Henniker, N.H. - The Spartans suffered their first setback of the season, falling 2-1 to New England College on Saturday evening. A third period penalty shot ended up providing the difference in the one-goal outing.

The Pilgrims wasted no time getting on the board, scoring just 55 seconds into the contest. Samuli Turunen notched a goal with James O'Reilly and Garrett Brazzier each earning assists on the play to put the Pilgrims up 1-0 in the early going.

Through the rest of the first and second period, neither team was able to score. Castleton edged the home team with a 19-17 shot advantage, but couldn't crack the scoreboard. The tilt entered the final period stuck at 1-0.

On a New England College breakaway in the second minute of the third period, Chris Stachiw took a hooking penalty that awarded NEC a penalty shot. Kyle Manlow took the puck towards the Castleton net and beat Erick Cinotti to put the Pilgrims up 2-0 with just under 18 minutes to play.

The Spartans attempted to claw their way back into the game with a goal a few minutes later. Kyle Pichler ripped a shot from the slot that Pilgrims' goaltender Sebastian Anderson saved. The loose rebound slid to Brian Greene who finished the play, putting the puck in the back of the net, cutting the lead to 2-1.

In the final minutes, Castleton battled to tie the game, outshooting the Pilgrims 16-9 in the final frame. The Spartans' best chances came on a late penalty against the home team. NEC took a delay of game minor penalty with 3:11 to play. With the man advantage, Castleton pounded the net, but couldn't beat Anderson a second time.

The final whistle gave Castleton their first loss of the season, dropping them to 3-1-0 after three consecutive conference wins to begin the year. Cinotti finished the game with 24 saves and took the loss. Anderson stopped 34 Spartan shots, earning his fourth win of the season. NEC moves to 4-1-0, 3-1-0 in the ECAC East. The Spartans will return to aciton Friday, Nov. 22 when they host UMass-Boston.