The Spartans ended their season 13-11-2 on March 1 in front of a packed Rutland Regional Field House after a 6-3 loss to Salem State in an ECAC East quarterfinal match-up. Coach Alex Todd’s squad dominated the first period out shooting the Vikings 10-6 but could only manage one goal. Stuart Stefan accounted for the 1-0 lead going into the second period.

However, Salem exploded during the second period and by the third held a 4-2 lead. The Vikings tied the game at 1-1 off a goal by Aaron Blades but Castleton answered 19 seconds later on a power play by Evan Romeo. Salem came back with three straight on a rebound shot, a failed clearing and a shot by Mike Genovese.

“I do not think that we played as well as we had played a few weeks before. However, we did not play terrible,” Todd said. “It was a combination of our mistakes and Salem playing very well that cost us the second period and ultimately the game.”

The Vikings extended their lead in the third off goals by Zach Doyen on an open net and by Genovese with less than two minutes left. With 10 seconds remaining, the Spartans got one back with goalie Jeff Swanson pulled and an unassisted goal by Romeo.

Swanson ended the night with 23 stops while Salem goalie Ryan Hatch stopped 31 shots.

“I was so impressed with the turnout and support for the first ever ECAC home playoff game last Saturday. I wanted to thank everyone who showed up, and let them know that that type of atmosphere is great motivation to have another home playoff game next year,” Todd said.

Women’s Hockey

The Spartan women couldn’t get pass their quarterfinal match-up either as Castleton fell 5-1 to UMass Boston. Castleton ended the season 5-16-4.

Sandy Parlato opened the scoring and the Beacons continued to roll with goals from Rose Devlin, Maria Nasta and Katherine Wall for a 4-0 lead by the middle of the second period.

Coach Gregory Stone’s team was able to prevent a shutout after Kayla Twigge feed the puck to Nicole Adams in the third period. However, the Spartans were unable to build any momentum as Wall netted a second goal for the final score.

Goalie Kalla Robb made 45 saves for Castleton while UMass Boston’s Jessica Sams stopped 23 shots.