CMU hockey drops two against Aquinas College
Defensive struggles highlight CMU's series against Aquinas
Central Michigan University senior forward Nate Murawski races down the rink at Martin Ice Arena, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. Murawski-A has been on the CMU hockey team for all four years of his college career. (CM Life | Jasmine Brookins)
The Central Michigan D1 Club Hockey Team was spooked over Halloween weekend, suffering a pair of losses against Aquinas College to drop its overall record to 1-14.
This was the first series for CMU after its coaching change, and although while the intensity of the team has grown, adjusting to the new regime will be a process for the players.
“Obviously, it’s a big change, but we’re just taking it one day at a time,” said forward Frankie Williamson. “We looked good in practice this week. We’re right there, we’re taking those right steps going forward. And you know our lines will be pretty dangerous.”
Friday’s game at home in Martin Arena ended in a 7-0 shutout. The Chippewas fought hard and held Aquinas to a scoreless first period, but struggled throughout the rest of the game, allowing three goals in the second period and four in the third.
“We had a good first period,” Williamson said. “We did a better job of not coming out flat footed. Couple things we wanted to tweak, and we tried working on that.”
As the game progressed, the physicality of the two teams grew apparent and multiple minor fights broke out.
“That’s D1 club hockey for you,” Williamson said. “Even in D2 last year, we had some games that were chippy, some less than others. I think a big theme we’ve seen so far with jumping up is the physicalities fire higher.”
Along with their defensive struggles, penalties became an issue as three of the four goals scored by Aquinas in the third period came on the power play.
“I honestly think penalties killed us for the second and third period,” Williamson said. “These are easy fixes. Just gotta take tonight to sleep on it, have a mental reset for everybody, and get back after it.”
The Chippewas would face another challenge on the road the following day, and Central Michigan would be defeated 2-9. Aquinas was dominant on offense, pressuring CMU’s defensive zone all game.
Dylan Locey and Joshua Bassett scored both goals for Central Michigan. Locey scored on a power play to make it his third as a Chippewa, while Bassett’s would be his second in his career.
However, penalties remained a persistent issue, and Aquinas capitalized on the opportunities it created. CMU committed seven on the day, which helped lead to the team’s eventual collapse.
Central Michigan will look to regroup against Northern Michigan in its upcoming series. Both games will be played at home at Martin Arena, with puck drop occurring at 7 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday.
