Men’s Hockey Secures First NEHC Win, Skates Past Castleton, 8-4

CHARLESTOWN, Mass. – Seven different Rams scored with 10 student-athletes producing a point to anchor Suffolk men's hockey well-balanced 8-4 victory over Castleton Saturday night at Emmons Horrigan O'Neil Memorial Rink.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 8 | Castleton 4
RECORDS: Suffolk (5-9-1, 1-6-1 NEHC) | Castleton (5-9-2, 3-5-1 NEHC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
All the scoring in the first frame came in the first 3:29. Castleton punched on the board first just 1:39 into the contest when Jacob Erwin scored unassisted. The Rams response came 1:49 later on the power play as freshman Alex Kolowrat equalized the game with help from his classmates Griffin Clark and Henry Bishop.  

Déjà vu happened out of the locker room as the Spartans struck within the first two minutes on the ice for the second time on the day. This time Nick Gravina took advantage of a man-up opportunity for the Spartans to give the visitors a one-goal edge again.  

That margin did not stay long, 2:15 to be exact, as Ryan Donnelly leveled the playing field for the second time on the night with help from Devin Lowe and Shawn Montgomery.  

Special teams continued to play a factor in the hectic middle period. This time, Suffolk scored with a man-down as Nick Lachaine's strike at the 9:33 mark, which was set-up by Lowe, gave the Rams their first lead of the night, 3-2.  

Castleton's rebuttal came with 5:13 remaining in the second stanza on the power play, the Spartans second of the day to even things for the third time at 3-all.  

The scoring did not stop there as Kolowrat found the back of the net for the second time on the night. With 56 seconds left on the clock before the second intermission the rookie potted his second power play goal of the night. 

Eighteen seconds later Lowe got in on the scoring scene with his second of the season to give Suffolk a two-goal lead, 5-3, when the teams headed to the locker rooms for the second time.  

Penalties continued to cost either side, but played in the Rams favor with 56 seconds left on the clock before the second intermission. The rookie's power play goal came just 18 seconds prior to a marker from Lowe that gave Suffolk a two-goal lead, 5-3, as the teams headed to the locker room for the second time.  

Penalties continued to cost Castleton as an unassisted Brian Brooks goal game 4:48 into the third period on the man-up advantage to double the distance between the foes.  

An even-strength strike from Nick Wardstrom pushed the gap to 7-3 with 11:01 remaining in regulation. 

Once again penalties played a factor though and the Spartans scored their fourth power play goal of the night to trim the margin back to three at the 11:44 minute mark.  

Two minutes later Phil Kreuser regained the four-goal distance with a shorthanded strike assisted by Joe Feeney. 

The scoring stopped there despite another penalty on either side and Suffolk clung to the cushion for its first conference victory of the season.  

NETMINDER NOTES

• Cal Wilcox secured 26 saves in the victory. 
• Brandon Collett suffered the setback with a 25-stop performance over 44:48 of action. 
• Kyle Alaverdy made two saves in 15:09 of relief.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Lowe led Suffolk's offense with a three-point performance on a pair of helpers and one marker. 
• Kolowrat scored a game-high two goals. 
• Bishop, Clark and Shawn Montgomery all set-up two shots. 
• Donnelly split his two-point stat line between goals (1) and assists (1). 
• Brooks, Kreuser, Lachaine and Wardstrom all found the back of the net for the Rams. 
• Feeney rounded out the Rams with points with one helper. 
• Suffolk outshot Castleton, 35-30, and won the face-off battle, 44-42.   

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk won its second straight game against Castleton to improve to 3-1-0 all-time against the Spartans. 
• The back-to-back wins over the Spartans are a first in program history for the Rams. 
• The pair of short-handed goals are the most for Suffolk since scoring two in a 6-3 win versus Johnson & Wales Feb. 10, 2018. 
• The eight goals scored tie the most for the Rams against Castleton, which Suffolk scored in the first-ever meeting an 8-2 win over the Spartans November 11, 2003. 
• Suffolk's eight goals are the most since it scored that in an 8-6 triumph versus Johnson & Wales Jan. 12, 2019. 
• Lowe notched a new career-high three points, matching personal-bests in assists (2) and goals scored (1). 
• Kolowrat had a career-high two-goal effort to match a personal-best two points. 
• Bishop handed out a personal-best two helpers, while Lowe and Montgomery both matched a career-high two assists. 
• Donnelly had a career-high two points behind his first-ever collegiate goal and one-assist effort. 
• Wardstrom's first goal of the season is the second of his career, first since December 8, 2018 versus Skidmore.  

POST-GAME PIC
 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk continues its home stay next weekend when it entertains No. 6 Hobart and Skidmore. The Statesmen stop by Friday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. with the Thoroughbreds making the trip Saturday, Jan. 18 for a 5 p.m. puck drop.