Veteran sportswriter, member of the WDVE Morning Show and hockey aficionado Mike Prisuta has been covering the Pittsburgh sports scene for over 20 years. He has covered Pittsburgh sports as a reporter for the Beaver County Times and as a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review while having his pulse on the happenings of each of the professional organizations and college programs in the area. A graduate of Michigan State University, Prisuta got his start in the profession covering the Spartan hockey program and possesses knowledge of the college hockey world unmatched in the region.
Throughout the 2013-14 season, Prisuta will serve up weekly stories surrounding Colonial hockey as well as the latest notes and news around college hockey.
Prisuta on Pucks: Saturday Night Survival
STORRS, Conn. _ They departed the Freitas Ice Forum in a celebratory mood but as they did the gear still had to be moved, so goaltender Terry Shafer took it upon himself to lug one of the locker room fans to the team bus.
"Just trying to do my part," Shafer offered.
An RMU athletic official standing nearby couldn't resist.
"Big fan of yours?" Shafer was asked.
And so it went late Saturday night after a 3-2 survival of UConn in Game 2 that closed out Robert Morris' best-of-three Atlantic Hockey Association quarterfinal series.
The Colonials (17-17-5 overall, 4-1 postseason) advanced to the AHA Final Four, March 21-22, at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y.
They did so in a most unlikely fashion even before the goaltender that had put the team on his back for long stretches this season opted to secure a locker room fan under his arm.
The goal that tied Game 2 at 2-2 at 7:42 of the second period was scored by sophomore defenseman Evan Moore, the third-career goal for Moore and one that resulted from a spectacular individual effort.
The goal that eventually won Game 2 at 12:35 of the second was scored by freshman fourth-line winger Ben Robillard, the fourth career goal for Robillard and one that resulted off assists by third-pair sophomore defenseman Chase Golightly and fourth-line junior center Dave Rigatti.
"I couldn't have imagined that a couple of weeks ago," head coach Derek Schooley admitted.
Advancing to the first AHA Final Four in RMU history apparently required such resourcefulness and the Colonials delivered.
Everyone, it seemed, had a hand in taking the Colonials where they'd never been previously.
RMU's first three forays into the AHA playoffs had resulted in a one-game knockout and a pair of quarterfinal sweeps on the road, the second of which occurred a season ago in the very arena where hugs and high-fives were exchanged late Saturday night between exhausted players and elated friends, fans and family.
This time the Colonials did what was necessary when it had to be done.
Freshman goaltender Dalton Izyk, who had taken over for Shafer 3:19 into Game 3 against Army, took the ice for Game 2 against UConn having not been scored on in 96:41 of postseason crease time.
UConn (18-14-4 overall, 0-2 postseason) finally got a puck past Izyk at 4:41 of the second, and scored again for a 2-1 lead just 2:37 later.
But Izyk and his teammates walled off the net from there. And after re-taking the lead they survived three third- period penalties and a furious last-second assault on the RMU cage with goaltender Matt Grogan pulled in favor of an extra attacker.
The find-a-way mentality Robert Morris displayed for as long as it had to included captain and senior winger Colin South lobbying for work in the face-off circle on a night when RMU won 18 draws and lost 44, and South demanding ice time in the closing seconds of regulation.
"Colin South doesn't even take draws for us but he was our best, he had been winning some key defensive-zone draws," Schooley revealed. "With about three minutes left he said 'we'll get the job done, get me out there.'
"We just played a very good team game and, boy, did our guys sell out at the end and get the job done."
No matter what was required or when.
