SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's ice hockey team fell 5-0 to in-state rival Castleton State College in Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East action on Saturday afternoon at Cairns Arena. After the loss, the Purple Knights drop to 0-2 overall and 0-2 in the conference, while the Spartans improve to 3-1 and 1-1.

Senior Erin Stevens (Watertown, Conn./Connecticut Polar Bears) recorded at least 40 saves for the second straight game, as she turned away 44 shots for Saint Michael's after stopping 40 against New England College on Friday.

First-year Anna Daniels (Falun, Sweden/Leksands IF) scored two goals for Castleton State, while junior Allie Howard (Saint Catharines, Ontario/Saint Catharines Chaos), sophomore Brianna Narodowy (North Smithfield, R.I./Mount Saint Charles Academy) and first-year Hanna Martini (Fayston, Vt./Harwood Union) also provided goals. Senior Eileen Coyne (North Attleboro, Mass./Spitfires) tallied three assists, and first-year Samantha Pion (Easthampton, Mass./Proctor Academy) picked up a pair. First-year Brittany Brayman (Hartford, N.Y./Adirondack Phantoms) notched 30 saves to grab the victory for the Spartans.

Senior Madelena Santore (Millington, N.J./New Jersey Rockets) produced the Purple Knights' best scoring opportunity of the opening period when she fired a shot from point-blank range that was turned away by Brayman with just over three minutes remaining in the frame.

Narodowy scored the game's first goal 2:49 into the second period to give Castleton State a 1-0 advantage. Stevens made back-to-back stops on a Spartan power play over five and a half minutes into the period before Howard converted later on the power play, at 7:31, to put the visitors on top, 2-0. Daniels and Martini tallied goals 45 seconds and 1:22 into the third period, respectively, to give the Spartans a four-goal advantage. Daniels added her second of the contest 10:54 into the period to give Castleton State the 5-0 win.

Saint Michael's is back in action on Friday when it hits the road to face the University of Southern Maine at 7 p.m.