RUTLAND, Vt. - The Castleton men's hockey team earned a 4-3 over Johnson & Wales before honoring its deep senior class Saturday afternoon at Spartan Arena. Freshman Zach Trempner highlighted the victory with a pair of goals. 

JWU (4-21-0, 2-16-0 NEHC) dealt the Spartans (5-18-2, 1-15-2 NEHC) an early deficit at the 15:18 mark of the opening period, sending the hosts into the first intermission trailing despite a 10-7 advantage in shots on goal through the opening 20 minutes. 

Trempner netted his first of the afternoon to even the score in the early minutes of the second period, giving the freshman at least one goal in each of the last three games. Fellow rookie Zach Papapetros gave the Spartans a 2-1 lead at the 16:09 mark, firing a rocket past JWU's Jacob Perrin to convert a power play opportunity. 

Refusing to go away, the Wildcats scored in the opening seconds of the third to once again tie the game. It was the Spartan power play that came through a second time, and Trempner with his second of the day that put Castleton up 3-2. Glenn Wiswell tacked on another in the waning minutes, recording the 40th of his illustrious five-year career. JWU answered just seconds later, but it was too little, too late for the Wildcats. 

Kyle Alaverdy's 20-save performance inched the senior netminder closer to 1,000 career saves - he currently sits at 986. He would be the fifth goalie in program history to reach the milestone. 

Following the game, the program honored its 10-member senior class. The winners of the annual Fan Favorite Award were announced at the first intermission, with seniors Kyle Kazeroid, Connor Rider, and Anton Tarvainen sharing the honor. 

Castleton is set to compete in the opening round of the NEHC Tournament. Locked into the ninth seed, the Spartans will travel to eighth-seeded Southern Maine on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. puck drop.