CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The
Robert Morris University women's hockey team might not have been playing for the Battle at the Burgh championship on Sunday afternoon, but when newcomer
Kyleigh Hanzlik buried a breathtaking buzzer-beating goal to clinch the third-place game, the only thing that mattered was the scoreboard at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
Robert Morris 6, Colgate 5.
A redshirt sophomore transfer from the University of Wisconsin who just started practicing with RMU last week, Hanzlik skated, spun and scored with a whirling backhand, giving the Colonials (11-7-2) the final edge in a frantic game that featured four tie scores and three lead changes before 60 minutes were done.
Hanzlik's goal was her first in 27 NCAA games and was made all the sweeter by the fact that her old Badgers teammates, preparing for the tournament's title game, just happened to have an on-the-glass seat for the last-minute dramatics.
"I knew it was the last shift and I just wanted to get a puck on net," Hanzlik said, still giddy from the excitement. "I just want to keep going uphill and build off that game. Continue to learn the team dynamic.
"It's pretty awesome. To have all my old teammates here was pretty awesome as well. It was like (celebrating) with two teams. ... It's a neat feeling to know that everyone is so supportive."
RMU could've been forgiven for bracing for heartbreak, as Sunday marked the sixth time in eight games against quality non-conference foes that the Colonials were tied in the third period. Until Hanzlik netted the winner, they had yet to get over the finish line for a victory in one of those 'challenge' games.
Call it a signature win or something else, but picking up this result was significant for the team's psyche -- not to mention its chances to rise higher in the national polls and RPI ratings.
"A couple of those games were heartbreakers," RMU head coach
Paul Colontino said. "It's a solid message for our last non-conference game. Colgate's really a top-10 team. They're a great team and to come out with a win was huge. A nice confidence booster, on that last try to have it all come together.
"From an individual standpoint, for Kyleigh to pull off the spin-o-rama, it was storybook. I couldn't help but smile because I was so happy for her. ... You just can't write it any better than that. On a whole bunch of different levels, it was just really cool. A good way to cap off the weekend."
Before the storybook ending, the Colonials had done well to go toe-to-toe with an explosive Colgate squad. The Raiders (9-9-4) rebounded from a 2-0 deficit in the first period and a 5-4 hole late in the third, seemingly forcing overtime when the game slipped into the final minute all square.
In fact, there might've been a different kind of sensational story if not for Colgate's Malia Schneider roofing a goalmouth pass with 4 1/2 minutes left in regulation. Several minutes prior, RMU junior
Anjelica Diffendal scored a strong rush goal to put RMU ahead, 5-4. A native of Robinson Township, Diffendal is an alum of the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, the same youth program that put on this inaugural Battle at the Burgh.
"It was a crazy game," Colontino said. "It was literally a post-Christmas game. Two very talented teams and highs and lows for both teams at different points. It was just all over the map."
Although the game wasn't one for the Hockey Hall of Fame in terms of organization and defense, it sure didn't lack for offensive outbursts.
Junior defender
Emily Curlett (1g, 3a) paced the Colonials with her second career four-point game, giving her five points on the weekend and a spot on the all-tournament team. Senior captain
Jaycee Gebhard crept within eight points of the program's all-time lead with a pair of assists, freshman
Joelle Fiala set up two goals and sophomore transfer
Michaela Boyle continued her torrid goal pace with her team-best 14th in her 20th RMU game.
It wasn't the prettiest stat line for freshman goalie
Raygan Kirk, but she finished the tournament with 73 saves after denying 33 Raiders drives -- 20 of those coming in a second period that threatened to tear the game away from the Colonials.
After Boyle (2:47 - PP) and
Leah Marino (4:59) scored back-to-back in the first to put RMU in the driver's seat, Colgate netted four of the next five to take a 4-3 lead by the game's midway point. Raiders freshman Sammy Smigliani factored in on all four of those goals, putting the Colonials in danger of dropping their second in a row.
But Fiala forced a turnover which led to fellow freshman
Maggy Burbidge's top-shelf strike with six to go in the second, giving RMU a fresh slate for the third. Shots on goal were even for the final frame, 8-8, but Hanzlik insured the final margin would be satisfying for the de facto home team.
"We just wanted to come up with the win," Hanzlik said. "Whether it was with six seconds left, a minute left or whatever it was."
RMU will now finish its regular season with 14 consecutive College Hockey America games. The Colonials (5-1-0 CHA) will aim to maintain their league lead next weekend, when they travel to suburban Rochester, New York, to face RIT for a Friday-Saturday set.
