HENNICKER, N.H. – The Castleton men's hockey team concluded their brief road trip with a matchup against New England College Saturday afternoon, giving up two third-period goals in a tightly contested, 2-0 loss.
 
Both sides got off 32 shots in the contest, trading blows for all 60 minutes, but it was the Pilgrims' Andrew Kormos outlasting the Spartans' Brandon Collett — who made 30 saves on the day — between the pipes in a defensive battle.
 
Castleton (1-4-0, 1-1-0 NEHC) found themselves on the penalty kill twice in the opening period after a pair of calls against Zach Papapetros and Zach Boulet, but as they have done all season, the Spartans did well to keep NEC off the scoreboard.
 
The script was flipped in the second period, as it was the Spartans turn to test out their powerplay, but shots from Andrew Stefura, Jackson Edwards and Brandon Picard were all denied by Kormos, sending the sides into the third knotted at zero.
 
With 20 minutes left in regulation Castleton began peppering the net, outshooting the Pilgrims (2-3-0, 2-2-0 NEHC) 7-5 in the first half of the frame before NEC finally broke the tie with a goal at the 13:24 mark. A second goal just over a minute later but the Pilgrims up 2-0, and despite pulling Collett with 1:26 to go and earning a brief powerplay, the Spartans could not find the back of the net, resulting in the close loss.
 
Castleton returns home next weekend for an NEHC matchup against Southern Maine Friday, November 18. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.