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Robert Morris University Athletics

Lynch drives
5
Robert Morris RMU 7-1-3, 5-1-3 AHA
5
American Int'l AIC 2-7-2, 2-3-2 AHA
Robert Morris RMU
7-1-3, 5-1-3 AHA
5
Final
5
American Int'l AIC
2-7-2, 2-3-2 AHA
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 OT 1 F
Robert Morris RMU 1 1 3 0 5
American Int'l AIC 2 1 2 0 5

Game Recap: Men's Hockey |

RMU Scores Three Times In Third To Force 5-5 Tie

West Springfield, Mass. - For the third straight game, the Robert Morris University men's hockey team came back in the third period, earning a 5-5 tie against American International College on Friday night at the Olympia Ice Center.

This was the most remarkable rally of the three, with the Colonials (7-1-3, 5-1-3 AHC) being forced to recover from deficits of 3-2 and 5-3 in the final 20 minutes. Spencer Dorowicz, Brady Ferguson and Rob Mann scored third-period goals to set up RMU's second tie in its past three games, while sophomore Daniel Leavens netted the first two-goal game of his college career.

Robert Morris had mostly avoided late drama in its first eight games, never trailing after two periods while going 7-0-1. Head coach Derek Schooley said his Colonials were fortunate to climb back Friday after being off their game early.

"It's good to get a point," said Schooley of his team's third consecutive overtime game, which tied a program record. "Still, we weren't committed for the whole game and gave up too many uncontested chances. We can't keep spotting teams leads."

The 20th-ranked Colonials led 1-0 in the first period on Leavens' first goal, but AIC (2-7-2, 2-3-2 AHC) pushed back to snatch a 2-1 advantage at the intermission. The Yellow Jackets seemingly had an answer all night long, as they responded to an RMU goal with one of their own on three separate occasions.

AIC had its final timely response at 8:41 of the third, when Alexander MacMillan scored his second of the game to put the home team ahead just 23 seconds after Dorowicz tied the game at 3. Johno May made it 5-3 with a 4-on-4 goal at 9:42, prompting Schooley to remove starting goalie Dalton Izyk in favor of freshman Andrew Pikul, who made his NCAA debut in relief.

"We hung Dalton out to dry a few times tonight," Schooley said. "We were looking for a spark (with the goalie change). We played desperate from there and we were able to chase a team down."

The Colonials' pursuit gained steam with 8:30 to play, when freshman Ferguson netted RMU's second power-play goal of the night, depositing the rebound of Tyson Wilson's shot for his fifth goal. RMU's top line generated the tying tally at even strength two minutes later, with Zac Lynch and Cody Wydo assisting on defenseman Mann's second of the season.

Robert Morris, which outshot AIC 20-8 in the third period and 52-37 for the game, received a golden power-play opportunity with 1:28 to play in regulation. However, the visitors couldn't beat freshman Yellow Jackets goalie Alex Murray again, despite generating numerous scoring chances. RMU finished 2 for 7 on the advantage.

AIC had its own opening to win the game in sudden-death overtime, but Pikul denied Jason Popek on a breakaway from the blue line in, preserving the tie.

"I'm proud of Andrew," Schooley said. "That's not a chance you'd like to give up, but that's huge for him. It's tough to go in after sitting on the bench for 50 minutes and be spot on, but he was good for us."

Pikul, a native of Cleveland, made six saves in about 15 minutes of game action, following up Izyk's 26 stops. Pikul admitted to being "a little nervous at first" before settling in.

"The guys did a great job helping me out in there," he said. "It was nice to come back late and tie it up."

In addition to Leavens' first career two-goal night, Ferguson (1g, 1a), Mann (1g, 1a) and Wydo (2a) recorded multiple points for the Colonials, who set a season high with 52 shots on goal. The last time RMU had 50 or more shots was March 7 against Army.

On the other hand, Friday night was the first time this season RMU allowed more than three goals in a game. 

"It was a wild one for sure," said junior defenseman Wilson, "We are a great team when we put a full 60 minutes together, but that didn't happen tonight. We had good spurts and bad spurts and some mental lapses."

The Colonials remain in first place in the Atlantic Hockey Conference, three points ahead of second-place Holy Cross. They'll have a chance to recover from Friday's up-and-down effort when their weekend series at AIC concludes at 4:05 p.m. Saturday.
 
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