CMU D1 Hockey Club falters against Northwood
Central Michigan University junior goalie Aidan Reamer blocks a shot attempt at Martin Ice Arena, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. Reamer went in replacing freshman goalie Hunter Rainier. (CM Life | Jasmine Brookins)
It was a rather bleak weekend for the Chippewas D1 Hockey team, dropping both games to Northwood University.
The Timberwolves came into Martin Ice Arena on Friday on a three-game winning streak, with their last two wins against Western Michigan. They’d been playing their best hockey of the season, sitting at 7-9 before the matchup in Mount Pleasant.
The first game finished 18-0 with Northwood keeping possession of the puck for nearly the entire game, scoring just twenty-three seconds into the first period. It was a dominating effort from puck drop to the final buzzer.
It was a rough night for everyone donning the maroon and gold. Head Coach Brittany Knopp gave the team some time to clear their heads after the tough loss.
“I ended up not discussing anything last night and letting them go home and reassessing,” Knopp said.
The Chippewas did show a lot of fight in the second game of the weekend series, despite losing 10-0. It was a spirited effort on the defensive end, and especially for goaltender Aidan Reamer.
“No, I thought he came to play. He did great,” Knopp said. “Ran out of speed, which is like an equal right to have that relief come in. But I thought he was honestly great with the amount of shots he was seeing.”
Reamer was lifted from the game at the beginning of the third period after two periods of excellent play, considering the onslaught from the Timberwolves.
Although they couldn’t formulate many offensive opportunities, they vastly improved with blocking shots and shutting down premier scoring chances in the defensive end for Northwood.
Coach Knopp changed the game plan going into the game on Saturday.
“So while we talked today, we changed our D zone to man-on-man," she said. "We also went over neutral zone coverage because they were murdering us on Friday night in the neutral zone in their offense zone entry, and then we got to turn on offense. Defense is great, but we got to have consistent offense, not gonna win games otherwise.”
The strategic adaptation proved to be more effective, and it’s something that they can hold their heads high about, because it’s the small steps that must come before the giant leaps.
The team will have a few weeks off before they play again on Dec. 7, on the road against Toledo.
