Pittston, PA – Aaron Higgins, Michael Belleau, and Will Galligan scored two goals each, as the CMCC Men's Hockey team rolled to a 9-4 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas College Friday night at the Revolution Ice Center in Pennsylvania. The win was the perfect start to a three games in three days road trip at the ACHA showcase.

Galligan gave the Mustangs the lead 4:25 into the first period with is first of the night only for the Spartans to tie it just over a minute later on a goal from Noah Burr.

Central Maine tallied twice in the final five minutes of the period to take a 3-1 lead into the intermission. Dylan Blue and Colby Pawson had the goals.

CMCC kept up the pressure in the second period, outshooting St. Thomas Aquinas 27-13. Higgins scored off a Cody Ivey assist just past the five-minute mark. Belleau then scored his first of two power play markers 6:14 into the frame. Galligan made it 6-1 Mustangs two minutes later to complete an impressive first half of the hockey game.

Nick Delia scored a power play goal of his own for the Spartans to make it 6-2, but Mikita Kalmykov restored the five-goal cushion with 3:08 left in the period. It was the sixth goal of the season for the Minsk, Belarus native.

Belleau scored his second five-on-four goal of the game 7:00 into the third from a Kalmykov assist. Higgins then scored his second to give the Mustangs a 9-2 lead midway through the period. That spelled the end of the night for St. Thomas Aquinas goaltender Mike Pippo who left the game with 44 saves on 53 shots. Theo Morris came on in relief and made six saves the rest of the way.

CMCC was guilty of taking two penalties late on with Alex Alonso taking an interference minor and Jonathan Rioux given two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Spartans made the Mustangs pay on the resulting five-on-three power play, scoring twice through Christopher Smith and Anthony Prunty to make it 9-4.

Sebastian Couturier finished with 37 saves on 41 shots in the Mustangs net to pick up his fourth win of the campaign. Higgins led the way offensively with 11 shots and posted a six-point game with two goals and four assists, while Ivey had three helpers and was an impressive +6 for the night.

"We played probably our best game of the season," said head coach Jordy Knoren. "The speed was incredible, we had good puck movement and created scoring chances left and right. There were still a couple silly mistakes but we're getting closer to the finished product."

The Mustangs offense continues to produce at an extraordinary rate with 45 goals in nine games. The team has now scored nine or more goals in three separate games this season.

Central Maine gets back at it on Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania. CMCC takes on the Saint Vincent College Bearcats at 1:30 pm at the Revolution Ice Center.