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Garrett Sider scored the first Tufts goal, his second of the year
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RUTLAND, Vt. – Sophomore forward Ben Schoeneberger (Vernon, CT) scored a pair of goals and dished out two assists while classmate Josh Harris (Torrance, CA) netted two goals and added an assist to lead #4 ranked Castleton past Tufts University, 8-3, in ECAC East/NESCAC crossover action at Spartan Arena on Friday night.
The Spartans, winners of 12 straight, improve to 16-2-0 overall and 10-2-0 overall in the ECAC East. The Jumbos fall to 4-11-0 overall and 3-9-0 in conference play.
Schoeneberger jump-started Castleton's offense, which scored four goals in the first period, by sneaking a puck past Tufts goaltender Evin Koleini (Clarence, NY) just inside the right post with a shot from just outside the goal line at 8:01 for a 1-0 lead. It was his fifth goal of the season.
Freshman forward Ross Herzog (Wainwright, ALB) made it 2-0 just 37 seconds later, beating Koleini on assists from freshman forward Kyle Pichler (Anchorage, AK) and Schoeneberger.
At 10:51 of the first, freshman forward Mike Cifelli (Havre De Grace, MD) gave the Spartans a 3-0 advantage by back-handing a loose puck that was stationed near the crease into the back of the net for his second marker of the season.
After a turnover in the neutral zone, Garrett Sider (Longwood, FL) capitalized for Tufts, ripping a wrist shot top-shelf over the blocker of Castleton freshman goaltender Erick Cinotti (Mahwah, NJ) for a 3-1 deficit at 12:44.
Schoeneberger responded for the Spartans late in the first period on the power play at 19:12, sniping a wrist shot past Koleini from the right faceoff circle for his sixth of the season.
In the second, the Jumbos wasted little time cutting the deficit in half as Tom Derosa (Charlestown, MA) stuffed home a rebound into the lower right corner of the net at 1:19 for a 4-2 score.
Harris answered back for Castleton scoring two goals just four minutes and 56 seconds apart to put the game on ice. At 11:15 on the power play, the sophomore forward whistled a wrist shot through Koleini's five-hole from the slot for his 12th goal of the season. Later at 16:11, Harris potted his first collegiate short-handed goal by beating Koleini glove side for a 6-2 advantage. With two goals and an assist in the game, Harris pushed his single-season points record to 38 on the night.
In the third, Mike Vitale (Brookfield, IL) closed the gap to 6-3 only one minute and 41 seconds into the period as he stuffed a loose puck behind Cinotti.
Pichler reclaimed a four-goal lead for the Spartans as backup goaltender Brian Phillips (Colleyville, TX) bobbled an initial shot from Schoeneberger and Pichler cleaned it up for a 7-3 margin. Lazorko added his sixth goal of the season (unassisted) at 16:00 to make it 8-3.
Cinotti made 25 saves to push his regular season record to 7-1-0 overall. Koleini made 24 saves while Phillips turned away 23 shots.
Castleton returns to action tomorrow, at home, as the Spartans host Connecticut College at 3 pm. Tufts continues on to Skidmore College where they will play a 4 pm contest.
Game Box Score
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Game release courtesy of Castleton State College
