Robert Morris University’s men’s and women’s hockey teams had their final doubleheader home dates of the season Saturday. The women took on Lindenwood for their final regular-season game and dropped an 8-5 decision in an Atlantic Hockey America conference matchup. The men, meanwhile, hosted Niagara in an AHA contest and came away with a 5-1 victory.
In the women’s game, Robert Morris started the game off strong, with captain Alaina Giampietro getting on the board with 16:32 left in the first period. With 8:47 left in the first period, Lindenwood tied the game with a goal from forward Grace Rentmeester.
With 7:44 left in the first period, RMU defender Thalia D’Ella was sent to the box for tripping, giving the Lions a chance to take the lead. Lindenwood capitalized on the opportunity, with forward Hannah Dods scoring with 17 seconds left on the power play to make the score 2-1. RMU struck back 47 seconds later to tie the game at 2-2 with a goal from defender Emma Goding.
In the second, the Colonials once again struck first, with forward Laura Eustace giving RMU a 3-2 lead with 13:44 left in the period. Giampietro extended the RMU lead to 4-2 with her second of the game with 10:16 left in the period. Dods struck back for Lindenwood with her second of the game to get the Lions within one with 8:02 left in the second. With 12 seconds left in the period, Lions defender Rhaea Flint got sent to the box for boarding.
Lindenwood started the period on the penalty kill, but Lions forward Molly Henderson buried a shorthanded goal to tie the game 4-4 just 1:08 into the final frame. The Lions continued their dominant play, and with 14:45 left, took a 5-4 lead off a goal from Zsofia Pazmandi. With 13:38 left in the game, Lindenwood forward Maegan Cronan went to the box for elbowing. It took RMU just 21 seconds to bury a goal, with forward Morgan Giannone getting the game back even at 5-5.
With 11:57 left in the period, Lindenwood answered with Henderson’s second goal of the game, giving the Lions the 6-5 lead. With 7:33 left in the game, Dods was sent to the box for Lindenwood, giving RMU a chance to once again even things up. Unfortunately for the Colonials, it was Zsofia Pazmandi scoring her second goal of the game, and the second shorthanded goal for Lindenwood, to extend its lead to 7-5. The Lions added an insurance goal with 4:19 left in the period from forward Tatiana Blichova to make it 8-5.
The Colonials finished their regular season with a 12-20-2 overall record, and an 8-14-2 conference record. They next take on the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens on Thursday, Feb. 19, in St. Charles, Mo., in the first round of the AHA playoffs. Lindenwood finished with a 13-19-2 overall record, and an 11-12-1 conference record. The Lions’ opponent for the AHA playoffs is still to be determined.
RMU men defeat Niagara 5-1, grab 10th win of season
Five different players each scored once in the Colonials’ win over Niagara.
The first period saw little action, with RMU defenseman Rasmus Larsson scoring the lone goal with 13:55 left in the period to give the Colonials a 1-0 lead. It was Larsson’s first goal of the season.
Things picked up in the second period, starting with 13:49 left in the frame, when RMU defenseman Luke Van Why was sent to the box for holding. During the penalty kill, RMU captain Cameron Garvey scored a shorthanded goal with 37 seconds left on the kill to put the Colonials up 2-0.
With 9:44 left in the period, RMU forward Julian Beaumont buried his third goal of the season to extend the lead to 3-0. Niagara did not go into the second intermission quietly, however, with forward Noah Hackett getting the Purple Eagles on the board with 3:26 left to make it 3-1.
Robert Morris continued the momentum in the third period, as forward George Krotiris scored his fourth goal of the season with 16:17 left in the game to extend the lead to 4-1 RMU. Defenseman Dominic Elliott joined the fun as he buried his sixth goal of the season with 12:29 left in the period to make it 5-1.
Niagara changed goalies with 9:13 left in the game, putting in Latvian sophomore Deivs Rolovs to replace freshman Tomas Anderson. The goalie change did not start a comeback, and RMU held on for a 5-1 win
RMU improved to 10-17-3 overall and 10-10-2 in conference play. Niagara fell to 10-19-1 overall and 7-14-1 in conference play. The Colonials next travel to Canisius for a two-game meeting with the Golden Griffins at 7 p.m. Feb. 20 and 4 p.m., while Niagara meets Mercyhurst in a home-and-home series.
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