BOSTON, Mass. – The Spartans fell behind 2-0 in the initial frame and were never able to muster a comeback, as they lost to the No. 9 UMass-Boston Beacons this afternoon in New England Hockey Conference action, 5-1.

Castleton was outshot in the contest 33-31 and failed to score on any of its four power play opportunities. Fabio Kläy was the lone scorer for the squad, while Ryan Mulder suffered the loss in net despite making 28 saves. This marks the Spartans' second straight loss to a ranked opponent, and the club now stands at 4-14-1 overall and 3-8-1 in the conference.

11 different players registered a point for the Beacons, with five separate scorers. Matt Lemire led the squad with two points from two assists, while Garrison Sanipass, Drew Gannon, Tyler Bishop, Albee Daley and Mike Miller provided one goal apiece. Billy Faust, meanwhile, produced 30 saves with just one goal allowed to help the squad improve to 14-3-2 overall (10-1-1 NEHC).

The Beacons took control of the contest early on with a pair of goals in the intial frame to grab a 2-0 lead. Daley opened the scoring for the hosts at the 12:37 mark with a goal off feeds from Lemire and Colin Larkin before Miller notched one of his own just over five minutes later to put the squad in front by two. Bishop opened the scoring in the second at the 7:18 mark with his eighth goal of the year, and with 6:01 left in the frame, Gannon found the back of the net to put the hosts in complete control with a 4-0 lead.

After Sanipass scored in the third to push the Beacon advantage to five, the Spartans finally got on the board with 1:07 left in regulation when Kläy netted his fifth goal of the season to bring the game to its final score, 5-1.

Castleton returns to the ice next weekend with a pair conference contests at Spartan Arena. The Spartans open play on Friday at 7 pm against Norwich before facing St. Michael's the following day at 4 pm.