Courtesy Castleton Sports Information
RUTLAND – Taylor Steadman scored a pair of goals—including the game-winner in overtime—to lift Castleton women’s hockey to a 2-1 victory over Connecticut College on Sunday afternoon at Spartan Arena.
Steadman gave the Spartans an early 1-0 lead in the first period before netting the game-winner in overtime on a breakaway chance. Jess Cameron posted another phenomenal game in goal for the Spartans, tallying 42 saves in her 10th victory of the season.
The win moves Castleton to 10-1-1 on the season, while Connecticut College falls to 1-5-1 overall.
The Spartans got on the board early in the first period, as Steadman scored her second goal in as many games to hand her squad a lead at 3:50 of the first. Brianna Keats connected on a pass to Aimee Briand, who found Steadman entering the offensive zone. Steadman made a move around a defender and beat the goalie down low for her team-leading eighth goal of the season.
Connecticut got the equalizer early in the second frame, when Julie Beattie picked off a pass and ripped a shot over the glove of Cameron just 48 seconds into the middle period. The Spartans had a golden opportunity to take back the lead, when they forced a turnover at their own blue line that sprung Steadman on a breakaway. The senior forward skated in and deked the goalie, but her shot rang off the post and was cleared out of harm’s way to keep the game knotted at 1-1 going into the final stanza.
Following a scoreless third period, the Spartans would head to overtime for the second consecutive day. Connecticut controlled play early in the overtime period, putting six shots on goal before Steadman forced a turnover in her offensive zone and skated in with a defender on her back. The senior made a move to her forehand and buried the game-winning goal to give her team its second win of the weekend.
Cameron stopped 42 out of 43 shots that she faced in the win, good for a .977 save percentage in the contest. Connecticut’s Katherine Chester was saddled with the loss, stopping 28 out 30 shots in the game.
The Steadman-Briand-Keats line was terrific all game long, as they put a combined 10 shots on goal and were responsible for both Spartan goals. Each of the three skaters recorded a +2 rating in the victory. Neither squad could get the power play going in the contest, as the Spartans went 0-4 and the Camels were 0-3. Castleton dominated the face-off dot, winning 35 out of the 52 draws in the game (67%).
Castleton is now off until January 2, when it hosts the Rutland Herald Invitational at Spartan Arena. The first game of the tournament for the Spartans is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. against Colby College.