State College, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's hockey team waged a third period comeback once again to force its second straight overtime game, but could not close out Penn State as the College Hockey America squads tied, 2-2, Saturday afternoon in Pegula Ice Arena.
 
Both the Colonials (12-9-5, 4-4-4) and the Nittany Lions (7-14-5, 3-4-5) earn a point toward the CHA standings, and RMU remains third in the league.
 
The veteran leaders stepped up in today's tie as senior captain Ashley Vesci put the Colonials on the board late in the first period with her ninth goal of the season and finished the day plus-two. Junior assistant captain Rikki Meilleur netted the game-tying goal and added an assist on Vesci's goal to record a season-high two points. Junior defenseman Mikaela Lowater was credited with the primary assist on the Vesci goal.
 
Trailing 2-1 late in the third period, Penn State called timeout to rest their wearied players who have now endured extended minutes of overtime in their last three straight. Robert Morris came out of the timeout with junior goaltender Jessica Dodds on the bench and an extra attacker on the ice with 1:39 remaining.
 
Redshirt sophomore Brittany Howard was able to get two shots off; the first one was blocked by Penn State's Micayla Catanzariti and the second just missed the mark. Dodds returned to the net for RMU, but Meilleur was able to come up with the puck in the Colonials' offensive zone and sneak it just past the skate of sophomore Penn State goaltender Hannah Ehresmann with 32 seconds on the clock to tie the game and send it into overtime.
 
Penn State's Laura Bowman was sent to the penalty box on a two-minute hooking minor with 2:46 left in the overtime period, giving the Colonials their best opportunity to win the game, but Robert Morris struggled all day with getting the puck in the net and the trend continued up until the final horn. RMU went 0-for-1 on the only power play of the game.
 
Both teams were charged with their first penalty of the game simultaneously in the third; a tripping call was made against RMU's Leah Carlson, while Catanzaiti was booked for a rare embellishment penalty. As a 4-on-4 took place for two minutes, neither squad was able to convert, despite RMU creating a number of good shots once again. Shortly after both teams returned to full strength, Penn State's Amy Petersen surged ahead with the puck, skating one-on-one against a Colonials defender. Petersen briefly lost control, but was able to recover and fire a shot top shelf on Dodds to help the Nittany Lions regain the lead, 2-1.
 
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the second period, but the Colonials had plenty of good looks and sustained pressure on Ehresmann in the Robert Morris offensive zone. RMU had a few wide open net chances, but was unable to connect. The Colonials looked dominant heading into the third after taking a game-high 17  shots in the second period.
 
The Nittany Lions opened the scoring 2:40 into the first period, as Hannah Bramm remained hot after scoring two goals last evening and the first goal of today's game to give her squad the 1-0 edge. But Colonials captain Vesci blew past two Penn State defenders late in the first period and caught Ehresmann off guard with a high shot that sailed right over the goaltender's shoulder and evened the score with 2:16 remaining in the frame.
 
For the second game in a row, Robert Morris edged Penn State in shots, 42-29, but failed to score on the power play.
 
Robert Morris returns home next weekend to host Lindenwood on Friday, Jan. 29 at 7:05 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 30 at 3:05 p.m. at 84 Lumber Arena.
 
 
Trending
Three of the four 2015-16  meetings between Robert Morris and Penn State went into overtime. The Colonials are 0-1-2 in those games.
 
 
Follow RMU Women's Hockey:
@RMUWHockey
@rmu_w_hockey
Robert Morris University Athletics