The men’s and women’s hockey teams both started the new year off on a rough note. The Spartan men dropped their first game of the year to SUNY Potsdam 3-2 while the women fell to Manhattanville 4-1.After defeating Skidmore, Coach Alex Todd’s squad fell 4-3 to powerhouse Middlebury, unable to pull off an upset despite three one-goal leads. Tied in the final minute of play, the Panthers scored with 40 seconds remaining to secure the win.

On the road the following weekend, the team split their match-ups in Connecticut defeating Connecticut College 3-1 then falling to Tufts 4-1. Returning home, the Spartans won 4-2 and 5-2 against Amherst and Hamilton, respectively.

On Friday, the squad was able to hold 13th nationally ranked Babson to a 1-1 tie in a game marked by only a total of seven penalties. Kirk Bolduc scored Castleton’s lone goal off assists by Brandon Heck and Jared Lavender just 38 seconds into the game. Goalie Jeff Swanson made 28 saves on the night.

The Spartans continued their unbeaten streak the following day with a 4-3 win against UMass-Boston. The Beacons started the scoring in the third period to gain a 3-1 lead. However, Castleton answered with goals by Jeff Alexander and Steve Culbertson to tie it and Even Romeo netted the game-winner. Goalie Jay Seals made 31 saves in the win.

Todd’s team heads into the weekend 5-6-2 in the conference and 7-10-2 overall. Castleton will host Salem State Friday and Southern Maine Saturday.

Women’s hockey

A win in the new year continued to elude Coach Greg Stone’s squad until a 3-1 victory against Salve Regina. Tied 1-1 after two periods, Adrianna Riggio gave the Spartans back the lead while Amy Costa secured the win with just under six minutes left. Goalie Vanessa Carter made 39 saves.

Castleton started the following weekend off strong with a shutout against Plymouth State. However, the team fell in overtime the next day 2-1 to SUNY-Oswego. Costa started the scoring early in the match-up but the Lakers were finally able to tie it in the later half of the second period. In extra time, Oswego scored the game-winner off a rebound from Carter.

On Friday, the Spartans were unable to bounce back, dropping a 4-2 match-up to UMass-Boston. After a 5-2 loss to St. Anselm the following day, Castleton fell to 4-6-3 in the conference and 5-10-3 overall.

Stone’s squad travels to New England College Friday and Southern Maine Saturday.