RUTLAND, Vt. – The Castleton University ice hockey team scored a pair of goals in a span of 1:26 late in the third period to snap a 2-all tie as the Spartans defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology, 4-2, in the season opener for both teams.
Senior Joey O'Leary (Boston, Mass.) had a goal and an assist for the Leopards while junior Kevin Obssuth (Chester, N.J.) had a pair of helpers in his Wentworth debut.
THE BASICS:
RECORDS: WIT (0-1); CU (1-0)
SHOTS: WIT 39; CU 19
PENALTIES/MINUTES: WIT 2/4; CU 4/8
POWER PLAYS: WIT 0-4; CU 0-2
GOALIE SAVES: WIT – Connor Carbo, 15; CU – Kyle Alaverdy, 37
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- After a flurry of shots by Wentworth to open the game, the Leopards jumped on the board at the 6:19 mark when freshman Chris Tamer (Whitmore Lake, Mich.) scored from O'Leary and Obssuth.
- Castleton evened the score with 3:36 left in the first period on a goal from freshman Zach Papapetros (North Andover, Mass.), which was set up by junior Brandon Picard (Montreal, Que.) and sophomore Justin Stairs (Caledon, Ont.).
- Wentworth finished the first period with a 15-5 shot advantage.
- The Leopards took a 2-1 lead midway through the second period when O'Leary put home a rebound of an Obssuth shot that was saved by senior Kyle Alaverdy (Grand Falls-Windsor, N.L.). Stairs had a shot attempt that went wide and Picard picked up the loose puck to tie the contest at 2-all with 3:31 left in the period.
- A back-and-forth start to the third period yielded scoring chances for both squads with sophomore Connor Carbo (Berlin, Vt.) and Alaverdy both making saves to keep the game tied. However, the Spartans took a 3-2 lead with 5:57 left in the third period on a goal from freshman Andrew Stefura (Boston, Mass.), assisted by classmate Bryce Irwin (Victoria, B.C.).
- A minute and 26 seconds later the hosts added an insurance goal when senior Anton Taravainen (Sipoo, Finland) tallied from senior Jahwara Rennalls (Sandy Hill, Ont.) and senior Alex Maunula (Helsinki, Finland).
- Wentworth pulled Carbo for an extra skater with 1:22 left but were unable to get closer.
- Alaverdy made 37 saves for Castleton while Carbo turned aside 15 shots for the Black & Gold. Wentworth had a 39-15 shots on goal advantage. The Leopards attempted 70 total shots.
SERIES NOTES:
- Tonight marked the seventh all-time meeting between the two teams. The series is tied 3-3-1. The Spartans move to 3-1 in home games in the series.
NEXT UP:
- Wentworth is at Skidmore on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.
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