Auburn, ME – Emma Knowles scored the first hat trick in CMCC women's hockey program history and captain Kylee Spugnardi added two goals herself as the Mustangs romped to an 8-2 win over the UMaine Black Bears in their first ever home game. Central Maine is now 2-0-0 to start its inaugural IWCHL campaign.

There were some nerves in the home locker room when the Mustangs took the ice in front of a packed house that came to see what the newest program on campus had to offer. But both teams settled in as the game went along.

Goaltender Tatum Hunt was called on early to keep things even for the hosts. The Lewiston Blue Devils product made back-to-back blocker saves with four minutes gone in the game. She then stopped a two-on-one with 9:23 left in the period. Mckenzie Caron sent a pass across for Joey Evans to backhand at the top of the crease, but Hunt was equal to the task squeezing the puck between her pads.

Central Maine found the breakthrough with remaining. Emma Knowles gave chase to a pass from Lauren Hanlon that deflected off her stick and made a bee line for goaltender Lily Berard. The UMaine netminder came out to try and cover it up before the forward got there, only to see the puck skitter free underneath her glove. Knowles got to it at the side of the net and stuffed it home with a backhand shot before the defense could converge on her.

If the first tally was a product of hard work, the Mustangs second goal was a piece of fortune straight from the hockey gods. Jenna Buda sent the puck behind the net and Claire Bath forechecked after it as defenseman Georgiana Davidson tried to clear it for UMaine. The puck deflected off Bath, bounced on top of the net, rolled over the crossbar, and fell into the goal off the back of Berard. The first career goal for the forward out of Kennebunkport, ME made it 2-0 CMCC with 1:05 left in the first.

The momentum stayed with the home team when they returned after the first intermission. Captain Kylee Spugnardi lit the lamp with just 43 ticks off the clock in period two. Hanlon's effort from the point was whacked on goal by Knowles. Berard made the save off her left pad, but the rebound pinballed over to Spugnardi who hammered it into the back of the net for a 3-0 lead.

Central Maine was guilty of a too many men on the ice penalty with 11:30 left in the period. However, as the Black Bears pushed for a power play goal, the Mustangs took advantage of gaps in the back.

Knowles forced a turnover in the right corner, stealing the puck off the stick of defenseman Amanda Allan. The Kents Hill School product went straight to the front of the net and sent a backhand shot through the five-hole for a shorthanded goal.

They weren't done yet either. Off a defensive zone draw on the same penalty kill, Spugnard flicked the puck ahead for Fiona Landry who skated onto it cleanly down the right wing. The defenseman from Lewiston set her sights from the right circle and sent a laser beam up over the glove and just under the crossbar. The first goal for Landry made it 5-0 CMCC at the 7:28 mark of the period.

UMaine ensured there would be no shutout, with the visitors finding the net with 6:35 to play in the period. Joey Evans kept the puck in the zone at the left point and let fly through traffic. Her shot caught the inside of the far post and clanked in off the iron to make it 5-1.

Spugnardi restored the five-goal cushion for Central Maine before the intermission. Landry picked her out with a lead pass through center ice and the former Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland Red Hornets player took it from there, racing in on a breakaway and putting her shot just underneath Berard's blocker. The UMaine goalie got a piece but not enough to keep it from trickling across the goal line.

Fatigue became a factor in the third period with both teams only icing two lines of players, but there were still a few more goals to be had.

Defenseman Lauren Hanlon joined the first-goal party 7:53 played in the frame. The Saint Dominic Academy Saints product took a seeing-eye shot through traffic from the high slot. The puck floated over the goaltender's shoulder and into the top corner to make it 7-1.

The Black Bears scored in very similar fashion just over two minutes later. Kylie Boardman was given a two-minute sentence in the sin bin for roughing midway through the frame. This time the power play unit came through for UMaine. Spugnardi's clearing attempt was kept in by Davidson at the point. The defenseman sailed a shot over the heads of several players in the slot and into the top corner past a screened Hunt.

Knowles then put the cherry on top of a terrific home opener for CMCC with 2:39 left in the hockey game. The Mustangs scored off a power play of their own this time. Knowles poke-checked the puck free at the end boards, wheeled in front and sent a backhand shot low inside the far post to finish off the first hat trick in Central Maine women's hockey history.

Hunt finished with 27 saves in the 8-2 victory while Berard was impressive for the visitor making 34 stops herself. Knowles added two assists to go along with her three goals bringing her total to 8 points through the first two games of the season.

Next up, the Mustangs host Dartmouth College on Friday, October 25^th. Puck drop against the Big Green is scheduled for 7:40 pm.