RUTLAND, Vt. – Castleton went head-to-head with the No. 6 Babson Beavers this afternoon at Spartan Arena, but couldn't overcome its one-goal deficit, as Babson claimed its second straight New England Hockey Conference contest with a 1-0 result.

The Spartans and Beavers were even in the contest in regards to shots at 32 apiece, while Castleton's special teams unit managed to kill of all four of its power plays, including a span that lasted just under six consecutive minutes.

Castleton now stands at 0-4-1 overall and 0-3-1 in the conference, while Babson remains perfect at 4-0, including a 2-0 mark in the NEHC. Dan Casey provided the lone goal in the contest for the Beavers off a feed from Bill Seligman and Tim Searles.

In net, Ryan Mulder delivered his best performance of the season in net this afternoon, stopping 31 of the 32 shots that he faced with a .969 save percentage. His counterpart, Jamie Murray, was just as impressive with 32 saves to capture his fourth win of the year and second straight shutout.

Babson dominated possession early in the game, creating a number of scoring opportunities, and at the 12:58 mark, it looked like the sixth-ranked Beavers were going to take the lead. Matt McMorrow received a pass just beyond the blue line before skating towards goal and firing a slap shot on net that was saved. The sophomore forward recovered his rebound and fired a similar shot towards net, but it ricocheted off the post and was cleared from danger.

The Spartans had a fantastic chance to take the lead with just under two minutes remaining. With a one-man advantage, Charles Bando had the puck near the far post and delivered a pass to an unmarked Ben Bauer in the middle of the crease. Bauer struggled to handle the puck before firing a shot towards an open goal, but his effort flew just over the pipe, as the game remained scoreless heading into the first intermission.  

The contest didn't stay even in the middle frame for long, however, as the Beavers scored less than five minutes into the second to take the lead. On a two-on-one break, Casey and Searles passed the puck back and forth down the ice before Casey finished a shot from the crease into an empty net, putting the visitors in front, 1-0. 

The away side handed the Spartans a golden opportunity to even the game, and possibly take the lead when a Babson player was handed a five-minute major. However, the Beavers' special teams unit stood strong, withstanding the Castleton pressure and killing off the penalty to maintain the one-goal advantage. 

The Spartans continued to push for an equalizer in the final period of play, but Jamie Murray stopped all eight shots that he faced to ensure that the Beavers started a perfect 4-0 for the third straight season with a narrow, 1-0 victory.

Castleton hits the road next weekend for a pair of NEHC contests, as the squad faces St. Michael's on Friday at 7 pm before squaring off with No. 3 Norwich the following day at 4 pm.