Laking ignites third period comeback against Saint Anselm

Courtesy photo
Will Laking takes a faceoff against a Saint Anselm center, Sat. Jan 24 in an ECAC game.

Spartans men’s hockey team forward Will Laking sparked a five-goal comeback win in the third period against Saint Anselm College Saturday night that ended with a 5-2 score.

It was the first win for the Spartans since their Jan. 3 3-0 victory on the road at Salve Regina.

“It was a huge win for us,” Spartans Head Coach Steve Moffat said. “We had a bad game last night. Practices weren’t great during the week and it showed.”

Castleton started off strong playing a competitive game and keeping the game tied at 0 through one and a half periods. That’s when Bryan Sullivan of Saint Anselm, found twine on the power play. The score remained 1-0 heading into the second intermission.

Just two minutes into play to start the third, the Hawks’ 6’2 senior forward Sean Jenkins cashed in on what was looking like the potential game winner for Saint Anselem, taking advantage of a bad line change.

Nearly five minutes later, though, the Spartans began a string of goals – started by junior Will Laking – that would ultimately send them home happy campers.

“I would give all the credit to my line mates. Mack handed me a tap in front of the net for a chip-in,” he said of his second goal.

Castleton’s Kurt Johnson added to the score roughly four minutes later. The Hawks continued to battle, but the Spartans had another answer with their fourth unanswered goal by Trevor Hanna. Ryan Frost capped it with an empty net goal.

“This is exactly what we needed moving forward,” said Laking.

Castleton currently sits at sixth place in the ECAC conference standings. Goalkeeper Ryan Mulder explains the importance of seeding.

“It’s really important. Obviously if we play our game, I think we can beat any team in the conference, but getting the fourth seed would guarantee a home playoff game, which is our goal. Hopefully after this big come from behind win we can get on a nice roll. Having momentum going into playoffs is important.”

The Spartans improve to 6-12 overall and 4-7 in ECAC conference play. They have a tough next few league games – two of which are against first-seeded rival Norwich University and second-seeded UMass Boston.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Previous post New professor establishes French Film Festival
Next post Murray goes pro