NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Castleton women's hockey team suffered a 2-1, overtime loss, in Friday evening's New England Hockey Conference semifinals against UMass.-Boston at Norwich's Kreitzberg Arena.

An overtime goal by Alli Bianchini was the difference, as the sophomore found the back of the net to propel the No. 3 Beacons to tomorrow's NEHC championship game.

Jess Cameron turned in a 49-save performance for the second-seeded Spartans, but it was not enough to lift her team to victory. Brianna Keats scored the lone Castleton goal in the game, notching a then go-ahead tally in the second period.

Katie Jeter netted the game-tying goal for UMass.-Boston at 12:37 of the third period, while Jenny Currie tallied an assist on the play. Rachel Myette stopped 23 shots in the win, moving her personal record to 12-7-0 on the year.

The Spartans conclude their season with a 17-8-2 record following the loss, while UMass.-Boston is now 15-12-0 heading into the finals. 

The two teams had a scoreless first period, as the Beacons held a 12-10 shot advantage after one frame. Ashley Pelkey had the best look in the period for the Spartans, as she got out on a breakaway with less than 1:30 to play, but she was rejected by Rachel Myette to send the game into the first intermission.

After more back-and-forth play to open the second period, the two teams skated four-on-four for 1:16 before Castleton received a brief power play. Seconds after the power play expired, the Spartans would take the first lead of the game. Castleton worked the puck out to Morgan Richard, who pulled the trigger on a shot from the point. Richard's shot would find the stick of Keats, who deflected it past Myette to give Castleton a 1-0 advantage with 9:19 to play in the period. A late-period Spartan turnover would give the Beacons a golden chance to tie the game, as their leading scorer, Currie, got in on a breakaway. Currie tried to go five-hole on Cameron, but the senior netminder stood the test to preserve the 1-0 edge going into the second intermission.

The Beacons would not back down in the final period of regulation, as a relentless forecheck led to an eventual UMass.-Boston equalizer. Currie sent a pass out to Jeter at the point, and Jeter fired a slap shot over the shoulder of Cameron to knot the game even at one goal apiece with just more than seven minutes to play. The Beacons would continue to get chances, putting 13 pucks on net in the final regulation frame alone.

In the overtime frame, the Beacons kept up the offensive pressure, outshooting the Spartans 11-0 in the eight-plus minutes of play. After a failed Castleton clearing attempt, Bianchini slid the puck under the pads of Cameron to give the game its final score of 2-1.

UMass.-Boston held a dominating edge in shots, 51-24, while the Spartans held a narrow, 37-34 edge in face-offs. Neither squad could get the power play going, as Castleton went 0-1 and the Beacons were 0-3.

The Spartan senior class of Cameron, Rachel Bombardier, Anna Daniels, Rachel Elliott, Taylor Steadman and Sam Pion finish their careers as the winningest class in program history with a 56-43-11 record.