Men’s Ice Hockey Downs Castleton, 7-1, Claims Title at Terry Moran Invitational Tournament
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Rivier (4-4-1) | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
|
Castleton (4-5-0) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
RUTLAND, Vt. – The Rivier men's ice hockey team soared past host Castleton, 7-1, to win the championship game of the Terry Moran Invitational Tournament at Spartan Arena on Saturday night. Under first year head coach Shaun Millerick, the Raiders collected their first tournament championship and defeated Castleton for the first time in program history.
The Raiders move to 4-4-1 on the season, as Castleton falls to 4-5-0 (3-2-0 NEHC).
Damon Kiyawasew found Liam Hennessy through a group of Spartans, resulting in the first goal of the contest at 5:55 in the first. Just under four minutes later, Kiyawasew recorded a goal of his own as he backhand flicked the puck past Spartan goaltender, with a relay from Hennessy and Tyler Sitnikov, to double the Raiders' lead. On the power play, Billy Hartnett scored into the lower left corner of the net, with assists credited to Kiyawasew and Carter Poulin in the fourteenth minute of the period.
The Raiders put up their fourth unanswered goal in the second period from a give-and-go, tallied by Jon Tavella on the power play with assists from Cormac Hayes and Hartnett.
At 1:57 in the third, Hennessy put in his second goal of the game, a slipping a shot past Castleton's goalie, with assists credited to Sitnikov and Kiyawasew, increasing the Raiders lead to 5-0. To follow, Riv's Hunter Phillips found Alfred Rotiroti, who then dashed up the ice with the puck shoving in a goal with about 15 minutes left in the contest.
Rivier was able to hold off the Spartans until late in the third when Zack Whittaker capitalized on the power play slapping in their first goal of the game, with assists from Andrew Stefura and Bryce Irwin.
With under two minutes left in the third, Nicolas Paolucci poked in the final goal on the power play with assists granted to Hennessy and Tavella.
Kiyawasew and Hennessy each totaled four points in the contest to help the Raiders be crowned as champions.
Luke Newell earned both starts in the tournament, gaining two wins on the weekend, and making 23 saves in net this evening.
Rivier dominated the game, outshooting the Spartans 33-24.
The Raiders will travel to take on Franklin Pierce on Tuesday, Nov. 28 with a start time of 8:00 p.m. at the Jason Ritchie Ice Arena in Winchendon, Mass.
All-Tournament Team
Damon Kiyawasew (Most Valuable Player)
