St. Louis, MO – CMCC Men's Ice Hockey suffered a 2-0 loss to Sacred Heart University in its first game of group play at the ACHA National Championships. The #6 seeded Mustangs and #11 Pioneers battled through a scoreless game until late in the third period. It was the team's first time held without a goal all season.
"We fought hard and defended well all game," said head coach Jordy Knoren. "I'm proud of the guys for sticking to the gameplan. Unfortunately, it was a race to the first goal and we couldn't find a way to break the ice."
The low score was not completely unexpected considering the quality of the two goaltenders. Cam Wickens entered the game with a 16-4-0 record and five shutouts on the season for CMCC while fifth-year senior Jonathan Vitti boasted a 16-2-1 mark with seven shutouts for SHU. A fast-moving first period saw Sacred Heart outshoot Central Maine 13-8, testing freshman netminder Wickens. The Revere, MA native's best work came on a three-on-two rush where he denied Ryan Conroy on a one-timer in the slot before sprawling to make a blocker save on the rebound by David Williams.
The first power play chance did not come until the second period when forward Cody Dionne was given a boarding minor early on. The Pioneers had looks but could not crack the Mustangs penalty kill unit that entered the game with an 87.9% success rate.
The stalemate continued into the third despite SHU having a 25-16 edge in shots on CMCC. Central Maine got its first and only man-advantage 5:30 into the period when Brady Marszalek was called for elbowing. However, the team's outstanding 42.3% power play setup could not find a way past Jonathan Vitti in net.
The Pioneers finally broke through with 4:11 remaining in regulation. Williams scored his 11th goal of the season, with the sophomore from Braintree, MA roofing a shot over the glove off an assist from linemate Brandon Pers. That set up a scramble over the final few minutes. The Mustangs were deprived of one of their best defensemen when Max Meserve was given an offsetting penalty for roughing after a slash from Jeremiah Ryan. Sacred Heart put the game away in the final minute with an empty-net goal scored by Ryan Davis with 37 seconds left.
Wickens finished with 39 saves in the loss while Vitti picked up his eighth shutout of the campaign by stopping all 28 shots he faced, including a team-high eight from leading scorer and ACHA All-Athletic selection Aaron Higgins. Central Maine falls to 21-5-0 overall with the loss. The Mustangs return to the ice on Thursday, continuing group play against #14 Florida Gulf Coast. Puck drop is scheduled for 3:15 pm ET.
