Keene, NH – CMCC Men's Hockey suffered an upset loss in the NorthEast Collegiate Hockey Association conference tournament, falling to the Wentworth Institute of Technology 5-3 in the semifinals. The Mustangs were the #1 seed out of the NECHA Colonial North division while the Leopards were the #2 seed out of the Colonial South division.
Central Maine falls to 21-4-0 overall this season with the loss while Wentworth IT improved to 14-3-1, avenging a 4-2 loss to the Mustangs on their home ice earlier this year. The Leopards went on to defeat #1 seed out of the Colonial South, UMass-Amherst, 6-2 in the NECHA championship game on Sunday.
The game got off to a good start for CMCC. The Mustangs took the lead just 1:24 into the first period. Michael Belleau set up Lucas Laforest along the right-wing boards. The freshman from Buxton, ME sent a pass across the slot, which deflected off a defenseman's skate. Gavin Pellerin was set up above the hashmarks, rifling home a one-timer for his eighth goal of the campaign.
They had another chance to get on the scoreboard a few minutes later with the first power play of the game after Kevin McMaster was given two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. However, it ended up leading to the game-tying goal for WIT. Braeden Gagnon's pass was too far behind Aaron Higgins, skipping out to center ice. Brett Handley raced onto it for a shorthanded breakaway, deking to the backhand and just finding enough room to slip the puck around goaltender Cam Wickens' right pad between his skate and the post.
It stayed 1-1 going into the second period when the Leopards took their first lead of the day. Declan Kelly sent his shot from the slot wide of the net, deflecting off the glass and back towards the left point. Defenseman Michael Corbett corralled the puck, snapping a shot towards the net. Forward Nick Albretcht, always a thorn in the Mustangs' side, was on hand to tip the shot over blocker and bar down off the crossbar with 5:03 left in the period.
CMCC had a chance to tie the game before the intermission, only to be thwarted by an inadvertent whistle. Sam Foley found defenseman Heath McLean at the point who deked his way into the slot. The Arundel, ME native's shot hit goaltender Jack Davies' glove but bounced behind in the crease. Higgins was on hand to get to the puck first, but the referee's whistle, having lost sight it, blew the play dead.
Both offenses continued to create chances throughout the game, with Wentworth holding a slight 38-33 edge in shots through two periods. Central Maine kept at it and tied the game at 2-2 less than four minutes into the third. Higgins broke the puck out with a cross-ice pass to Foley, who laid it off for Dylan Blue in the left circle. The sophomore out of Lewiston High School let a shot go with Gagnon crashing the net, only to see a Leopards' defenseman attempt to block it, redirecting the puck past his own goalie.
That set up a grandstand finish with both teams looking for a winner. WIT drew a penalty shot after Kelly was hooked on a breakaway with 6:43 remaining. Wickens, like he had so many times over the season, came up with a big save, stopping the move to the backhand with his right pad.
The next goal finally came with 2:36 left in regulation. Wentworth IT defenseman Jake Klakotskiy jumped on a turnover near his goal line, launching a pass up the boards that sent Handley on a two-on-one rush into the zone. The forward elected to shoot with several Central Maine players desperately backchecking to take away the passing lane. Wickens made the save with the rebound directed towards the left corner. Albrecht was on hand to get to the loose puck but had no angle for a shot. Instead, the Leopards alternate captain backhanded the puck into the crease, sending it off a sliding Will Galligan and across the goal line for a 3-2 lead.
CMCC head coach Jordy Knoren had no choice but to pull the goaltender for an opportunity to tie the game late on, but WIT took advantage of the empty net. Handley scored his second of the game with a clearing attempt from his own zone that glanced off a defenseman's shoulder and rolled just inside the post for an insurance marker. Corbett then made it 5-2 with a shot dead-center into the empty net from just inside his own blue line with 50 seconds to play.
Higgins pulled a consolation goal back 15 seconds later on the power play. Belleau won the face-off over to Blue who passed to Max Meserve at the point. The defenseman fed it across to Higgins, with the team's leading scorer burying a shot past Davies for his 25th goal of the season.
Central Maine finished with a slight 54-53 lead in shots on goal. Goaltender Wickens finished with 48 saves in the loss, dropping the freshman's record to 16-4-0, while Davies made 51 stops in net for Wentworth IT. The Mustangs, ranked #5 nationally in the ACHA, now wait to see if they will earn a bid to the national tournament in St. Louis, MO in March.
