RUTLAND, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton men's ice hockey team dropped a hard-fought battle to No. 9 Babson College in its fifth annual Breaking the Ice on Mental Health contest, 4-2.

The Basics
• Final Score: Babson 4, Castleton 2
• Location: Spartan Arena – Rutland, Vt.
• Records: Babson 16-2-2 (11-1-1 LEC) | Castleton 11-9-1 (7-7-0 LEC)

The Ice Is Breaking
The Spartans have raised more than $30,000 over five years of hosting Breaking the Ice events in partnership with Rutland Regional Medical Center's Behavioral Health Clinic. Friday's event featured more than 25 raffle baskets, a variety of baked goods for sale, and the continuation of the auction for game-worn jerseys designed by junior forward Josef Vyvial. The auction will remain open until 8 p.m. on February 12 at 32auctions.com/bti2026.

How It Happened
In a David-and-Goliath matchup, the Spartans came out swinging against the nationally ranked Beavers, striking first just 1:49 into the contest as rookie Marcus Bellomo found the back of the net off assists from Logan Dapprich and Trevor Castino.
Castleton extended its lead to 2-0 on an even-strength goal by Luke Chakrabarti with less than four minutes remaining in the opening period, with classmate Emmett McHardy earning the assist.

The hosts were denied a clean opening frame, however, as Babson scored with 57 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 2-1 after 20 minutes of play.

Castleton maintained its lead through much of the second period but surrendered the advantage following a Dylan Roebuck tripping penalty at 17:08, which resulted in a Babson power-play goal to knot the score at 2-2 heading into the final stanza.

With the game appearing destined for overtime and each team in line for at least one conference point, Babson took its first lead of the night at 10:38 of the third period. The Beavers added an insurance goal five minutes later to extend the margin to 4-2.

Castleton continued to push late, pulling its goaltender at 17:58 in favor of the extra attacker. While the Spartans were unable to find the net, they generated four quality shots on goal before time expired.

By the Numbers
• Chakrabarti continues to lead the Spartan offense with 15 goals on the season.
• McHardy leads the team with 13 assists.
• Classmate Charles Watson made 39 saves under pressure against a strong Babson squad.
• Defense was a team effort, as Castleton blocked 14 shots, led by Cole Bowditch with four.
• The Spartans won the faceoff battle, 35-20, led by Castino with 10 wins.

Up Next
The Spartans remain home on Saturday, February 7, as they host the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a 4 p.m. Senior Day matchup.