SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College hockey team hits the road for a pair of NEHC contests this weekend, making the trip to Vermont to take on Norwich and Castleton.
The Thoroughbreds will begin the weekend on Friday at Norwich, a 7 p.m. start.
Live stats and
video will be available for the contest. Skidmore ends the weekend at former travel partner Castleton on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Live stats and
video are available for the Saturday game as well.
Skidmore (2-14-1, 0-9-1 NEHC) is still on the hunt for its first win in league action as the season heads towards its final stretch. Last weekend, the Thoroughbreds fired the first salvo in Friday's contest against No. 7 UMass Boston on a
Quincy Gregg goal in the first period, but were unable to keep up the momentum in a 7-1 home loss. On Saturday, the Thoroughbreds outshot Babson by a 28-23 margin and had solid chances at net, but were unable to get the right bounces in a 4-0 loss.
Rookie
Matt Muzyka leads the squad in scoring with 10 points on four goals and six assists.
Tim Allen is second with eight points on three goals and five assists in 12 contests. Co-Captain
Adam Moodie shares the team lead in goals, with four.
Corey Morgan leads all Skidmore defenders with five points on a goal and four assists.
In net,
Brandon Kasel sports a 3.39 goals against average and a .906 save percentage, starting in 15 of 16 contests.
Brian Kowalski has appeared in four contests, with a 3.51 goals against average and a .897 save percentage.
Norwich, the defending NCAA Champions, come into the weekend with an 11-4-1 record overall and an 8-1-1 mark in league action, leading the conference with 17 points. The Cadets, the preseason number one team in the country, currently are ranked 11
th by USCHO.com and 13 in the D3hockey rankings.
Freshman Coby Downs leads Norwich in scoring, with 14 points on seven goals and seven assists. Downs is also their leading goal scorer. Todd Jackson leads the team in assists with eight, adding four goals for 12 points. Norwich relies on its youth, with six of the top seven scorers coming from its freshman and sophomore classes. In net, senior Braeden Ostepchuk has a 1.54 goals against average and a .938 save percentage in 13 starts.
Castleton comes into the weekend with a 5-9-3 record overall and sits in seventh place in the conference with a 1-8-1 record and three points. Castleton hosts Hobart on Friday before Skidmore comes to town the next afternoon. Last weekend, the Spartans fell to New England College by a 5-1 score and tied Southern Maine, 3-3.
Castleton is led on the offensive end by Caleb Fizer and Trevor Hanna, who each have 10 points on four goals and six assists. Fizer and Hanna share the goal lead (four) with four other skaters – Matt Bloomer, Glenn Wiswell, Mark Shroyer, and Ryan O'Toole. Troy Taylor leads the team with eight assists, adding a goal for nine points. In net, Ryan Mulder has started in most of Castleton's contests, posting a 2.94 goals against average and a .891 save percentage in 11 appearances. Wyatt Pickrell has six starts, with a .903 save percentage and a 3.64 goals against average.
