arena, Rutland, Vt.
• Records: Castleton 9-6-1 (5-4-0 LEC) | Keene State 5-10-0 (1-8-0 LEC)
 
How It Happened
After winning the opening puck drop, Castleton dropped back into its defensive zone as Keene State put together a solid three minutes of offensive pressure, forcing Lukas Bukatovs to make two saves while Holden Getzlaf pitched in with two early blocks. The momentum flipped near the midway point of the first period as the Spartans peppered the Owls' defense, eventually breaking through at 11:49 when Trevor Castino scored his second tally of the weekend—the eventual game-winner—assisted by Marcus Bellomo and Cedrick Theodore.
 
Things started looking grim for the hosts in the 14th minute as Jack Linton was sent to the box for interference, and Dylan Roebuck joined him before the subsequent faceoff after being called for delay of game. The Spartans, staring down a two-minute 5-on-3, locked in defensively as Bukatovs made five saves and Cole Bowditch blocked two shots to successfully kill off one of their toughest penalty situations of the season. The teams traded shots down the stretch, but none found the back of the net as Castleton carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
 
Castleton dominated the middle stanza, adding four goals while allowing none. Roebuck scored just 1:09 into the period, assisted by Jackson Edwards and Logan Daprich. The Spartans quickly capitalized on a KSC tripping call at 4:40, scoring 45 seconds later as Emmett McHardy buried a power-play goal with assists from Luke Chakrabarti and Castino.
 
Both teams struggled to generate offense following the score, but the Spartans broke through again with seven minutes remaining when Jason Atkinson added his name to the scoresheet. Cole Mathews intercepted an Owls' cross-zone pass and found Atkinson in front of the net. Following the third goal of the period, Keene State made a goaltending change, inserting Ben Skelton in relief of Jari Stacher, who finished with 20 saves in 47 minutes of action.
 
Skelton made four saves before allowing a power-play goal to Chakrabarti, assisted by Castino and Cam Reid, giving Castleton a 5-0 lead heading into the final period.
 
Despite trailing by five entering the third frame, Keene State continued to push offensively but was turned aside at every turn by Bukatovs, who recorded six saves in the opening 10 minutes. The Spartans put the finishing touch on the win in the 11th minute as Chakrabarti netted his second goal of the night, assisted by David Coyle, to make it 6-0.
 
Bukatovs made three more saves in the period, while his teammates added four blocked shots and the post contributed two deflections to help secure the first shutout of his collegiate career.
 
By the Numbers
• Classmates Chakrabarti and Castino each recorded three points, with Chakrabarti tallying two goals and an assist and Castino posting a goal and two assists.
• Roebuck, McHardy, and Atkinson each scored one goal.
• Seven different Spartans recorded assists, and nine combined for 18 blocked shots. Getzlaf and Bowditch led the way with four blocks apiece.
• In just his third collegiate start, Bukatovs earned his first career shutout with 27 saves and finished the weekend with two starts and two wins.
• Castleton outshot Keene State 39-27 and held a narrow edge in faceoff wins, 36-32.
• The Spartans climbed two spots in the conference standings following the 2-0 home weekend, now sitting in sixth place.
 
Up Next
The Spartans return to the road next Friday, January 23, traveling to Plymouth State University for a 6:30 p.m. Little East Conference matchup with the Panthers.