Hallowell, Maine -
The Central Maine Community College hockey team surrendered a two goal third period lead to fall on the road at #9 Thomas College by a final count of 4-3. The teams split the season series after the Mustangs defeated Thomas 3-1 at home on Saturday evening.
Central Maine had a dream start, with Sean Coleman slipping a loose puck past Thomas goaltender Tom Green on a broken play in front to give the Mustangs an early edge. Then, with just over 7 minutes remaining in the opening frame Ryley Austin was penalized for a dangerous hit on Mustangs forward Trevor Olivier that temporarily knocked Olivier out of the game and saw Austin receive a five minute major. From there the Mustangs would double their advantage, with Collin Sheehan scoring on a blistering wrist shot from the half wall that Green never saw.
Thomas would answer with one of their own late in the first, capitalizing on a breakdown in the Central Maine end with 21 seconds remaining in the first.
"Obviously it was disappointing to give up the late goal," said Mustangs second year head coach Matt Buotte. "But if you told me before the game we'd be up 2-1 after one then of course I'd take it. I really liked the period as a whole."
Central Maine continued to build their game in the second period and were finally rewarded midway through the contest. Again on the power play, a wild scramble in front saw Austin Taylor poke a loose puck home to push Central Maine to a 3-1 advantage that they would hold into the third period.
As so often happens in rivalry games, the tides turned quickly in the final frame. Thomas Alps started the scoring on a 3-on-2 rush, trailing the play and whipping a shot past Mustangs goaltender Jacob Strout, who was starting his second consecutive contest after original starter Ben Feldman was sat with flu-like symptoms. Thomas, smelling blood in the water, would strike almost immediately after they halved the deficit. After another Mustangs defensive breakdown they would find an opening in front of Strout and level the game at three.
"It was a good learning experience for us," said Buotte. "We got on our heels a bit in the third. When you've got the lead like that, especially on the road in a crazy environment like that, you just need to manage the puck and minimize mistakes. We didn't do that tonight and it cost us dearly."
With 2:30 remaining, Thomas would take the lead for good. With the teams skating at 4-on-4, Arps would find himself alone in the slot off of a Thomas faceoff win, waltzing in and slipping a shot through Strout's legs to push Thomas into the lead at 4-3. Rajhad Munnings picked up an assist on the play.
The Mustangs would not bow out quietly, however. After their hard work earned them successive tripping calls the team lifted Strout in favor of an extra attacker and a 6-on-3 advantage with :41 to play. Riley Lavoie would see a glistening opportunity slide just by the post just seconds after a fantastic kick save from Green on a point-blank Trevor Roche opportunity in the slot. Despite a flurry of pressure the Terriers would hold on for a heart-stopping 4-3 win and a split of the season series. It was just the third win in four seasons for Thomas, who improved to 3-6-0 all-time against their intrastate rivals.
"It really stings to drop this one, especially the way we did," said Buotte. "But at the end of the day these are the games we want for our program. Playing a high stakes game in front of a packed house, an exciting back-and-forth game...it was exciting. It hurts to lose, but it was a great game and a great reminder of what we are building towards. This was truly a game we can learn from so that next time we're in this situation the outcome is different."
Central Maine now travels south to the New York City area to take on Colombia University and St. Thomas Aquinas as they wrap up their ACHA schedule this weekend, with the next puck drop at Colombia on Friday, February 7th at 10:15 p.m.
