Auburn, ME – CMCC Men's Ice Hockey ran its winning streak to four straight games, and picked up its first shutout of the season, with an 8-0 victory over Bates College. The Mustangs scored six times in the second period to put the game away, but spent most of the third frame shorthanded, ending the game with 49 penalty minutes. Dylan Blue tallied the first hat trick of the season and Cam Wickens made 25 saves for the shutout.
The Bobcats were playing their season-opener and brought an experienced team to the ice, with most of last year's squad returning. Bates held Central Maine scoreless through the first half of the opening period with goaltender James Flavell making 11 saves in the first ten minutes.
Blue broke the deadlock at the 11:01 mark with a great individual effort. The Lewiston High School product took a cross-ice pass from Aaron Higgins and ducked under a check from Ethan Hale along the boards before stapling a shot from the left circle off the far post and in. It was the ninth goal of the campaign for the sophomore forward.
It was 2-0 just under two minutes later. Lucas Laforest and Cody Dionne won a puck battle in the right corner. Michael Belleau suddenly found himself all alone in the circle with the puck on his stick. The alternate captain buried his shot up over the blocker for his seventh of the season.
Overall, the Mustangs outshot the Bobcats 19-8 through the first 20 minutes. Bates' resilience did not carry over into the second period, however. CMCC unloaded four goals in the first 6:24 to put the game away.
Gavin Pellerin scored his first collegiate goal with 3:36 gone. Will Galligan's pass from behind the net went off Laforest, and Pellerin capitalized by tucking the puck around the netminder's left pad. Laforest added a goal of his own less than 30 seconds later. The Buxton, ME native swiped a pass off the boards from Simon Wilson and knocked in his own rebound after his initial shot was stopped.
Braeden Gagnon made it 5-0 just 4:48 into the frame. The defenseman led the rush up ice, deked around Seth Wolpowitz, and caught Flavell off guard by pulling the puck back to his forehand for a surprise shot instead of carrying it behind the net.
The Bobcats spent their timeout to try and regroup, but it did little to stop the avalanche of goals. Colby Pawson added his team's first powerplay tally of the night to make it 6-0 with 13:36 left in the period. Laforest was once again the provider, taking a pass from Heath McLean and snapping a good wrister through traffic from the slot. The goaltender made the save, but Pawson displayed great hand-eye coordination to bat the rebound out of the air on his backhand, shoveling the shot up under the crossbar.
The Mustangs did suffer a blow with 8:00 minutes gone. Belleau left the game with a lower body injury after he was knocked down in the corner. Wolpowitz lost an edge while following the Central Maine forward, sweeping his legs out from under him and causing his skate to catch awkwardly in the boards. Belleau did not return.
Blue made it 7-0 on the ensuing power play. Gagnon fed Higgins to carry into the zone. The Falmouth High School product cut to the middle of the ice before dropping a pass for the trailing Blue. He fired a dart past Flavell, beating him short side with a sizzling shot just over the right pad. That would prove to be the goaltender's last action of the night with backup Hayden Lee relieving him for the remaining 29:46.
That was when the parade to the penalty box started for CMCC. The hosts were called for 43 minutes worth of penalties in the second half of the game. It did not keep them from finding the back of the net one more time before the intermission though.
Blue completed his hat trick with 5:19 left in the second period. Lucas Dunn sent a clearance down the ice while shorthanded, but the speedy Blue beat his man into the zone. A quick backhand deke and a shot up high finished off the breakaway to make it 8-0.
With the contest decided, the rest of the game turned physical between the crosstown rivals. The Mustangs spent all but a few minutes shorthanded in the third period, with the most serious scrum coming with six minutes left. A shot after the whistle brought both teams together. When the fracas had been sorted out Gagnon received a five-minute major for contact to the head and a game misconduct.
Central Maine improves to 7-2-0 with the victory and 3-0-0 in the NorthEast Collegiate Hockey Association's Colonial North division. It was CMCC's eighth straight win over Bates dating back to 2017.
The Mustangs now prepare for a second visit from teams outside of New England. The Northern Arizona University Ice Jacks come to town for the first of two games on Thursday, November 6th at 8:00 pm. The two sides then square off again in Auburn on Sunday morning.
