RUTLAND, Vt. – Castleton held a 3-2 lead late in the third period, but couldn't hold on as the tenth-ranked UMass Boston Beacons earned a 4-3 victory in overtime on Saturday at Spartan Arena on the seventh annual Lothrop School Day. 

The Spartans were outshot in the contest by 12 and gave up one power play goal. Brian Wadsworth, Nick Kovalchik and Will Laking scored one-goal apiece in the losing effort. With the loss, Castleton moves to 7-13 (5-8 ECAC East) on the season, while the Beacons improve to 17-3-2 overall and 12-2-1 in conference play. 

UMass Boston had the first scoring opportunity of the game at the 6:12 mark when Peter MacIntyre received a pass at the blue line, deked past a defender and delivered a shot on goal. However, Castleton's Ryan Mulder came up with the save and the Spartans killed off the subsequent penalty that happened during the play's buildup to keep the game scoreless.

Castleton took the lead just seconds before the midway mark in the first when Wadsworth netted his first goal of the season. 9:39 into the period, Eric Mack's shot went wide of the net, and Wadsworth gathered the loose puck before beating the Beacons' Billy Faust with a shot from the far point to make it 1-0 in favor of the hosts. 

However, the lead didn't last long, as UMass Boston was able to find an equalizer less than three minutes later courtesy of Colin Larkin's ninth goal of the year. On a two-on-one break, Larkin received a pass across the crease and finished the puck top shelf to even the contest at one. 

The Spartans reclaimed the lead less than two minutes into the middle frame when Kovalchik's deflection beat Faust. At the 1:48 mark, Tyler Gaudry gathered the puck at the half boards and delivered a shot on net that Kovlachik tipped in net, giving the hosts a 2-1 lead.  

Castleton was able to shutout the third-ranked scoring offense for the entire middle frame to head into the third period with a one-goal advantage, but at the 8:56 mark in the final frame, the Beacons leveled the score when Connor McStravick netted his fourth goal of the year.

The Spartans showed their resiliency by continuing to battle, and less than three minutes later, Laking's fifth goal of the season pushed Castleton out front for the third time in the game. Laking handled a pass from the blue line and fired a wrister just out of Faust's reach to put the hosts back in the lead, 3-2.

With 2:48 remaining in regulation, UMass Boston capitalized on a power play opportunity after Dan Cornell finished a one-timer to even the game at three and force overtime. 

The Beacons dominated play in the extra frame, and with just 34 seconds left, MacIntyre sent a pass to Matt Lemire at the far post, and the junior slotted home the game-winner to secure a 4-3, overtime victory for UMass Boston.

Mulder turned in another solid performance for the Spartans, suffering his eighth loss of the year after stopping 35 of the 39 shots that he faced. Faust, meanwhile, recorded 24 saves to remain unbeaten on the season at 8-0-1. 

Castleton returns to action next weekend when it plays at the second-ranked Norwich Cadets and St. Michael's on Friday and Saturday.