Castleton in Germany
The Castleton State Spartans Men's Ice Hockey team is traveling to Germany over Castleton's October break (October 4-October 11). The team departed early Saturday morning and arrived in Munich, Germany Sunday morning. The team will be touring various cities and playing against hockey teams in those cities. Coach Alex Todd will be updating the ECAC with events that the team is participating in and results of the hockey games they play in.
Day 1-Sunday, October 5:
The flight from Burlington to Philly and Philly to Munich went perfect, no problems and all players and equipment arrived without incident. Our hotel is a traditional Bavarian lodge and provided us a traditional Wienerschnitzel for our first dinner in Germany. After checking into the hotel we checked into the Bundesleigstungszentrum the home training center for the German Olympic and National teams. Our accommodations are beyond perfect and our view of Alps is amazing. Our first day concluded with a practice in our temporary home rink followed by a sold out 3rd division game between Füssen and Kaufburen the teams that we would be playing on Monday and Tuesday.
Day 2-Monday, October 6:
With an 8am wakeup the players made their way to local track to continue their dryland training that they had begun in Castleton, however there was a considerable distraction which was a huge Alpine peaks looming over the track, seemed to always draw the player's attention. After dryland we hit the ice for our second practice and began to prepare for Kaufburen.
We then boarded a bus and drove the 40 minutes to Kaufburen where we toured a once powerful city that had first been decimated by the Black Plague then the World Wars but has been rebuilt and includes a quaint Alt-Stat or Old City that includes a portion of the original city wall while other parts of the wall had been torn down and sold to pay off the city´s debt. The first game of the trip was played in Kaufburn home rink and played against a mix of professional players and younger junior players. The Spartans were as near perfect as could be expected for their first game of the year. The final score was 8-0 and the big stars of the game where Jay Seals who posted the shut out and Steve Culbertson who scored 4 goals and added an assist! Steve scored four goals in a row including 2 even strength goals as well as one power play goal and one shorthanded goal. On defense Omar Pacha played an excellent game scoring one goal and adding two assists. The day ended with another Bavarian meal of cabbage, beats, pork and dumplings.
Day 3-Tuesday, October 7:
The morning started off with a light jog through the Bavarian Alps, followed by a light pregame skate. After practice the team boarded a bus and headed further into the mountains to visit King Ludwig II's Neuschwanstein Castle. This was an all afternoon event, with a guided tour of the castle and various other touristy experiences for the boys.
One such experience was the suspended bridge which King Ludwig II had built behind Neuschwanstein Castle. The bridge gave a great view of the castle and the surrounding area of Füssen Germany. After the afternoon of touring around, the team headed back into Füssen for a game against the home team of Füssen. In the game Castleton jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Craig Richardson assisted by Brandon Heck. Füssen did not back down though and the consistent effort paid off just a few minutes later as they banked a shot in off of a Castleton defender to make the score 1-1. However, the game did not stay tied long as a few shifts later Castleton was able to convert on a 2-on-1 when Jeff Alexander slid the puck under a defenders stick to a streaking Eric Curtis who beat the Füssen goaltender. Just a few seconds later that duo hooked up again this time with Jeff Alexander on the receiving end of a nice pass from Curtis and also contributing to that goal was rookie Lindsey Gullett. The first period ended with Castleton holding a 3-1 lead, but the contest was much closer than the score had shown. In the second period, Castleton came out and really asserted its presence on the ice and as a result was able to cash in by scoring five times in extending their lead to a commanding 8-1 difference. To begin the scoring, Jonathan Lafrance scored with the assists going to Jared Lavender and Brandon Heck. Curtis and Alexander hooked up for a third time on the day, this time on the power play to give Castleton a 5-1 lead. Brandon Heck then added the next two in the barrage of the second period, his first on the power play assisted by Jared Lavender and then quickly adding another off the rush assisted by Jeremy Hilliard and Jonathan Lafrance. To finish off the scoring for the second period the duo of Curtis and Alexander struck again, this time setting up line-mate Lindsey Gullett for his first of the night and extending the Castleton lead to 8-1 heading into the locker room for the second intermission. Coming out for the third period Füssen again tried to establish itself and was able to get a quick goal off the rush when a blast from just inside the left faceoff circle, got past rookie goaltender Seth McNary. Castleton however answered right back as Cody Ayers and Brandon Heck worked the puck below the goal line, when Heck was able to step to the front of the net he found a wide open Jeremy Hilliard, who finished off the scoring bringing the final score to Castleton 9 Füssen 2. The game had its shining points with several players stepping into the lime light and having multiple point nights. Seth McNary in his first action, gave the team a solid performance between the pipes.
