HENNIKER, N.H. - The sixth-ranked Castleton men's hockey team got two power-play goals in the first period on Friday evening on their way to a 4-2 victory over New England College at the Lee Clement Arena to deal the Pilgrims their first loss of the season.

The Spartans got a pair of power-play goals from sophomore Dan Bell (Victoria, B.C.) in the first 20 minutes and then matched New England College in the third period with two goals apiece for the 4-2 final. The win kept Castleton perfect overall and in ECAC East play with a 3-0 record while the Pilgrims dropped to 3-1 on the season and in conference action.

Bell got the Spartans on the board just 4:01 into the contest on the team's first power play of the game, with assists from junior Justin Alonzo (San Jose, Calif.) and senior Tyler Atkins (Brockville, Ont.). He added his second goal of the game five minutes later on another man advantage for Castleton.

The score remained 2-0 until the third period, when Mike Cifelli (Havre De Grace, Md.) scored his first goal of the season off assists from Brett Zeggil (Priceville, Ont.) and Lindsey Gullet (Wawaneesa, Man.).

The Pilgrims finally got on the board at the 6:33 mark on a goal by Niko Uola (Turku, Finland). However, the two-goal deficit was as close as they would get, as Alonzo made it a 3-1 contest 13:58 into the final period with his first goal of the season. Sophomore Nick Lazorko (Rockwall, Texas) was credited with the assist on the play.

NEC added one more goal in the last five minutes for the 4-2 final. The Pilgrims outshot the Spartans 38-27 but sophomore goalie Erick Cinotti (Mahwah, N.J.) was outstanding in net with 36 saves to improve to 2-0 on the season.

Castleton is back on the ice on Saturday for a 3 p.m. matchup at St. Anselm.