RUTLAND, Vt. - The New England College men's ice hockey opened Little East Conference (LEC) action on Friday night, falling on the road to Vermont State University – Castleton 5-3.
The Spartans tested the Pilgrims defense, but sophomore goaltender Anthony Beaulieu (Lawrence, Mass.) stood tall, turning away the attempts. The 'Grims responded with a series of shots of their own, all stopped by Spartans goaltender Charles Watson. The two teams traded chances throughout the tightly contested opening period until freshman Wyatt Gibson (Pelham, Ont.) connected with freshman Jack Ohlund (Lakeville, Minn.) to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Castleton answered minutes later when Josef Vyvial found the back of the net to even the score at 1-1 as the period came to a close.
The battle continued into the second period as Castleton generated back-to-back shots which were turned away by Beaulieu. The Spartans broke through in the fifth minute when Marcus Bellomo found the back of the net to give the home team a 2-1 lead. The Pilgrims answered four minutes later, as senior Graham Hassan (Pinckney, Mich.) buried the equalizer, knotting the score at 2-2, with the assist coming from freshman Jaeseok Lee (Suwon, South Korea). A minute later, a Castleton penalty gave NEC a power-play opportunity, and junior Jack Herron (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) gave the visitors a 3-2 lead. The Spartans continued to battle with Tyler Burke scoring to tie the game at 3-3 as the teams headed into the second intermission deadlocked.
The teams continued to trade shots throughout the final period, with the Spartans earning an early power-play opportunity. The Pilgrims held tough with Herron recording a block and Beaulieu making the save. Minutes later, Castleton took the lead netting their fourth goal of the game. The 'Grims responded firing multiple shots from Ohlund and Lee, but Watson stood tall in net. Two late Spartan penalties gave NEC a chance to even the score, but the Castleton defense turned away shots by the visitors. Trevor Castino sealed the win for the Spartans in the final minute of play, as Castleton secured the 5-3 victory.
Beaulieu recorded 35 saves in net for the Pilgrims while Watson tallied 23 for the Spartans. Junior Gunnar Sibley (Monticello, Minn.), freshman Matteo Viglino (Davos, Switzerland), Gibson, and Lee would each pick up an assist.
The Pilgrims continue LEC competition as they travel to Northfield, Vermont on Saturday to face Norwich University with a 4:00 PM start.
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