Auburn, ME – CMCC Women's Hockey suffered a 7-1 loss to Norwich University on Sunday night, against the IWCHL Adirondack Division North leaders. The Mustangs stayed level through the first period but struggled to keep up with the Cadets in the final two frames. Defenseman Fiona Landry scored the goal for Central Maine while goaltender Jailyn Poitras made 29 saves in her debut with the team.
Norwich came in with a 2-0-0 record to sit atop the division standings. They showed why with a fast start, taking the lead after only 1:34. Suzenne Laflamme picked up the puck in the neutral zone from Eden St. Pierre and carried it around behind the net. She attempted to pick out Makayla Locke at the front of the net, but her pass pinballed off the skate of Mackenzie Grenier, hit the right skate of Poitras in goal, and deflected in for a 1-0 lead.
The hosts responded well though to even things up less than two minutes later. The Mustangs set up a siege along the blue line, keeping the Cadets from breaking out of their zone for nearly a full minute. Landry pinched in from the right point to pick off a clearance attempt. The alternate captain out of Lewiston, ME weaved her way towards the slot before snapping home a wrist shot from the right circle. It was her third goal in as many games to start the season.
Captain Kylee Spugnardi nearly put the Mustangs in front midway through the opening frame when Lauren Hanlon found her at center ice for a breakaway. The speedy forward got off a good wrister, but Norwich goaltender Kendall Parker was equal to it with a fine blocker save.
Poitras did her part in between the posts to keep the score deadlocked through 17 minutes. The freshman from Windham, ME was making her first appearance for the team since joining up with the squad after the conclusion of the women's soccer season, where she scored four goals and had been a USCAA Player of the Week. Making things even more impressive, she had only practiced with the team once before being pressed into service after an injury to fellow goaltender Tatum Hunt.
However, in the second period, Norwich seized the advantage with three tallies. Piper Gonas snuck in a shot through a screen just 13 seconds after the restart. Brooke-Lynne Choiniere then scored twice over a four-minute span, finishing off a two-on-one at 3:04 and sneaking a backhand shot through the five-hole at 6:48.
The tiring Mustangs saw any chance of a comeback ended in the third period with a natural hat trick scored by Sage Kontny. The forward capitalized on some mistakes and a few bounces to pick up three straight unassisted goals. Her first came when she jumped on a loose puck in the corner that stopped in a wet spot on the ice, lifting her shot into the top corner. Off the ensuing face-off, Grenier turned it over to Kontny for a breakaway goal.
The forward then finished her hat trick in even more unconventional circumstances with 2:05 left. Her attempt at a centering pass was deflecting towards the top of the crease. Hanlon attempted to stop it for Poitras to cover, but the goaltender accidentally pushed it across the line in between her pad and the near post while trying to get her stick down over it.
The defeat drops CMCC to 1-2-0 on the year. Next up, the Mustangs face the second-place team in the division, the University of New England Nor'easters, on Friday, November 7th. Puck drop at Norway Savings Bank Arena is scheduled for 7:40 pm.
