RUTLAND, Vt. – The Vermont State University fourth-seeded Castleton women's ice hockey team opened play in the Little East Conference Ice Hockey Championship Tournament, presented by Townshend Hockey, with a 4–2 home-ice victory over fifth-seeded Keene State College on Wednesday evening.

The Basics

• Final Score: #4 Castleton 4, Keene State 2
• Location: Spartan Arena – Rutland, Vt.
• Records: Castleton 12-14-0 (8-11-0 LEC) | Keene State 10-16-0 (7-12-0 LEC)

Keeping it 100
Moa Carlsson and Meg Aiken appeared in their 100th career games during Wednesday's playoff contest, joining classmate Ellie Schliebener, who reached the milestone on February 13—also against the Owls.

How It Happened
Castleton earned an early power play after a high-sticking penalty at 2:54. With time winding down on the 5-on-4 advantage, the Spartans capitalized as Mikayla Brightman found the back of the net, with assists from Morgan Arscott and Amanda Vaughn, to give Castleton a 1–0 lead near the five-minute mark.

Keene State answered at 9:36 to knot the game at 1–1. Just six minutes later, Castleton regained the lead as Maddy Jorgenson scored to make it 2–1, assisted by Brooke Noble.

The Spartans extended their lead 78 seconds into the second period, going up 3–1 on another power-play goal. Vaughn collected her second point of the game on the tally, with assists from Brightman and Schliebener. Castleton dominated the middle stanza, firing 13 shots on goal while blocking 12 attempts defensively.

Looking to put the game away, the Spartans struck again in the third period as Vaughn netted her second goal of the night—Castleton's third straight—to make it 4–1. Schliebener and Arscott assisted on the senior's power-play marker.

Keene State broke through once more at 18:17 to cut the deficit to 4–2, but despite an extra-skater push late, Castleton held firm to secure the victory and advance to the LEC semifinal round.


By the Numbers

• Vaughn led all skaters with three points on two goals and an assist.
• Arscott and Schliebener each recorded two assists, both contributing to Vaughn's scoring efforts.
• Aiken was dominant at the faceoff dot, going 17-for-23, as Castleton controlled the circle, 45–21.
• Gianna McCusker earned the win in net, stopping 18 shots, while the Spartans added 12 blocked shots defensively.
• Keene State committed 10 penalties in the contest, while Castleton was whistled for five.

Up Next
Fourth-seeded Castleton will travel to face top-seeded Norwich University for a 3 p.m. puck drop on Saturday, February 28.