Castleton

[Keith-Stone]

Hi everyone. New to the board but excited to get things cooking. I wanted to ask what happened to Castleton? When Coach Alex Todd was there, they were one of the best in the East. Since he left, they have really fallen off. While their rink isn't on campus, it is a short 15 minute drive from campus. It is a school owned facility with great locker room facilities, a sports training center, and great seating for fans. The school seems to support the program very well. So what has caused the struggles in the win / loss column over the years? They used to compete with Norwich regularly for the ECAC East crown. Now they hang out in the basement of the NEHC. Any input or thoughts?

 

[NU Pastime]

Re: Castleton

Welcome to the board!

I've been wondering the same thing, as I'm not really sure. I wouldn't say that they regularly competed with Norwich - I remember one article that lamented the fact that NU-CU (or CSC at the time) was called a "rivalry" when Norwich dominated the meetings. I remember my sophomore year (2010-2011) Castleton beat the Cadets in Kreitzberg. I didn't really know how big of a deal that was at the time, but it was then that it seemed that Castleton had a lot of momentum. This momentum was not just in hockey but in their overall athletic program as they had just recently added football with one of the best facilities in New England and their baseball program was winning conference titles (these are the three sports I pay attention to, so I don't know about basketball, lacrosse, etc.).

NU-Castleton has blossomed into a great football rivalry, with the Spartans quickly stepping up to the Cadets level (I believe NU leads the overall series 6-4, though with NU moving up from the ECFC and into the NEWMAC in football, and blowing the Spartans out 40-0 last year, some (me) are hopeful that NU can start to pull away in that rivalry). But the hockey "rivalry", if it ever was one, has nosedived along with Castleton in the standings.

Not to make this entirely about Norwich, but just to illustrate my point, if I had to rank Norwich's hockey rivals at the moment Castleton might barely crack the Top 5. Hobart is at the top, then comes some combination of Babson-UMass Boston-Middlebury (probably in that order), and then maybe Castleton?

 

[Keith-Stone]

Welcome to the board!

I've been wondering the same thing, as I'm not really sure. I wouldn't say that they regularly competed with Norwich - I remember one article that lamented the fact that NU-CU (or CSC at the time) was called a "rivalry" when Norwich dominated the meetings. I remember my sophomore year (2010-2011) Castleton beat the Cadets in Kreitzberg. I didn't really know how big of a deal that was at the time, but it was then that it seemed that Castleton had a lot of momentum. This momentum was not just in hockey but in their overall athletic program as they had just recently added football with one of the best facilities in New England and their baseball program was winning conference titles (these are the three sports I pay attention to, so I don't know about basketball, lacrosse, etc.).

NU-Castleton has blossomed into a great football rivalry, with the Spartans quickly stepping up to the Cadets level (I believe NU leads the overall series 6-4, though with NU moving up from the ECFC and into the NEWMAC in football, and blowing the Spartans out 40-0 last year, some (me) are hopeful that NU can start to pull away in that rivalry). But the hockey "rivalry", if it ever was one, has nosedived along with Castleton in the standings.

Not to make this entirely about Norwich, but just to illustrate my point, if I had to rank Norwich's hockey rivals at the moment Castleton might barely crack the Top 5. Hobart is at the top, then comes some combination of Babson-UMass Boston-Middlebury (probably in that order), and then maybe Castleton?

Sounds like Norwich football is on the rise. And I agree with everything you said about Castleton pouring major money into their athletics and facilities. I think it has had a major impact on student enrollment numbers. But why have they fallen off so far so fast? I thought when they snagged Moffat from Plattsburgh, he would take the program to the next level. But it seemed that once Todd left, it all fell apart. Did the guy just straight up know how to recruit? He is now at Trine and started that program from scratch. Wonder if after he got canned from D1 Nebraska Omaha as an assistant if he considered coming back to Castleton.