PITTSBURGH -- The Robert Morris University men's hockey team led for 54 minutes Saturday night, but Air Force rallied for a 2-1 sudden victory at the RMU Island Sports Center.
After Falcons winger Willie Reim forced overtime with a goal at 16:35 of the third period, Air Force's Max Harper shoveled in Matt Pulver's goalmouth pass at 1:36 of the first three-on-three overtime in the history of both programs.
Under new Atlantic Hockey rules for this season, every league game must have a winner, although the losing team in three-on-three action earns one point in the standings.
Because of that point, RMU (7-5-1, 7-2-1 AHA) maintained its solo lead atop the 11-team conference, but that was little consolation after a weekend that saw the Falcons stretch their win streak to five.
"Difficult to only get one point out of six on the weekend," said Colonials senior forward
Michael Coyne, who scored RMU's lone goal 2:44 into the game. "Try to take some positives from it, but we gotta score more than one goal on the weekend. Our goalie played great both nights."
Indeed, senior netminder
Justin Kapelmaster did all he could to carry the Colonials over the finish line Saturday, stopping 40 shots through regulation and the first five minutes of overtime, which are played at five-on-five. The only shots to beat him were Reim's long wrister that deflected off an RMU player, and Harper's tap-in after Pulver pulled Kapelmaster out by swooping in front of the crease.
The defeat might've stung a little less than usual because it yielded a point, but it marked the fourth loss this season in which RMU has scored one goal or fewer.Â
"It's a shame because Kapelmaster only let in three goals all weekend," head coach
Derek Schooley said. "It's a shame to waste a goaltending performance like that. We're giving up two goals and losing games."
Like Friday's 2-0 loss, special teams were again a mixed bag for RMU. The Colonials went 5 for 5 on the penalty kill -- and a perfect 11 for 11 on the weekend -- but missed on five power-play chances on the night and 13 opportunities in the series.
Both Schooley and Coyne noted the power-play deficiency, but the fact the Colonials were even in a position to win Saturday was partially due to the PK. Not only did RMU kill a two-minute Air Force two-man advantage in the first period, it also extinguished a power play during the five-on-five overtime, when a Falcons goal would've meant losing all three points.
Actually, RMU nearly grabbed all three points anyway, generating three quality scoring chances after Air Force leveled the score. Linemates
Luke Lynch and
Justin Addamo each had opportunities in front of the net late in the third, then
Grant Hebert lifted a backhand chance over the crossbar during the five-on-five OT.Â
But Air Force (4-7-1, 4-3-1 AHA) controlled the three-on-three, possessing the puck after a pair of faceoffs and conjuring up the winner on Pulver's rush down the right wing.
"We had some glorious chances, too," Schooley said. "That was a big point (to lose). It was our first time, but three-on-three is something we'll continue to work on."
The Colonials will also look for ways to get more pucks on goal. Air Force sophomore Alex Schilling allowed only one goal in the series, but he had to make just 42 total saves.
Coyne's goal, in which he gathered a deflected
Sean Giles shot and banked the puck off Schilling from a sharp angle, symbolized a grind of a weekend for the attack. During its recent four-game win streak, RMU had averaged 4.5 goals per game.
"It's just getting pucks to the net and getting bodies to the net," Coyne said. "I think we were a little too overconfident. We were in first place and had a couple of good weekends (before this). This is kind of a wake-up call for us."
Atlantic Hockey action continues next weekend with a home-and-home series against in-state foe Mercyhurst. After playing the Lakers in Erie next Friday, the Colonials will host 'Hurst on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 7:05 p.m.
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