SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Robert Morris University women's hockey team dropped their final regular-season game of the 2020 campaign Saturday at Tennity Ice Pavilion, falling to host Syracuse by a final of 4-2.
The loss puts the Colonials at 19-11-4 (13-5-2 CHA), their highest overall win total since the 2017-18 campaign. Lexi Templeman and Anjelica Diffendal each scored for the Colonials Saturday, while Raygan Kirk made 28 saves in net.
The No. 2-seeded Colonials will face off next Friday evening in the semi-final round of the College Hockey America tournament against the winner of the #4/#5 matchup Thursday evening at Harbor Center.
RMU survived an early flurry of chances in their own zone before taking the first lead of the night just 13 minutes into the game.
An extended shift in the defensive zone off an early power-play opportunity for Syracuse forced Kirk into big saves on Anna Leschyshyn and Lindsay Eastwood. Some gutsy blocks from Natalie Marcuzzi and Emily Curlett helped RMU clear the zone before the Orange could find the back of the net as the Colonials PK unit did its job early on.
Spurred on by the kill, RMU began to press and soon got rewarded, as Templeman scored off a fortuitous bounce when a centering pass from behind the Orange net struck her leg and careened into the back of the Orange net.
Though they would take the lead into the second period, it would be short lived. Syracuse tied things up at 1-1 just 1:29 into the middle frame courtesy of a Madison Beishuizen wrister that pulled the Orange even.
The Colonials nearly re-gained the lead halfway through the second, however Syracuse keeper Allison Small held firm, making a number of tough stops including a pair on Marah Wagner in quick succession to keep things knotted at 1-1.
Syracuse would mount anther counterattack, and before long found the go-ahead goal they'd been looking for, putting themselves up 2-1 with just 20 seconds left in the middle frame. Abby Moloughney slipped a second puck past Kirk in the crease to give the Orange an all-important lead as time wound down on the second.
Another barrage of shots from RMU kicked off the third, but again Small loomed large in net for 'Cuse, turning aside quality looks from Diffendal and Marcuzzi at the onset of the final period of play.
Diffendal would get another crack at it minutes later, finally slipping one past Small to pull RMU even once again at 2-2 with 12 minutes left in regulation.
Both teams searched desperately for the go-ahead goal as time wound down into the final ten minutes. A power-play for RMU presented the Colonials with a golden opportunity to cash in, however it was quickly negated when Curlett took a checking penalty of her own seconds later.
Syracuse kept pushing, finally finding the go-ahead goal at 12:55 of the third as Moloughney potted her second of the afternoon from the slot.
RMU searched once-again for some late-game heroics, but Small and the Syracuse defense held firm, burying the empty-netter with 37 ticks remaining to seal up the 4-2 victory.
