Red Hot Higgins Hat Trick Hammers UNE 9-1

Red Hot Higgins Hat Trick Hammers UNE 9-1

Biddeford, ME – Men's Hockey continued its display of explosive offense against NECHA conference opponents with a 9-1 win over the UNE Nor'easters in Biddeford. Forward Aaron Higgins continued his streak of scoring in every game to start his CMCC career, tallying his first hat trick in a Mustangs jersey and assisting on two other goals in the victory.

It was the second straight game for Central Maine with at least nine goals scored following the team's 10-1 win at Thomas College on Thursday night. The Mustangs had 11 different players register at least one point and Mikita Kalmykov also had a multi-goal game. Goaltender Gage Ducharme made 23 saves in his first start of the season to earn the win.

Defenseman Heath McLean opened the scoring 6:10 into the first. Michael Belleau won an offensive zone face-off back to Higgins, but his shot was blocked, caroming back to the left point. McLean glided to the top of the circle before snapping a wrist shot glove-side high past goaltender Zach Benner.

Kalmykov made it 2-0 five minutes later with his first of two goals in the period. The Minsk, Belarus native popped in a rebound from the top of the crease after Alex Alonso's shot from the high slot hit the goalie in the chest.



His second goal was a much more difficult finish. Colby Pawson sent the puck behind the net for Kalmykov with 44 second left in the period. He had a tight angle from just above the goal line by the left circle, but still managed to snap home a shot over the shoulder and inside the near post for a 3-0 lead heading into the intermission.

The Nor'easters kept out the Mustangs for the majority of the second period, which featured seven penalties. CMCC got a rare four-on-three power play with under six minutes to go in the frame. Higgins used the extra bit of open ice to his advantage, playing a give-and-go with Knowlton at the point before deking in and scoring his first of the contest.



UNE changed goaltenders to start the third period with Benner having already faced more than a typical game's worth of shots with 46 against through 40 minutes. Ryan Nelson came on in relief for the final frame, but did not fare much better.

Higgins scored his second of the game less than a minute into the third. The Falmouth, ME native crept in from the left wing, faked a shot to get the defenseman to drop to the ice, then deked around the goaltender at the top of the crease before tapping the puck in.

Diego Alonso then scored for the second straight game less than 30 seconds later. The junior out of Thornton Academy picked up a loose puck in the slot and rifled home a slap shot to make it 6-0 Mustangs.

Evan Knowlton got in on the scoring act at the 3:38 mark. Higgins provided his second assist of the night with a pass across the slot to the right circle. Knowlton took it in stride before burying his shot over the sprawling netminder.

The Nor'easters spoiled Ducharme's shutout bid with 13 minutes to play. Ollie Hammond gave the hosts something to smile about with a fantastic goal directly from an offensive zone face-off. The center somehow timed the drop of the puck just right to shoot it out of midair, before it hit the ice, putting it past a surprised Ducharme from the right circle and making it 7-1.

However, Will Galligan made sure that joy was short lived. Less than a minute later the forward intercepted a pass in the left circle before snapping a wrist shot up under the bar to restore order. It was the first goal of the season for the transfer from the University of Southern Maine Huskies ACHA team.

Higgins later capped off the scoring and his hat trick performance with 4:40 left in the contest. The forward motored down the right wing on a power play before placing his shot inside the far post past Nelson's blocker. It was the ninth goal of the season for the former Travis Roy Award finalist, already three more than he had in his freshman season at ACHA D2 Liberty University.

The Mustangs ended the game 2-for-6 with the man advantage and outshot UNE 69-24 on the night.

CMCC is off to a 2-0-0 start in NECHA play and continues its stint of four straight conference games when the team hosts Colby College on Thursday, October 24th. Puck drop against the Mules is scheduled for 8:30 pm.

Mustangs Hold Off Mules 5-4
October 24, 2024 Mustangs Hold Off Mules 5-4