Day 4- Wednesday, October 8:
The Castleton Men's Hockey team continued their European tour with an excellent game against defending Austrian 2nd Division champs Dornbirn. The Spartans played arguably their best game of the week yet struggled to find the back of the net against Dornbirn's 32 year old veteran goalie. Having an advantage in shots in all three periods and excellent opportunities by Lindsey Gullett, Eric Curtis and Jeff Alexander the Spartans found themselves down 3-0 after two periods. The Spartans came out flying in the third and got an early power play goal from senior captain Jared Lavender however the Spartans spent the rest of the period in the penalty box and were victimized for three goals by a very potent Dornbirn power play. Trailing 6-1 late the Spartans finally got another power play on a brilliant individual effort by senior assistant captain Brandon Heck who "top shelved" an NHL shot on the short side to get the score to 6-2 however a very uncharacteristic defensive zone break down shortly after Heck's goal put Dornbirn up 7-2 and ended any thoughts of a comeback by the Spartans. Jeff Swanson was in net for the Spartans.
The Spartans will have tomorrow off and will spend it in Munich, Germany touring the city and visiting the Dachau Concentration camp. The Spartans will play their final game of trip on Friday against Schongau.
Game #4 Castleton Spartans vs. Shongau Mammuts Friday, October 10:
The Shongau Mammuts, 3rd Division Men's team, hosted the Castleton Men in the final game of the 2008 European tour. Bouncing back from a tough loss on Wednesday night was the goal for the Spartans Friday night. The Mammuts helped by providing a great atmosphere and enthusiastic crowd. It included a drum that would beat each time the Mammuts controlled the puck inside the Spartans zone. The Mammuts, are a big, physical European team. They did a very good job of playing defense which included protecting the front of their net. The Spartans scored their first goal of the game when defenseman Omar Pacha jumped into the offensive rush on a nice pass from forward Andy Brolsma. From there, the Spartans kept the pressure on and at the 19 minute mark of the first period they scored again. This time it was Steve Culbertson who sent the puck in the net on a pass from Brandon Heck and Pacha.
In the second period the Spartans came out with a new game plan. They executed it to perfection. The Spartans successfully took away the Mammuts cross ice options and as a result maintained a huge advantage in puck possession time. They were able to put 20 shots on net in the second period, yet the Spartans were only able to put two behind the quick Shongau goalie. The first goal of the period and 3rd goal of the game came on a brilliant effort by forward Stuart Stefan. Assistant Captain Evan Romeo netted the fourth goal of the game on great tip, right before the end of the period.
Coming out in the 3rd period, the Spartans showed they still had plenty of "gas left in the tank", although they had already played three games. The charge in the third period was led by the line, comprised of, Eric Curtis, Jeff Alexander and Lindsey Gullett. On defense Jonathan Lafrance seemed to be all over the ice providing excellent passes in all three zones. However, it was the usual suspects putting the pucks in the net. Brandon Heck had two goals both assisted by Steve Culbertson. The final Spartan goal of the game was scored on the power play by Jeff Alexander on a nice feed from Kirk Bolduc.
Jay Seals was in the net for the Spartans. He was eight minutes away from his second consecutive shutout of the trip before Schongau's top player slipped the puck behind the Spartans defense on a breakaway. Even though Jay made a terrific save, the Mammuts were awarded a penalty shot due to interference from behind, just prior to the shot. On his second attempt the Schongau player didn't miss. That was the Mammuts only goal of the game. Final score Castleton 7 - Shongau 1.
The Spartans completed their 6 day, 4 game trip with a record of 3-1. Their offense was impressive, scoring a total of 26 goals in 4 games. But not to be out done, the goaltending and defense were just as stout, allowing only 10 goals on 4 games.
The Spartans are now off until the start of their season, November 1. Upcoming events for the Spartans include; November 13th at 7pm, the second annual Spartan's "Kick Off" Dinner, which will be held at Legends Restaurant, located in the Diamond Run Mall. Next, the fourth annual Green vs. White scrimmage will take place on November 15th, at 7pm. It will be held at the Rutland Fieldhouse.
