CASTLETON, Vt. – Trailing 6-2 at halftime, the Castleton State College Spartans outscored the University of Southern Maine Huskies 10-4 in the second half to take a 12-10 victory in the teams' season-opening game Saturday at Spartan Stadium.

            Down 8-3 with 6:55 to play in the third quarter, the Spartans would score six straight goals to take a 9-8 lead.  After USM senior Kyle Baker (Kennebunk, Maine) tied the game with 7:50 to go, the Spartans would tally three consecutive goals to take the decision.

            Baker paced the Huskies' offense scoring four goals and passing off an assist for five points.  Seniors Ryan Foley (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) and Mark White (Oakville, Ontario) each had two goals and an assist.  Senior goalie Ryan Hatch (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) made nine saves.

            Junior Alex Green (Braintree, Vt./Randolph) and sophomore Alex Denny (Adams Center, N.Y./South Jefferson) led the Spartans with three  goals apiece.  Sophomore Zach Davidson (South Burlington, Vt./Berkshire) had two goals and two assists, senior Sam Bailey (Hartford, Vt.) tallied two goals and an assist, and senior Spencer Hunt (Johnson, Vt./Lamoille) had a goal and game-high three assists.

            The Spartans split their goaltending duties.  Sophomore Eric Horsfield (Tolland, Conn.) played the opening half registering eight saves.  Rookie Peter Latulippe (Tyngsboro, Mass.) played the second half stopping six shots and getting the win.

            The Huskies appeared to have the game in hand after senior Mike Orlando (Hanover, Mass.) scored to make it 8-3 midway through the third quarter.

            Denny ignited a string of six straight Spartan goals with his first goal 47 seconds after Orlando's goal.  Junior Will Stuhler (Madison, N.J.) and Bailey scored goals 34 seconds apart late in the period to cut the Huskies' lead down to 8-6 after three periods.

            Bailey, Denny and Hunt continued the Spartan surge in the opening six minutes of the fourth quarter to give the home side a 9-8 advantage.  After Baker tied the game, Davidson, Green and Denny would find the net within a span of 1:17 to give Castleton a 12-9 lead with only 2:38 to play.

            White got one back for the Huskies with 1:38 to play, but that would be the end of the scoring.

            In the opening half, Green spotted the Spartans a 2-0 lead with a pair of goals in the first five minutes of play.  The Huskies would score the next six goals, including two each from Baker and Foley, to grab a 6-2 lead at halftime.

            Southern Maine is back in action on Tuesday (4:00 p.m.) when it travels to Curry College for a non-conference match.  Castleton State plays next on Tuesday (4:00 p.m.) when it entertains R.P.I.