RUTLAND, Vt. ­­– Garret Jackson and Jesse Shogan tied a game-high four blocked shots for the Lebanon Valley College men's ice hockey team, as the program dropped a 5-0 decision to Vermont State University Castleton on Friday, Nov. 28, at Spartan Arena. Goaltender Chris Branch also made 51 saves for LVC on the first day of the Spartans' Terry Moran Invitational Tournament. 

The Spartans generated some offensive opportunities early in the first period, and the Dutchmen responded with five saves by Branch within the first 2:29 of the frame. Lebanon Valley countered with a shot on goal by Artem Kondrashov, which was saved at the 3:34 mark. Branch followed this by posting more stops for LVC at the 3:45, 4:07, and 5:09 marks. The Flying Dutchmen then went on a power play in the sixth minute, and Owen Ames put a shot on target that was saved at the 5:36 mark. Back on the defensive end, Branch made seven more saves for LVC while Ames and Mason Proskin each blocked a shot over the next 5:01.

Castleton opened the scoring 10:39 into the first period, taking a 1-0 lead on a goal by Marcus Bellomo. This was followed by five more saves by Branch over the next 2:40, including four stops when the opposition was on a power play. The Spartans then scored on a power-play goal by Bellomo at the 13:21 mark, taking a 2-0 advantage. Lebanon Valley's offense also kept working to create opportunities, as Troy Andrews put a shot on goal that was saved at the 13:37 mark, and Anton Petrovskiy's attempt was saved 23 seconds later. Defensively, the Dutchmen kept battling during the remainder of the first frame with seven stops by Branch and blocks by Tanner Tolliver, Jackson, Lukas Washco, Shogan, and Ian Lindberg. Artur Kondrashov also took a shot for LVC during this stretch, recording an attempt that was saved at the 17:01 mark. 

Lebanon Valley's defense kept working to limit the opposition when the second period got underway, as Branch made four saves and Washco blocked an attempt during the first 1:36. The Flying Dutchmen followed this with a shot by Artur Konrashov, which was saved at the 1:43 mark. Branch proceeded to deliver three stops for LVC within 40 seconds in the fifth minute. The Spartans then scored on a goal by Luke Chakrabarti at the 5:28 mark and a goal by Tyler Burke at the 6:13 mark, going ahead 4-0. LVC countered with a shot on target by Dylan Miller, which was saved at the 6:34 mark. Castleton later went on a power play in the eighth minute of the second period, and Lebanon Valley's defense answered with blocks by Tolliver, Proskin, Jackson, and Reece McDonald, as well as a save by Branch during a successful penalty kill. 

The Dutchmen went on a power play in the 11th minute of the second, and Miller and Andrews put back-to-back shots on goal that were saved during this stretch. The Spartans then added a tally 12:23 into the second frame, going up 5-0 on a power-play goal by Josef Vyvial. LVC also continued to send the puck toward the net as the contest progressed, as Artur Kondrashov took a shot that was saved at the 15:43 mark, and McDonald had an attempt saved at the 17:50 mark. Back on the defensive end, Branch made three saves for the Flying Dutchmen within 28 seconds in the last minute of the frame, during a successful penalty kill. 

Lebanon Valley continued to compete defensively in the third period, as Branch made a save while Petrovskiy, Shogan, and Andrews each had a block during the first 3:59 of the frame. LVC followed this with a shot on target by Cade Helmer that was saved at the 4:18 mark. The program later went on a power play, and Proskin had an attempt saved at the 6:31 mark while Andrews had a try saved at the 7:13 mark. The Dutchmen kept tallying shots as the period rolled on, as Collin Nolan's attempt was saved at the 7:57 mark, John King's try was saved at the 8:33 mark, and McDonald had a shot saved at the 10:29 mark. 

Castleton went on a power play in the 12th minute of the third period, and Lebanon Valley's defense responded with a stop by Branch and blocks by Nolan and Shogan during a successful penalty kill. LVC continued to create scoring chances as well, as Artem Kondrashov's shot was saved at the 13:33 mark and Artur Kondrashov's attempt was saved at the 18:13 mark. Branch then proceeded to tally four more saves for the Flying Dutchmen during the remaining minutes of the game, as the score was maintained.  

Inside the Box Score

• Branch made a game-high 51 saves. 
• Defensively, Lebanon Valley had a 25-5 advantage in blocked shots.
• Jackson and Shogan tied a game-high four blocks. Jackson set a season-high and matched a career-high in blocks, while Shogan logged the most blocks of his debut campaign thus far. 
• Nolan and Washco also recorded three blocks each, marking their most blocks in a game for LVC. 
• The Dutchmen recorded 19 shots on goal.
• Artur Kondrashov led the program with four shots on target.
• LVC registered 26 faceoff victories. 
• Max Kontir led the Flying Dutchmen with 10 faceoff wins. 

Up Next
The Dutchmen will return to the ice tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 29, at 1 p.m., when the program will take on SUNY Brockport in the consolation game of the Terry Moran Invitational Tournament at Spartan Arena.

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