RUTLAND, Vt. – The Keene State College men's ice hockey team surrendered three goals in the opening seven minutes of the second period to watch a 1-0 deficit balloon to 4-0, and it never got better from there as the Owls suffered a rough 6-0 loss to Vermont State University Castleton in a Little East Conference matchup Saturday afternoon at the Spartan Arena.

The Owls (5-10-0, 1-8-0 LEC) entered the game on a five-game losing streak, but likely were able to take some positives from a 3-1 road loss at Norwich University on Friday – a game against a team near the top of the standings that remained in doubt in the third period.  KSC in fact had a power play chance with an opportunity to tie the game but allowed a shorthanded goal and could not generate a ton of shots from there down the stretch.

It never got to that point today.  Playing a team that the Owls tied last year 1-1 before beating in a shootout in the same building in their second-ever game, KSC and goaltender Jari Stacher were under siege early, as the Spartans (9-6-1, 5-4-0 LEC) parlayed an early power play chance that they did not score on into significant momentum for most of the period.  Stacher made eight saves over the opening nine minutes of the game, but Castleton scored the opener at 11:49 of the first when Marcus Bellomo and Cedrick Theodore assisted Trevor Castino for his sixth goal of the season.  The home team kept pushing for another, but Stacher stopped six more shots over the next three minutes before KSC was given a golden chance with 5:13 left in what had been a forgettable period up to that point.  For the second time in three games, the Owls had a full two minute 5-on-3 power play chance in the first period as Jack Linton went off for a cross check and Dylan Roebuck for delay of game.  Just like they did last Saturday against the University of Massachusetts-Boston, they peppered the net with shots while up two men, but Spartans goalie Lukas Bukatovs made five saves to keep his team in front.  He then denied three more over the final three minutes of the period to keep his team ahead 1-0 despite an Owl late flurry.

KSC's momentum came to a rapid halt out of the locker room, as Roebuck scored just 1:09 in to make it 2-0.  And it kept snowballing from there, as Emmett McHardy tacked on a power play goal at 5:25 for a 3-0 lead and Jason Atkinson only 1:35 after that as the game got quickly away from the Owls.  Luke Chakrabarti scored with 4:36 left in the second and added another with nine minutes to go in the third to set the final margin.

The Owls' defense allowed a season-high tying six goals to a Spartans team that has proven an ability to score, averaging four goals per game and scoring four or more goals in 10 different games this season – though Castleton was actually credited with their sixth-fewest shots in a game.

Perhaps more surprising is that the Owls could not manage to push any past Bukatovs in just his third outing of the season, who had allowed six goals in his first 118:47. It was also a Spartan team that had allowed four or more goals eight times in 15 games.  The first-year Castleton netminder made 27 saves – the vast majority coming on the early 5-on-3 chance.

Stacher made 20 saves – 17 in the opening period – in 27 minutes before Ben Skelton stopped 13 over the final 33 minutes.

The Owls have not won since edging King's College (Pa.) 3-2 at home on December 5, having dropped six straight since.  They have had chances in some of the games – including carrying a 5-4 lead into the third at Fitchburg State University in their first action of 2026 on January 5 before falling in overtime.  They also were up 3-2 after two at home against the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth last Friday before getting outscored 4-0 in the final 20 minutes and were down just a goal last night at Norwich entering the third, but have now scored just two goals over their past three games.

"This has turned into a real skid," said KSC head coach Bobby Rodrigue.  "The boys are discouraged for sure.  We will need to regroup this week."

The Owls have another conference weekend on the road awaiting them, as they visit the University of Southern Maine on Friday (January 23) at 7:00 p.m. and 10th-ranked Babson College on Saturday, January 24 at 4:00 p.m.  It begins the second trip around the league in its inaugural season for KSC.  The Owls previously fell to the Beavers 4-1 in their first-ever league game and were then blanked 3-0 by the Huskies the following day as Loic Morin had a 33-save shutout.  Babson is currently in second place with 21 points and Southern Maine in third with 20, both trailing first-place Norwich (22 points).  The Owls have three points and by dropping their last six league games in a row are 11 points behind sixth-place Castleton, who currently occupies the final playoff spot.