St. Louis, MO – Knowing a tie would not be enough to advance to the "Frosty Four" in the ACHA National Championships, CMCC Men's Ice Hockey head coach Jordy Knoren made the only decision he could with 1:10 remaining in overtime of the team's final game of group play against Oakland University; to roll the dice and go for the win by pulling goaltender Cam Wickens. The Golden Grizzlies scored on the empty net to claim a 2-1 victory and end the Mustangs season at the Centene Community Ice Center.

"Unfortunately, we came up just short of reaching the semifinals, but I couldn't be prouder of the team" said Knoren. "Our graduating players, the commitment and buy-in they had all season and especially in this national tournament. Being one goal away from advancing will sting for a while, but everyone knows what CM is capable of. It was an unbelievable season and we will be back."

With Sacred Heart having beaten Florida Gulf Coast earlier in the day, Central Maine knew the tiebreaker scenarios heading into the contest. A win would set up a three-way tie for the top spot in Group C, with only the first-place team advancing to Saturday's semifinal. The first two tiebreakers of head-to-head and most wins would not separate them, meaning it would come down to the third tiebreaker, fewest goals against. The Pioneers had allowed five goals, the Golden Grizzlies three, and the Mustangs three. That meant as long as CMCC allowed one goal or less and won, they would advance. Giving up two goals would see them needing to score six times to prevail in the fourth tiebreaker, goal differential. Three goals allowed would eliminate the Mustangs no matter the outcome.

Wickens did his part with another fantastic performance in net. The freshman from Revere, MA made 54 saves to give the Mustangs a fighting chance. He ended the national tournament with 138 total stops and only three goals allowed in his three starts. Colby Pawson scored Central Maine's goal, tying the game with 4:35 remaining in regulation to send it to overtime.

The first period was a cagey affair with both teams looking to protect their own zones while looking for opportunities to take chances offensively. Alternate captain Michael Belleau was called for a roughing penalty late in the opening frame after Aaron Higgins was dragged down at the front of the net. Oakland held a 12-10 advantage in shots heading back to the locker room.

It was another penalty early in the second that would cost the Mustangs the opening goal. Captain Jonthan Rioux was called for interference 3:04 into the period and Braeden Gagnon was given an offsetting minor for roughing after a Golden Grizzlies player delivered a blow to the back of Wickens' head following another scrum.

The resulting power play saw a number of good chances. Wickens made a save through a screen with traffic at the top of the crease, then got a piece of the rebound as he dove towards his near post. Alternate captain Heath McLean dug the puck out of the crease, but his backhand clearing attempt landed on the stick of Reiss Williams. The Golden Grizzlies defenseman made no mistake, burying his shot past the prone goaltender for a 1-0 lead at the 3:32 mark.

Central Maine weathered the storm of 24 shots in the middle period from Oakland. Their best scoring chances came on a 5-on-3 power play midway through the frame. Higgins set up a one-timer on the doorstep for Belleau, but Caleb Godlewski got his stick to it and held onto the rebound from Braeden Gagnon. Defenseman Max Meserve took shots from the point as well, looking for a redirect in front.

The pressure built in the third period with the Golden Grizzlies looking to shut the door defensively. The Mustangs survived two penalty kills to stay within one, but chances on the other end came at a premium, as demonstrated by leading scorer and ACHA All-Athletic selection Higgins being triple teamed on a drive to the net with six minutes to play.

CMCC's lone power play of the third gave them the opportunity they needed. Dylan Blue and Belleau drove the net and had chances in tight that were cleared away. Junior defenseman Zach Mitton had a shot from the right point blocked but gathered the loose puck before sliding it across for his defensive partner Gagnon. The freshman out of Lewiston High School sent a high wrist shot towards the net with Pawson setting the screen at the top of the crease, and the junior forward got enough of the puck to tip it past the blocker. The Oakland, ME native's second of the tournament tied the game up 1-1 at 15:25 into the period.

It sent the game to a single, sudden-death, ten-minute overtime period. Both teams played through the fatigue built up after three games in as many days. Central Maine killed off the 33 seconds of carryover penalty time from a tripping minor on Blue at the end of regulation and killed another tripping call on Pawson 6:44 into OT.

With 1:10 remaining and an offensive zone face-off upcoming, Knoren made the choice to pull Wickens for the extra attacker. Oakland could afford to play for the tie and advance to the "Frosty Four" whereas Central Maine had to find a goal to live to see another day. Higgins whipped a shot on net off the draw but was denied by Godlewski.

An icing set up another draw, this time cleared by the Golden Grizzlies. Tommy Davis won the race to the circles to negate another icing call. Sam Foley blocked his wrap-around attempt on the empty net, then dove headfirst to block another shot from the alternate captain. Davis gathered the puck and sent a backhand shot towards the empty cage. McLean was stationed in the crease to try and keep it out, but the puck was rolling on edge and hopped over the defenseman's stick for the game-winning goal at 9:18 into overtime.

The game was a far cry from the two teams' first meeting in last year's national tournament when Oakland hammered Central Maine 11-0 to eliminate them from contention. CMCC has been to overtime in one game in each of its three appearances at the national championships, now with a 1-1-1 record in those contests. The victory sends the Golden Grizzlies on to the semifinals where they'll face Grand Valley State University on Saturday.

The Mustangs finish their season with an overall record of 22-6-0, the second-most wins in a single campaign in program history.