BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Inside and outside of Locker Room No. 2, after three minutes that drove their fans nuts, the
Robert Morris women's hockey team went bananas.
Sarah Quaranta answered questions while teammates and staffers lightheartedly dangled fruit, water bottles and any makeshift "microphone" they could find in front of the senior forward, whose goal early in the third period proved to be the difference in a 2-1 Colonials win over Penn State in the CHA Tournament Semifinal at the HarborCenter Thursday.
To preserve the lead, and, concurrently, punch their ticket to a third consecutive CHA championship game, RMU (16-13-6) had to kill a too-many-players penalty with 2:51 to go in regulation and goaltender Jenna Brenneman pulled for a 6-on-4 advantage 51 seconds later.
The Colonials limited the Nittany Lions (13-14-9) to one shot on net during the late power play, and Second Team All-CHA selection
Emily Curlett added one of her five blocked shots to her NCAA-leading total, which now stands at 147.
"I'm so fortunate to be a part of this," said Quaranta. "We're not done yet, and we're going to bring the same mental focus we had today and go for that championship tomorrow."
Just 1:22 into the final frame, senior tri-captain
Kirsten Welsh fired a puck from the left point that Brenneman stopped and dove at to try and poke it out of danger. Quaranta, humming around the net, pulled it out of reach, turned around and put it beyond the prone netminder as she was knocked to the ice.
For the 5'6" second-line center, playing a stone's throw from her native Niagara Falls, Ontario, it was her second career game-winning goal and first since Dec. 13, 2015 at Lindenwood.
"It was awesome. Welshy made a great play from the point. I just tried to muscle my way through and get a stick on it," Quaranta said. "Luckily, I put it away."
"We know playoff games are always going to be tough. This was another one that was...to the wire. We had great penalty kills, we had some great saves. I can't commend our players enough for their sheer willpower, to just adapt and overcome," said head coach
Paul Colontino.
"In many cases, it comes down to one play. Quey's goal in front, on the rebound, fighting off people, getting to those loose pucks...you're not going to get a ton of chances in the playoffs. So, number one, you have to want it more, and then, two, you have to create those chances.
"With Welshy's shot from the point, and 'Q' muscling in to drive the net for that rebound and put that home...those are huge, huge plays."
That play gave the Colonials a shot at their second playoff championship and NCAA Tournament berth in three years. Dating back to that 2016-17 season, Robert Morris is unbeaten in 28 of the last 33 games in which Welsh, who missed three months with a lower-body injury, has recorded a point.
"She's a great leader of our team, and a key part of our team as well on the back end, for sure," Quaranta said. "It's great to have her back, but it's a team effort, starting from the back end, with Arielle, who played amazing. Her key saves kept our momentum going, so we were fortunate."
In close proximity to Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino, Colontino had no reservations about rolling the dice on his rookie once again, a move that continues to pay off big.
Arielle DeSmet made 26 saves to cement the result of her postseason debut, her seventh start as a collegian.
PSU came out looking determined to erase the memory of last year's 7-2 Robert Morris victory, but DeSmet calmly denied six of the game's first seven shots on goal. The 5'4" Charlotte, Vermont native finished the first period with 12 stops before RMU titled the ice in the second.
"That kid is cool as a cucumber. She's played phenomenal hockey," Colontino said. "She's ice-cold out there, so steady. I know, throughout the year, our goalies have had an awesome relationship where they've really pushed each other throughout practice. I think they all know, whoever gets the nod, we're going to cheer that person on. We're pretty lucky to have the goalies we have."
"I try to do a lot of focusing before the game. I like to do a lot of stuff by myself, just to keep my focus on the game," said DeSmet. "I like to keep quiet."
The Colonials' top-line tandem from Saskatchewan made noise right after the first ice cut. CHA scoring champion
Jaycee Gebhard took an outlet pass from another first-year,
Wasyn Rice, and, gliding down the right wing, connected with
Amber Rennie. The senior tri-captain easily finished the textbook two-on-one from the opposite circle to break the scoreless tie 37 seconds into the period.
Gebhard, with her 50th point of the season (18 G, 32 A), tied
Brittany Howard's RMU single-season record, established during the '16-'17 playoff run.
"They're amazing. They step up to the plate so well with everything, and they don't complain," senior tri-captain
Maggie LaGue said of the 2018-19 rookie class. "It's so fun to play with them, and I'm extremely proud of them."
Penn State got even with 14:19 left in the second and Welsh in the box for hooking. A rebound of a Shea Nelson shot came conveniently to Brooke Madsen on DeSmet's doorstep, and the former finished into the exposed net.
The Colonials kept pressing. Curlett hit a crossbar, and Rennie just missed the far corner on a later scoring chance. Gebhard drew an illegal check from Abby Welch, and the resulting Robert Morris power play produced four shots, but Brenneman held her own until Quaranta's heroics.
Welsh was tagged with a similar penalty with 15:19 remaining in the third. Gebhard and
Lexi Templeman did well to disrupt Penn State's breakout, however, and LaGue blocked a shot to help bail out her fellow senior.
LaGue, a North American Hockey Academy product, like DeSmet, co-led all players with five blocks, and was on the ice for those final, tense moments.
"Obviously, that wasn't what we wanted in the last two minutes, but knowing that we have a great penalty kill, and sticking together as a group of five, with positive energy on the bench and on the ice, really helped," said DeSmet.
"It was crazy. But we've been in that situation before. It's something that doesn't bother us, something that we fight through," LaGue said. "We got through it as a team and made sure we were on our game, playing our systems to a 'T' and not letting them get into the zone too much. We just took it in stride."
On Mar. 4, 2017, Robert Morris prevailed in another defensive duel, a 2-0 decision over Syracuse, for their most recent playoff crown. On Friday, the Colonials will once again meet the Orange, who upset Mercyhurst in Thursday's other semifinal contest, with the chance to fill their shelf.
Once again, the opening faceoff from the HarborCenter is set for 4:30 p.m. ET, with live coverage on the CHA Digital Network (subscription required) and 970 ESPN Pittsburgh (online only). Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and youths.
"We earned ourselves another opportunity to play for a championship, and that's a hard thing to do," Colontino said. "It's a fantastic opportunity. We always respect that opportunity, and we respect it because we work our butts off all year long.
"To be honest with you, I don't think I'll have to say too much to them tomorrow."
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