PITTSBURGH -- Progress isn't always pleasant, and it isn't often straightforward.
Those facts can provide some comfort for the 10th-ranked
Robert Morris University women's hockey team, which rallied back from a pair of deficits Saturday afternoon at the RMU Island Sports Center before falling, 6-5, in overtime to No. 4 Clarkson.
Four Colonials earned multiple points on the day, headed by junior defender
Emily Curlett's second consecutive three-point game. She had two power-play goals and an assist, while senior forward/team captain
Jaycee Gebhard scored a scintillating three-on-five short-handed breakaway goal to cap her three-point afternoon.
Gebhard's team-leading sixth goal of the season not only put RMU (2-3-1) on top with seven minutes left in regulation, it also gave the program's No. 2 all-time scorer 14 points in the first six games of the season.
After senior defender
Sarah Lecavalier tracked down a blocked shot at the side boards, Curlett followed up to grab the puck and spin a lead pass to Gebhard, who sensed an opportunity against the unsuspecting Clarkson power-play unit.
"We kinda knew what they were trying to do, so we had a plan," said Gebhard of her second NCAA shorty. "All three of us like to block shots and we had good rotation. 'Curly' made a great play to not ice it, but make a pass."
Once Gebhard fired a dart to the top-right corner, beating Clarkson backup goalie Marie-Pier Coulombe to the glove side, the Colonials were within reach of their fifth win ever against competition ranked fourth or higher.
But with an extra attacker on the ice in the final minute, the Golden Knights (4-1-1) equalized on Elizabeth Giguere's breakaway goal. Michaela Pejzlova, who finished with four assists for the visitors, found Giguere cutting up the center of the rink with a long pass from her own zone.
Clarkson completed its second comeback of the day with just 17 seconds left in the five-minute sudden-death overtime. Gabrielle David cleaned up a deflected pass from Lauren Bernard, completing her hat trick in the most dramatic of fashions.
For the second time over the past two weeks, the Colonials lost in overtime against one of college hockey's national powers. No. 2 Minnesota also escaped the Island with a sudden-death decision eight days ago, recovering from a late RMU tying goal.
To sum up: The Colonials have played four straight games against top-four opponents, and they've been tied or ahead in the third period in all four of them.
"It was pretty exciting," Gebhard said. "Not the ending we wanted, but there's a lot to build on. We're all proud of each other. It's been incredible. We're learned that we can definitely play with anybody. We're going to start winning these types of games."
A big reason why RMU has gone toe-to-toe with formidable foes is its power play. The Colonials went 3 for 6 on the day, 6 for 15 in the series and have converted 12 of their first 35 opportunities this season for an eye-grabbing 34.3 percent rate.
Sophomore transfer forward
Michaela Boyle has four of those PPGs, most of them scored like hers Saturday, a rebound that tied the score 2-2 before the first intermission. That followed freshman
Maggy Burbidge's first NCAA goal, put on a platter by driving defender
Emilie Harley.
Curlett leads the team with five power-play tallies, and her powerful shot twice paid off on the afternoon. She gave RMU its first lead three minutes into the second when her rush wrister beat Clarkson starting goalie Amanda Zeglen, who was promptly pulled afterward.
Then, with the Colonials down 4-3 two minutes into the third, Curlett pounded a one-timer from Gebhard under Coulombe from the left circle, cashing in a five-on-three opportunity.
"We work so hard in practice trying different things," Gebhard said. "We just worked so hard to recover pucks. That's what our success was today: Pure battle. All five of us are working together."
Unfortunately for the home team, Clarkson's top-end talent also came through on the advantage. David and Pejzlova connected about two minutes apart in the second period, providing one of many momentum shifts in a weekend that featured 17 total goals -- 10 of those during power plays.
Much like the rest of her teammates, RMU sophomore goalie
Arielle DeSmet deserved better from the weekend. She followed up a career-high 39 saves in Friday's 3-3 tie with 21 more high-pressure stops in the rematch. She had two point-blank denials of Pejzlova late in the third period, leading a boisterous Island crowd to believe the win was meant to be.
The challenge now for the Colonials will be to take some positives, learn from the negatives and move on to next weekend's road series at No. 5 Cornell. It doesn't get any easier, but the three-time defending College Hockey America champs wouldn't have it any other way.
"It's definitely emotional in the locker room after today," Gebhard said. "We're going to have more people step up and we're going to start winning these down the line, when it's really going to matter."
