RUTLAND, Vt. – Castleton's women's hockey team dropped just its third New England Hockey Conference game of the season on Saturday afternoon, falling at the hands of Plymouth St. by a final score of 3-2 at Spartan Arena.

A third-period goal by Kelsey Lynch was the difference in the game, as the senior's seventh goal of the season stood as the game-winning goal. Hannah Rose and Ashley Pelkey netted goals for the Spartans in the loss.

Castleton falls to 14-5-2 with the defeat, including a 9-3-1 mark in New England Hockey Conference action. The Panthers are now 8-13-0 overall and 4-9-0 in NEHC play.

Plymouth St. got out to a first period lead, striking just shy of 12 minutes into the contest. Brooke Maggy forced a turnover at her defensive blue line that sprung a breakaway for herself before skating in on Jess Cameron. The freshman faked right before deking left and slipping it inside the left post to put the visitors up 1-0.

The Spartans came out looking to draw the game even in the second period, and did just that when Rose buried a rebound on a shot from Anna Daniels. The two forwards drove the net on a two-on-one break, where Daniels put a shot on goal. After a pad save by Emelie Lindqvist, Rose was there to knock the puck over the line to even the score at 1-1. Three minutes later, the Spartans would take their first lead of the game, when Jocelyn Forrest found Pelkey, who slid the puck under Lindqvist's pads for the 2-1 edge. With time winding down in the second period, a Spartan turnover in the neutral zone led to a premium scoring chance for Plymouth St., which took full advantage. Haley Branovan lit the lamp for the first time this season with just 20 seconds remaining in the middle period to even the contest at 2-2.

Coming into the final frame all-square, the two sides played a back-and-forth contest for the first segment of the period. The Panthers would crack the Spartan defense at 11:39 of the final frame, when Lynch potted the eventual game-winner for her squad. Castleton pulled its goalie with 1:12 remaining in favor of an extra attacker, however the attempt was unsuccessful.

Cameron stopped 25 shots in her fifth loss of the season for Castleton, while Lindqvist picked up her seventh win with a 41-save performance.

The Spartans' heavy shot advantage didn't translate into success on the scoreboard, as Castleton outshot Plymouth St. 43-25 on the day. The Spartans also held a 42-15 advantage at the face-off dot while killing both Panther power plays.

Castleton is back in action on Friday, February 12, when it hosts the University of New England. Puck drop is slated for 4:00 p.m.