Posted: Feb 15, 2024
Waterville ME,
Colby College and CM delivered a nail-biting quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday night. Colby Mules had gotten two wins against CM in the regular season, but it would be the Mustangs pre-vailing with a 3-1 win, giving themselves a spot in the semi-final against Wentworth.
1st period, the Mustangs came out a little flat, and the Mules took control of the game early. However, CM weathered the storm and started playing some better hockey and creating opportunities in the offensive zone. 0-0 would be the score at the first intermission.
2nd period, the Mules would capitalize off a turnover to put themselves up 1-0. CM showed lots of resiliency and continued to press the Mules in their zone. Matt Poirier would have a nice, patient pass to find Evan Knowlton in the slot to equalize the game at 1-1.
3rd period, the Mustangs would find themselves in a little penalty trouble, opening the door for the Mules on the powerplay; however, it was Jack Keefe who won a battle to give himself a breakaway and convert the opportunity to go up 2-1. Solid defense for the Mustangs was next with some key penalty killing; Evan Knowlton would finish the game up with a 3-1 empty netter!
Coach Knoren said, True playoff atmosphere tonight; the team stuck with it, and our penalty kill was unbelievable down the stretch to wrap up the game for us. We got our first playoff win. Now we shift our focus to the semis on Saturday against Wentworth, but we're super proud of this group tonight.
The Mustangs will have a 11.10 a.m. puck drop on Saturday morning in Nashua, NH, at the Conway Arena.
