George Mason University (24-3-1-1) was handed a tough loss in a challenging opening match up of the ACHA DIII National Championship, falling 9-1 to Central Michigan University (34-5-1) and ending Mason’s 10-game win streak. Mason held their own in the first period, despite taking several penalties, until CMU scored with nine minutes left to give them a 1-0 lead. In the second period, CMU took the momentum shift and ran away with it, scoring four more unanswered goals. They tallied another four in the third, but senior right wing Tarek Zagade got Mason on the board with 2:25 left in the game to end CMU’s shutout, assisted by the nation’s leading goal-scorer, freshman Cameron Smith. Sophomore starting goalie Conor Hartnett saved 40 of 49 shots in his first loss of the season, and the team’s first loss since the beginning of December. Mason and CMU both accumulated a lot of penalty minutes in the game’s 60 minutes: 35 minutes on eight penalties and 36 minutes on nine penalties, respectively.

CMU was ranked first in the Michigan College Hockey Conference East Division and won the division championship this season. They were also second in the North Region with a 32-5-0-1 record, averaging 7.31 goals per game (278 GF) and 2.13 goals against/game (81 GA), and received the second seed in Pool A at Nationals. This is CMU’s third Nationals appearance; they qualified for Nationals last year as well.

This is Mason’s first time on the national stage. They are ranked third in Pool A (and in the Atlantic Region) after finishing the regular season 20-3-1-1, with 7.61 goals/game (198 GF) and 3.35 goals against/game (87 GA). They defeated University of Delaware and Fordham University at the Atlantic Regional to qualify for Nationals. Mason was also first in the Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference (DVCHC) National Division with an undefeated record against conference teams, and won their second division title earlier this month.