Joel Castle gets first VHLE win

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 Geneva Rush goalie Joel Castle looked to the rafters and raised his arms in triumph as the final buzzer sounded in Game 84 of the S86 VHLE season versus the Vasteras Iron Eagles. Castle had finally won his first game in the E after being on the losing side in seven previous starts and eight games overall. His teammates helped the cause by scoring five goals for the first time all season but Castle was nevertheless brilliant stopping all but one of the Iron Eagles 46 shots. His one blemish was an Eric White @ErictheFish shot that got by him at 9:24 of the first period but he shut the door after that. The Rush, meanwhile, had their best offensive output in S86 as Cooper Skambraks @CSkams15 led the way with a hat trick including the game-winner at 13:50 of the first period. Vasteras netminder Basileus Jute @Matt thunder valiantly tried to halt the onslaught but was tagged for all five Rush goals on 36 shots.  

 

After backstopping the Las Vegas Aces to 41 wins last season in the VHLM, Castle found it frustrating that he couldn’t get one as easily in the E. He met with reporters after the game.

 

“It feels great, that’s for sure. We’re a rebuilding team, I get that, but it took longer than I expected to get the first one. I’ve just kept working hard, battling through it and I hope we can get some more wins. Ash (Sparks @DarkSpyro) and I have been stopping everything we can so it’s always nice to get rewarded for our efforts.”