GORHAM, Maine – The number eight seed University of Southern Maine men's ice hockey team will host the number nine seed Castleton University Spartans in the first round of the New England Hockey Conference playoffs on Wednesday, February 16 at 7pm in Gorham.

When and Where: Wednesday, February 16, 2022 – University of Southern Maine – USM Ice Arena

The Team: Posting a 5-5-1 record at home, the Huskies finished the regular season with a 7-13-1 overall record and a 5-10-1 record in conference. Leading the way for the Huskies this season was the offensive duo of Austin Marini (Hyde Park, Mass./Catholic Memorial) and Curtis Judd (Newton, Mass./Albany Academy). Marini put up 14 points on seven goals and seven assists and Judd posted twelve points on four goals and eight assists. Adam Withers (Kenora, ON/Beaver Brae) and Maverick Lynes (Sherwood Park, AB/Louis St Laurent) each tacked on ten points and Zach Desmarais (St. Cyrille, QC/École secondaire de l'Odyssée) had an impressive rookie campaign, putting up nine.  

A trio of goaltenders split time in the cage for the Huskies this season, with senior Anthony D'Aloisio (Frisco, Texas/Texas Jr. Brahmas) starting a majority of the games. D'Aloisio finished the season with a .879 save percentage and a 4.84 goals against average. Freshmen Kyle Penton (Waltham, Mass./Albany Academy) and Mason Palmer (Cumming, Ga./Connections Academy) posted .892 and .919 save percentages and 3.86 and 3.16 goals against averages, respectively.

The Matchup: The ninth seed in the NEHC tournament, the Castleton Spartans finished the season with a 5-18-2 record and a 1-15-2 record in conference play. The two teams met twice during the regular season, with Southern Maine picking up 4-1 and 4-3 victories. 

The Spartans' offense is led by Glenn Wiswell (Berwick, Maine) and Zach Papapetros (North Andover, Mass.), who both put up 17 points on the season. Wiswell and Brandon Picard (Montreal, QC) are the two leading goal scorers for Castleton, with seven each. 

Kyle Alaverdy (Grand Falls-Windsor, S.D.) spent the most time in goal for the Spartans and finished the season with a .911 save percentage and a 3.43 goals against average.