RUTLAND, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton women's ice hockey team took down the University of Southern Maine in the squad's 17th annual Pink the Rink event, 6-4. Brooke Noble recorded her first-ever hat trick in the victory.

The Basics
• Final Score: Castleton 6, Southern Maine 4
• Location: Spartan Arena – Rutland, Vt.
• Records: Castleton 9-10-0 (5-7-0 LEC) | Southern Maine 8-9-1 (7-4-1 LEC)

A Sea of Pink
The team has raised over $110,000 in the 17 years it has hosted Pink the Rink events in partnership with Rutland Regional Medical Center's Foley Cancer Center. The event featured over 30 raffle baskets, a variety of baked goods for sale, and the continuation of the auction for game-worn Pink the Rink jerseys. The auction will run until 8 p.m. on January 31 at 32auctions.com/prt26.

How It Happened
It looked as if there would be a repeat of Saturday's result early in the contest, as Southern Maine scored in the sixth minute to take a 1-0 lead. Castleton responded seven minutes later, as Brooke Noble netted a power-play tally assisted by Olivia Carter and Taylor Adams to tie the game at 1-1 heading into the first intermission.

Noble and the Spartans continued to fire on all cylinders in the middle frame, as she scored her second goal of the day just 56 seconds in, with help from Meg Aiken, to give Castleton a 2-1 advantage. The Spartans returned to the power play at 6:44 after the Huskies were whistled for slashing, and took advantage less than a minute later as Moa Carlsson found the back of the net off assists from Taylor Adams and Aiken to extend the lead to 3-1.

Noble completed her hat trick at the midway point of the period with her second power-play goal of the game, assisted by Adams and Gracie Hurlbut, making it 4-1. Castleton added what proved to be the eventual game-winner at 18:31, as Caris Erickson scored with assists from Ellie Schliebener and Adams to push the lead to 5-1.

Southern Maine answered with an unassisted goal at 19:10, one that resulted in extended discussions with both benches, to pull within three at the end of the period, 5-2.

The Huskies opened the final stanza with a quick goal to trail 5-3 with 19 minutes remaining. Southern Maine continued to apply pressure, scoring again at 9:18 to cut the deficit to one.

Castleton answered at 14:48, as Mikayla Brightman won the faceoff on a USM penalty and quickly converted the ensuing play to make it 6-4 on the skater-up advantage. The visitors pulled their goalie for a 6-on-5 with 50 seconds remaining, but the Spartans held on to secure the 6-4 victory.

By the Numbers
• Noble led all scorers with three goals, while Adams paced the Spartans with four assists.
• Aiken recorded a multi-point effort with two assists.
• Brightman added a goal and led the team defensively with three blocked shots.
• Kara Boassaly earned her fifth win of the season, stopping 23 shots.
• Castleton dominated the faceoff circle, 31-17, and held a 29-27 edge in shots.
• The power play went 3-for-5, while the penalty kill finished 3-for-4.

Up Next
The Spartans remain at home to host Plymouth State University on January 30 and 31 for a Little East Conference weekend series. Saturday's contest is set to be Castleton's Senior Day.