BOSTON, Mass.  –  Returning home for the first time since December 10^th and playing in their first conference game since November 19^th , UMass Boston Women's Ice Hockey dropped the third New England Hockey Conference game in their last four games, falling to Castleton University, 3-2, on Friday night.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 2, Castleton University 3

UMass Boston (5-9-0, 3-4-0 NEHC)

Castleton University (7-6-1, 4-3-0 NEHC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Less than three minutes into the game, Castleton struck first against freshman goalie Leah Bosch starting in net for the Beacons. After a defender fell down, senior forward Darby Palisi corralled the puck, shifted around a defender, and pushed a pass to senior forward Brooke Greenwood who nudged the puck inside the left post passed Bosch to put the Spartans ahead by one.

Shortly after successfully killing off a penalty, UMass Boston would let up another goal as a pass from junior forward Emily Harris was redirected off the stick of senior forward Kaitlin Bardellini and onto the stick of junior forward Alex Johnson. Behind the defense, Johnson had a wide open look on net, firing it into the right corner to extend the Castleton lead to two goals.

In the waning moments of the first, the Beacons cut their deficit down to one, 2-1, after a defensive zone turnover by the Spartans led to freshman forward Sydney Leonard's second goal of the season past junior goalie Kirsten DiCicco, who had lost her stick almost a minute prior to the shot from Leonard.

Both teams would trade blows in the second period, scoring a goal each with Castleton striking first on a neutral zone turnover that found the stick of Greenwood who located senior forward Samantha Lawler on the right side one-on-one with Bosch. Lawler rifled a quick shot by the freshman goalie to re-up the Spartan lead to two, 3-1.

In response about halfway through the frame, the Beacons would win a faceoff in the offensive end with senior forward Cailey Kozich. Kozich's faceoff win found freshman forward Emily Hansen's stick near DiCicco and she squeezed a shot under the right skate of the junior goal, cutting the Beacon deficit back down to one with one period left.

Despite a couple of breakaway opportunities and a power play advantage, UMass Boston would be unable to find a way to break through against DiCicco in the third period. With Bosch pulled from the net, the Beacons would generate three more shot opportunities against Castleton, but DiCicco would stand strong in net for the Spartans, as UMass Boston fell 3-2 on Friday night.


BY THE NUMBERS

• The Beacons outshot the Spartans, 69-40 in shots and 43-27 in shots on goal
• UMass Boston finished the game 0-for-6 on the power play while going 3-for-3 on the penalty kill for the evening
• UMass Boston has dropped three of their last four conference games after starting the year 2-1-0 in conference play
• Leah Bosch finished the game with 24 saves on 27 shots for UMass Boston while allowing 00 goals, dropping to 3-3-0 this season
• Kristen DiCicco came away with 41 saves on 43 attempts for Castleton, allowing two goals and earning the win

WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons continue their four-game homestand tomorrow afternoon with a matchup against Plymouth State University set to get started at 3:00 PM at the Edward T. Barry Ice Rink. Last season UMass Boston swept the Panthers and are 3-0-1 in their last four games between the two sides.