BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The stage was set for yet another exhilarating victory, but ultimately it wasn't to be for this remarkable, resilient edition of the Robert Morris University men's hockey team.

Junior center Daniel Mantenuto scored a dramatic tying goal with 1:55 left in the third period, but top-seeded and 19th-ranked American International pulled out a 3-2 overtime decision in an Atlantic Hockey semifinal game Friday evening at HarborCenter, bringing RMU's 15th Division I season to a sudden end.

No. 8 seed Robert Morris (16-22-2, 15-17-2 AHA) overcame deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 in the concluding chapter of a gripping postseason that saw them complete eight successful rallies in six games. Mantenuto's extra-attacker goal was the Colonials' first of the season that forced overtime, adding just one more layer of suspense to a playoff journey that finished a couple of wins shy of the AHA mountaintop.

"Tough way to end," head coach Derek Schooley said. "We had a tremendous amount of confidence and a tremendous amount of belief in what we were going to accomplish in the overtime. Tough bounce and tough break."

The winning goal came off the stick of American International's top scorer Blake Christensen, who rounded the goal after a failed rush down the left wing. Christensen went for the stuff on the far post, and the puck trickled under RMU junior goalie Francis Marotte, who was again superb in denying 35 Yellow Jackets shots.

Marotte ended up stopping 175 of 188 shots in the playoffs, good for a .931 save percentage that backstopped this team's encouraging resurgence. Prior to Friday's defeat, the Colonials had gone 7-2-1 since a Feburary bye and 4-1 in the postseason, including a three-game thrill ride of a quarterfinal win at No. 2 seed Bentley last week.

"A month ago, people were not giving us much of a chance to be here," Schooley remarked. "Our players kept believing and here we are. ... You're going to go through some ups and downs and some tough situations. We were able to overcome some tough scenarios and a tough January. We were able to put ourselves in a position in the end. Credit to everyone involved to not stop believing in where we are."

Fitting that sophomore Nick Prkusic would help create Mantenuto's goal, since both were among the Colonials' most prolific point-producers during this postseason surge. Prkusic (1g, 4a) finished with five points in six playoff games -- one more point than he had in his entire freshman year -- and Mantenuto had six (2g, 4a) to give him 16 in 17 career NCAA postseason contests.

"We have a lot of experience in thee situations," Mantenuto said in the immediate aftermath. "I think we always believed. We knew we could tie things up and we did. We're led by our seniors. They drove the ship and we all just jumped on board. We knew we could win that game, but unfortunately we didn't."



Speaking of seniors, two of RMU's five combined for the first tying goal after AIC's Jan Stefka rattled home a sharp-angle power-play goal midway through the first. Following Mantenuto's stick-on-puck effort, grad student Michael Louria scooped up the loose change and tossed a backdoor pass to Tonge, who lifted his team-best 19th goal into the roof of the net with two minutes left in the first.

The Yellow Jackets, fresh off receiving their first national top-20 ranking in program history, controlled the game in the second period, outshooting the Colonials 15-9 and out-attempting them 23-14. AIC grabbed its second lead of its first-ever AHA semifinal at 2:56 of the second, when Joel Kocur jammed in a rebound at the top of the crease.

Marotte did well to keep RMU in range heading into the third, squelching a handful of prime chances with sound positioning and rebound control. Freshman defenseman Brendon Michaelian also did his part, blocking an open Christensen look at the side of the net late in the second, keeping the margin at one entering the third.

"The more hockey you play, the more experience you get," said Schooley, who worked 11 freshmen into his lineup this year, including several regulars by the stretch run. "We got a tremendous amount of experience down the stretch. Our first playoff game, we had four freshmen 'D' in the lineup. It didn't hurt our present, but it helped our future immensely."

American International (21-16-1) threatened to choke the life out of the game through the first 12 minutes of the third, but the Colonials got their forecheck going again in the final eight of regulation, with junior Luke Lynch drawing a holding penalty. Louria had the best look during that power play, but even though AIC goalie Zackarias Skog stopped him with a strong push to the post, RMU gained some energy from the advantage.

That came to fruition with Marotte on the bench and an offensive-zone faceoff with two minutes left. Mantenuto won it cleanly, with the puck going from senior defenseman Eric Israel to Tonge to Prkusic along the goal line. Mantenuto connected those dots by beating Skog inside the left post for his eighth of the season and his 22nd point. 

"We have an (extra-attacker) alignment we want to run," Schooley said. "We work on six-on-five (situations). We had a lot of opportunities to use it early in the year. We had the opportunity and we did everything the right way. Great goal by Manny."

RMU continued to buzz the Yellow Jackets' net in the final moments of the third, but AIC might've been saved a stunning loss by the buzzer. Now the upstart Jackets will play sixth-seeded Niagara for a berth in the NCAA tournament Saturday night at 7:35, ending the Colonials' streak of three straight appearances in the AHA championship game.

Mixed emotions ruled the postgame for Robert Morris, which stretched its run of AHA semifinal berths to six, even though the Colonials didn't win the chance to parade the Jack Riley Memorial Trophy around HarborCenter ice. RMU's lone postseason title came in 2014, the year that started this streak of knocking on the door.

"We've been here six times and I've come up to the podium five times sad," Schooley said. "But you wouldn't trade it for the world, because it means you got here. You gotta get here to win a championship."

The feeling is especially difficult for the five-man Class of 2019: Tonge, Louria, Israel, Kyle Horsman and captain Brandon Watt. Tonge finished his RMU career with 138 points, good for solo fifth in team history. Louria rose to the occasion this month with four playoff points, giving him 16 in 24 career postseason tilts. Israel overcame multiple injuries to carry the lion's share of the load on the blue line. Horsman and Watt were two-thirds of a fourth line that grinded out many a productive shift in their final playoff run as Colonials.

"We lose some important seniors and some guys who have been unbelievable Colonials," Schooley said.

"It's going to be tough to lose those seniors," Mantenuto added, "but going forward I think we have a promising team."

Especially after putting their best foot forward late this season, there is great reason to expect great things from the 2019-20 Colonials. For now, though, the pain of elimination must be endured.

"I wish the remaining three teams the best of luck," Schooley said. "But it hurts. It stings."