RUTLAND, Vt. - The Castleton University men's hockey team nearly picked up its first conference victory Friday evening at Spartan Arena, but ultimately fell to Elmira 5-3. 

The Spartans (3-7-1, 0-4-1 NEHC) looked good early, taking a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. The visitors dominated the second period before Castleton tied the game at 3-3 just shy of the seven minute mark of the third period. A pair of late Elmira tallies, including an empty netter, would sink the Spartans. 

Rookie Zach Papapetros put Castleton on the board less than four minutes into the contest, firing a wrister from the near the blue line after receiving a pass from fellow defenseman Andrew Barber. It marked the third goal of Papapetros' impressive freshman campaign. 

Brandon Picard would deal the Soaring Eagles (6-2-1, 3-1-1 NEHC) a 2-0 deficit 10 minutes later. Stone Stelzl earned a clean face-off win in the defensive zone, tapping the puck to Bryce Irwin, who raced up the ice and distributed to a dashing Picard on the right side. He faced a tough angle, but buried a wrister to extend the lead. The Spartans claimed a hard-earned 2-0 advantage, despite being outshot 14-7 in the first period. 

Elmira would use three goals in the second period to take the lead. Two came via power play, while the third came in the final five seconds of the frame. 

It would take just under seven minutes in the third period for the hosts to erase the deficit. Calvin Moïse found himself in the right place at the right time, tipping Dylan Thackeray's rocket from the blue line into the back of the net. He now has goals in back-to-back contests as he tallied the game-winner that sealed the Terry Moran Invitational Tournament Championship for the Spartans a week ago. 

The deadlock would last just three minutes as the Elmira power play struck yet again. They'd cap the back-and-forth affair with an empty netter in the final two minutes. 

Kyle Alaverdy totaled 30 saves on the evening, marking the sixth time he's racked up 30 or more. Elmira's Jeffrey Zero earned the win after entering in the beginning of the second period. 

Castleton is back at Spartan Arena Saturday afternoon to take on #5 Hobart, marking the 12th annual Teddy Bear Toss. Puck drop is set for 4 p.m.