PITTSBURGH -- The Robert Morris University women's hockey team came oh-so-close to its biggest upset ever, but No. 2 Minnesota converted an overtime power play to pull out a 4-3 decision Friday afternoon at the RMU Island Sports Center.
 
Before the frustrating ending, sophomore transfer Michaela Boyle deposited her third goal in three RMU games, freshman goalie Raygan Kirk kept hopes alive with 33 saves, and junior defender Emily Curlett notched two assists and a career-high 12 blocked shots.
 
All in all, the Colonials (2-1-0) got everything but the 'W' in their first big test of the 2019-20 season. By the first week of January, RMU will challenge all four national semifinalists from last season's NCAA tournament, starting with this weekend's first-ever visit from the seven-time national champion Golden Gophers.
 
"It's obviously frustrating whenever you lose in overtime," RMU head coach Paul Colontino said. "I love the way our players played and battled throughout the entire game. Tomorrow's a brand-new day, so we'll get back at it."
 
Entering the day, RMU had been winless in 21 all-time matchups against teams ranked either first or second in the weekly USCHO.com national poll. Included in that track record were two losses at Minnesota last December, in which the second-ranked Golden Gophers outscored the Colonials 11-1.
 
But even though Minnesota (5-0-0) scored the first goal Friday on Neville Island, RMU never looked like it was chasing the game.
 
RMU alternate captain Natalie Marcuzzi set that defiant tone with two minutes left in the first period, when she stole a pass high in the Minnesota zone to set up her first goal of her senior season. Anjelica Diffendal's quick shot was stopped, but Marcuzzi drove the net and popped the puck past goalie Sydney Scobee while being bumped to the ice.
 
The Colonials grabbed their first lead three minutes into the second, with senior captain Jaycee Gebhard knocking in the rebound of Curlett's heavy point shot.
 
Minnesota knotted the game on its third of eight power plays at 10:03, as Alex Woken followed her own shot from close range, stuffing the puck under Kirk's left leg. That set up a third period that had enough momentum shifts for an entire game.
 
"The most important part of that game is that we were all in it together," Boyle said. "We were all supporting each other. Our bench did a fantastic job of keeping the energy up."

🗣"We took the No. 2-ranked team in the country to overtime. That's something we should be proud of, but we can't be satisfied."

Here's @michaelaboyle16 on hanging with the Gophers and an entertaining description of her dramatic tying goal ... sound up! pic.twitter.com/3g3EP9BfRV

— RMU Hockey (@RMUWHockey) October 11, 2019

 When RMU couldn't score on two separate 5-on-3 opportunities in the third, it seemed like a fatal miss. Especially once Minnesota defender Gracie Ostertag drifted a point shot through traffic and over Kirk's blocker at 12:04, the Golden Gophers were sitting pretty.
 
Colontino's Colonials stayed in it, though, giving themselves a shot with Kirk on the bench for an extra attacker. Led by Curlett, who paced all of Division I in blocked shots last season, RMU got in the way of 28 Minnesota drives. 
 
And just as she set up the first RMU goal with a huge rip from distance, Curlett whipped another shot into traffic that hit Scobee and sat in the crease for Boyle to hoist into a half-open net with 51 seconds remaining.
 
"I was coming from the side wall and I was tired," said Boyle, who spent her first NCAA season with Clarkson in 2017-18. "Scobee just happened to kick the rebound out and it went to my backhand side. I was like, 'Dear God, let this go in the net.'"
 
Ultimately, Minnesota's eighth power play arrived in sudden death, courtesy of a questionable hooking call against Boyle. With 1:17 gone in the OT, Taylor Wente converted Sarah Potomak's pass at the right side of Kirk's crease, ending the upset alert.
 
Several Colonials lingered on the ice in disbelief after the winning goal trickled into the net, but all involved did their best to be encouraged by the performance.
 
"I'm so proud of our team," said Curlett. "We came out ready to go. Ultimately, it didn't bounce our way, but I think we're ready to come back tomorrow hungrier than ever.

🗣"Coach tells us every day that we can play with anybody. This just reinforces it."@EmilyCurlett talks postgame about the big effort against No. 2 @GopherWHockey, her 12(!) blocked shots and gearing up for tomorrow's rematch! pic.twitter.com/1uTMRBmxLx

— RMU Hockey (@RMUWHockey) October 11, 2019

"Coach tells us all the time that we can play with everybody. This just proves it. It reinforces everything."
 
Even a tie would've been the first result ever gained by the Colonials against teams ranked either first or second, but they'll have to take a moral boost from this performance heading into Saturday's 1:05 p.m. rematch.
 
"We just took the No. 2 team in the country to overtime," Boyle said. "That's something to be proud of, but we can't be satisfied."