Auburn, ME – CMCC men's hockey remains perfect in NECHA conference play after a 5-4 win on home ice against Colby College. Diego Alonso scored and added two assists for the Mustangs while goaltender Sebastian Couturier turned in his best performance of the early season, making 48 saves to preserve the victory.

"I thought we were pretty resilient after giving up the two-goal lead to find a way to take the momentum back," said head coach Jordy Knoren. "The power play unit did a good job of staying with the play even when their initial shot was blocked. Our captain Diego Alonso played really well and obviously Seb stood on his head with some of the saves he made."

The Mustangs took the lead less than five minutes into the game with their first of three power play goals. Cody Ivey took a pass from Colby Pawson in the slot. The senior forward was bumped off the puck, but took a second whack at it, sending a shot up under the crossbar past a surprised Cooper Steinborn.

The Mules responded by scoring at almost the exact moment of the second period to even the score at 1-1. CMCC was once more on a power play after a Chip Strano holding penalty. Aidan Kwok ripped the puck out of a battle along the boards to jumpstart a three-on-one rush the other way. Mitch Ham sent a pass across the slot to the right circle, Bear Brooks touched it back into the slot, and Kwok finished the play off with a one-timer from below the hash marks for the shorthanded goal.

Penalties continued to dog Colby College with two more in the second period, and Central Maine took advantage of both to build a 3-1 lead going into the intermission.

First, Pawson scored at the 10:40 mark. The sophomore from Messalonskee High School had a great chance from the slot that was stopped with a blocker save. The puck was sent wide from the resulting scramble in front. Alonso fired a slap shot that was blocked but the rebound bounced right back to Pawson for a second attempt. This time his shot to the near post beat Steinborn on his glove side for the 2-1 lead.

The insurance marker came with only nine seconds left in the period. Aaron Higgins left a drop pass in the high slot for Michael Belleau who whipped it across to Evan Knowlton in the right circle. The CMCC alternate captain cranked a shot just inside the far post to beat the goaltender coming across the crease.

Colby College refused to go quietly into the night and had some confidence after outshooting Central Maine 33-22 through the first 40 minutes.

John Bloomer scored with six minutes gone in the third period to make it a one-goal game. The forward took a pass down low near the goal line and spotted Alex Holmgren cruising to the net for a two-on-one. Bloomer's pass was off the mark but took a fortunate bounce, catching the inside of Couturier's left pad and deflecting in through the five-hole.

Ham then tied the game at 3-3 less than two minutes later. Brooks knocked down a clearing attempt along the left wing glass before backhanding a pass to the center at the left circle. Ham's shot ricocheted off defenseman Jake Harshman and right between the goaltender's pads.

It was the second point of the game for the former Falmouth High School teammate of Higgins and Zach Mitton. The two forwards became the first two Maine high school hockey players to surpass 60 points in a season in more than a decade, with Ham narrowly beating out Higgins for the 2023 Travis Roy Award.

As fast as the Mustangs had seen their lead evaporate, they retook it just as quickly. Alonso scored only 70 seconds later at the 8:49 mark to complete a three-point night. The CMCC captain took a loose puck low in the right circle and blasted a slap shot under the bar from the tight angle to make it 4-3.

Defenseman Jonathan Rioux then got in on the act with his first goal of the season to make it 5-3. He led a three-on-one rush into the zone down the left side of the ice, but with Henry Stone protecting against the pass, elected to shoot himself beating the goaltender low with 6:49 remaining.

The Mules rolled the dice and pulled the goalie with less than three minutes to go, and the moved paid off almost immediately when Brooks scored at the 17:47 mark to cut the lead to one. Holmgren took a shot from the high slot that missed over the crossbar. However, the puck caromed back off the glass and landed kindly for the forward at the left side of the crease. Brooks sent his shot over the sprawling Couturier to give Colby College a lifeline.

The visitors continued to play six-on-five and pressed for an equalizer, but Couturier got the saves he needed and the clearances from the skaters in front of him to see out the victory.

"It was a lot of rubber coming my way but the guys kept the scoring chances to a minimum, and I thought we played a good team game," Couturier said. "They were a big puck possession team but it doesn't matter how much of it you have, it matters how many you put in the net, and we won that battle."

CMCC has now won three in a row against NorthEast Collegiate Hockey Association opponents and plays the last of its four Colonial North conference rivals, Dartmouth College, on Saturday, October 26^th. Puck drop against the Big Green is slated for 5:20 pm in Hanover, NH.