Waterville, Maine - The Colby College Men's Ice Hockey team played their first game of the 2025-26 season against the Williams Ephs at home on Friday evening. Colby and Williams played a close game for the first two periods, but Colby pushed ahead in the third, finishing on top with a 3-0 win. The Mules now stand 1-0-0 overall in the NESCAC conference.

In the first period, both teams came out strong, looking to start off their season with a win. Colby recorded 8 shots on goal compared to Williams' 7 on goal. Despite having two power play opportunities against the Ephs, the game remained scoreless after 20 minutes. Moving into the second period, the two teams remained very evenly matched, both recording 11 shots on goal. Both teams had power player opportunities, three for Colby and two for Williams, but neither team was able to capitalize on their man-up opportunities. 

In the third period, Colby didn't wait to get on the board. Senior James Tepper recorded the first Mules goal of the season just 2:50 into the period, scoring off a pass from senior Reese Farrell. Just four minutes later, senior Connor Gallagher scored his first goal of the season, with assists credited to first-year Colby Browne and sophomore Massimo Gentile. Now with a 2-0 lead over the Ephs, Colby didn't let up. With five minutes left to play, first-year Noah Carpenter netted his first collegiate goal to clinch the win for the Mules, assisted by Gentile and Browne. Sophomore Cooper Rautenstrauch stood tall for the Mules, recording 27 saves through 60 minutes and leading them to their first win of the season.

Colby is back in action at home Saturday against Middlebury at 3pm.