Castleton, Vt. – The Badgers fell to conference foe Castleton by a score of 18-2 on Saturday for Johnson's North Atlantic Conference (NAC) season opener. Johnson stands 0-2 on the season, 0-1 in the NAC while the Spartans improves to 3-2 overall, 1-0 in conference play.

Johnson's Matt Dekens (Johnson, Vt./Lamoille) and freshman Taner Cross (East Montpelier, Vt. / U-32) scored a goal each for the Badgers. Cross tallied five shots, while Dekens and Josh David (Johnson, Vt. / Lamoille) each had two shots apiece. Ryan Belen led the Badgers with six ground balls and two caused turnovers. 

For the Spartans, Zach Davidson led the way tallying four goals and four assists, while Phil Patterson notched two goals and dished off an assist. Colin Murray notched two goals as well.

Castleton opened up the first period scoring just 32 seconds into the game. The Spartans would follow with nine more goals in the frame, including goals from Alex Green and Phil Patterson within 26 seconds of each other in the final minute of the first quarter. 

In the second half, Johnson St. got on the board with a goal from Cross just 2:12 into the third frame. The Spartans responded with a goal from Alex Brands five minutes later to make the score 15-1. The fourth quarter began with three consecutive goals by the Spartans, two from Murray and one from Taylor Swarter. With 20 seconds remaining, Johnson St. converted on a goal from Dekens, making the final score 18-2.

The Badgers were outworked by the Spartans seeing the hosts scoop 73 ground balls to their 27. Zach Jerome made 26 saves for the Badgers' effort while Eric Horsfield made two saves for the Spartans and earned the win in net. 

The Badgers will travel to New England College for their next conference match-up next Saturday for a 1:00pm face-off while the Spartans will host Hartwick on Tuesday, Mar. 26 at 4 p.m.