Castleton Downs Southern Maine 5-1

            GORHAM, Maine -- Sophomore goalie Ryan Mulder (Ottawa, Ontario) stopped 24 shots and scored an empty-net goal late in the third period as the visiting Castleton University Spartans defeated the University of Southern Maine Huskies 5-1 in a New England Hockey Conference men's game Saturday at the USM Ice Arena.

            The win snapped a five-game losing skid for the Spartans, and improved their overall record to 2-12-1 (1-6-1 in conference).  The Huskies saw their winless streak stretch to six games (0-5-1) falling to 5-9-1 overall (2-7-0 in conference).

            Mulder came up big in the first period making nine saves as the Huskies piled up a 9-5 edge in shots on goal.  In the third period, the Huskies pulled their goalie for the extra attacker and Mulder took advantage of the situation after stopping a shot to fire the puck the length of the ice into the empty net at 18:11.

            The Spartans, despite being outshot in the opening stanza, scored the only goal at 14:35.  Sophomore Ryan O'Toole (Ogdensburg, N.Y.) took a pass out from behind the net by rookie Fabio Kläy (Langnua, Switzerland) and wristed a shot past USM sophomore goalie Kyle Shapiro (Ocean, N.J.) for his first goal of the season.

            Castleton scored three times in the middle period to increase its lead to 4-1 after 40 minutes.  Junior Bart Moran (Calgary, Alberta) netted a short-handed tally when he banked a pass from behind the net off Shapiro and into the goal at 3:32.  Kläy tacked up a power-play marker at 11:27, and senior Derek Gingera (Winnipeg, Manitoba) struck a laser from the left-wing circle into the top corner at 17:35.  Kläy would finish the game with a goal and two assists.

            Southern Maine scored its only goal in the second period while on a five-minute power play.  Senior Chad O'Brien (Johnstown, Penn.) scored from the left-wing circle after receiving a pass from sophomore Patrick Magliano (Pelham, N.H.).

            The Huskies finished the game with a 25-16 advantage in shots on goal.  Shapiro made nine saves in two periods of action.  Sophomore Matt Michals (Needham, Mass.) played 14:45 in the third period making two saves.  The Huskies lifted Michals on three occasions during the period to play more than five minutes with the extra attacker in a vain attempt to get back into the game.

            Southern Maine hits the road next weekend to play at Saint Michael's College on Friday (7:00 p.m.).  Castleton returns home to host New England College on Friday (7:00 p.m.). 

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