Auburn, ME – CMCC Women's Hockey suffered its first shutout defeat of the season, falling on home ice to Bates College on Tuesday night, 5-0. Goaltender Abby Ziehl made 29 saves for the Bobcats to avenge their overtime loss to the Mustangs back in November, and forward Perrin Hill had a natural hat trick to seal the win for the visitors.
Things took a wrong turn for Central Maine early on. Bates scored on its first shot of the contest two minutes in when Hill knocked a puck over to Kaitlyn O'Shaugnessy in the slot. Her shot from just inside the blue line turned and rolled on edge, hopping off the stick of goaltender Tatum Hunt and across the line for a 1-0 lead.
The Bobcats added three in quick succession midway through the opening period. Anna Weaver sent a shot wide of the left post, but saw the puck come straight back out in front off the end boards. The forward got to it first through the traffic at the net and knocked it through the five-hole for a 2-0 lead at the 11:14 mark.
One minute later, she turned provider, setting up Hill for her first of the night. Weaver's shot from the slot was blocked by Gloria San Pedro, but it pinballed over to Hill in the right circle. She swept a backhander just inside the far post and just beyond the reach of Hunt's right pad.
It was 4-0 with 3:22 remaining in the first. Weaver skated down the right wing and backhanded a pass in front from the corner. Hill was on hand to fire home a one-timer to give the Bobcats a commanding lead. In total, the visitors scored three times in a span of 2:24 and outshot the Mustangs 16-5 through the opening 17 minutes.
Coach Jordy Knoren's squad looked much better in the second period, taking 16 shots of their own and holding Bates to just seven. However, Ziehl showed her stuff making multiple great saves to deny the Mustangs a route back into the contest. Kylee Spugnardi was robbed on a breakaway and Emma Knowles and Alexandra Hammerton had several scoring chances denied.
Hill completed her natural hat trick midway through the second. O'Shaughnessy set up Weaver down the left wing and the forward fed a pass across the slot to the open Hill, who did not miss. Her shot beat Hunt on the glove side for a 5-0 lead at 8:08.
Ziehl held down the fort in the third period to preserve the win and shutout, marking the first time the Mustangs had been held without a goal in their inaugural season. Bates had the slight 33-29 edge in shots and did not take a penalty in the contest. CMCC falls to 6-3-0 on the year but has not won a game since their 8-1 victory vs Saint Joseph's on November 24th.
Central Maine has had their upcoming game against the Monks postponed, meaning the team's next contest is a rubber match against Bates College in Lewiston. The Mustangs and Bobcats look for a winner-take-all end to their season series at Underhill Arena on Sunday, February 2nd. Face-off is slated for 2:00 pm.
