February 16, 2007

Castleton wins on the road, 4-3 over Trinity

Hartford, Conn. - Freshman forward Steve Culbertson (Bowling Green, Ohio) had a goal and two assists and sophomore goalie Jeff Swanson (Grand Haven, Mich.) made 35 saves to lead the visiting Castleton State College Spartans to a 4-3 win over the Trinity College Bantams in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC)/Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East men's ice hockey action this evening at Williams Rink. Trinity drops to 8-11-4 overall and 6-9-3 in the NESCAC with its third straight loss, while the Spartans, ranked No. 11 in the nation, improve to 16-5-3 overall and 11-4-3 in the ECAC East.

Castleton scored twice in the first period with the first goal coming when Bantam freshman goalie David Murison (Woodstock, Vt.) got caught behind the net and Spartan freshman forward Eric Curtis (Rockford, Mich.) flipped the puck into an open net at the 11:36 mark. Castleton senior captain defenseman Joe Huchko (Congers, N.Y) gave the visitors a 2-0 lead with 3:49 left in the first frame, wristing a shot from the left wing into the right half of the net.

After a scoreless second period, Trinity got on the board when freshman defenseman Richard Hollstein (Pembroke, Mass.) scored on a rebound in front of the crease 1:51 into the final stanza. The Spartans answered immediately, winning the ensuing face-off and receiving their third goal from freshman forward Kirk Bolduc (Lewiston, Maine) just seven seconds later. The Bantams cut the deficit back down to a single goal at 8:38 of the period, as sophomore defenseman Chris Powers (Lynnfield, Mass.) blasted a wrist shot past Swanson while streaking down the left lane. Castleton answered again, when Culbertson stole the puck from the Bantams and scored a short-handed goal on a breakaway. Trinity scored once more on a goal by junior forward Daniel Maturi (North Kingstown, R.I.) but just 1.5 seconds remained on the clock.

Trinity outshot the Spartans, 41-24, and Castleton logged 44 penalty minutes to 32 for the Bantams. Maturi finished with a goal and an assist and Murison made 20 saves. Junior defenseman Travis Martell (Kelowna, British Columbia) had two helpers for the Spartans.

Castleton will close out their regular season at Wesleyan University tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 PM. [Box Score]

###Spartans###