Waterville, ME – The CMCC Women's Ice Hockey team capped off their inaugural season on Thursday night, falling to Colby College 7-5 on the road. Alexandra Hammerton scored a hat trick for the Mustangs, but the Mules offense proved too much with a late empty-net goal sealing the win. Central Maine ends its first ever women's hockey season with an overall record of 7-5-0 and 6-4-0 against IWCHL opponents.
"Record-wise it's obviously been a successful season for a first-year program," said head coach Jordy Knoren. "And from a whole it's just been great to see how this group has gelled as a team after not a lot of time to put the squad together. They've played hard, had some very competitive games, and taken steps forward as hockey players. I'm really proud of them."
The hosts jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period at the Jack Kelley Rink. Rose Memmolo scored at nine minutes into the opening frame, while Alli Caputo and Gabby Anusbiyian had tallies just over a minute apart midway through the period.
CMCC responded in the second with a goal after four minutes by Emma Knowles. The Kents Hill School product scored off an assist by Kylee Spugnardi and Fiona Landry to make it 3-1, before Charley DiAdamo restored Colby's two-goal cushion with a strike two minutes later.
Hammerton scored her first of the night at 10:24 off a pass from Gloria San Pedro. However, DiAdamo once again robbed the visitors of any momentum, this time by scoring her second of the game only 15 seconds after puck drop. Memmolo followed up with her second of the contest to make it 6-2 Mules heading into the third.
There was no quit in this Central Maine team though. Hammerton found the net with 7:08 remaining to make it 6-4. Captain Spugnardi followed up a minute later with her team-leading 21st goal of the campaign at 11:01, and just five seconds later Hammerton completed her hat trick to suddenly cut the deficit to one at 6-5 with 5:54 to go.
The Mustangs put 20 shots on net in the third period, but their valiant comeback fell short. Hammerton received a penalty for interference with a minute left and was quickly followed to the box by Colby's Tina Sweeney to make it 4-on-4. With goaltender Tatum Hunt pulled for the extra attacker, Memmolo completed her own track for the Mules, sealing the victory with six seconds on the clock.
Spugnardi had four points (one goal, three assists) to lead Central Maine on the year with 34 total. Hammerton finished with an astounding 14 shots as part of her hat trick performance. The Lisbon, ME native was a second semester addition to the team's inaugural roster and managed to tally five goals and three assists in just six contests. Landry had three helpers on the night while Knowles finished with a goal and an assist giving her 18 for the season and 28 points, both good for second-most on the squad. Hunt played every minute in net for the Mustangs, with the Lewiston High School product posting 7-5-0 record and a .875 SV% in 12 starts.
Central Maine heads into the offseason looking to build on the momentum of their first season looking to recruit more players and prepare for a full IWCHL campaign in year two.
