PITTSBURGH, PA. - The Robert Morris University men's hockey team earned a 2-1 overtime win against Holy Cross Saturday night on The Island, setting up a winner-take-all game three Sunday night at 7 p.m.
Santeri Hartikainen scored the game-winner at 4:04 of the extra frame to help RMU keep their post-season hopes alive. Nick Jenny also added a power-play goal, while Justin Kapelmaster stopped 38 of 39 shots on goal to earn the win.
"It was an emotional game," head coach Derek Schooley said. "We had to do a good job killing penalties because we kept running out of players, and our guys really dug deep. Then we had a really good shift in OT where we finally got pucks to the net instead of passing it around."
The Colonials had to outlast a furious push from Holy Cross to start the game, surviving some extended Crusaders zone time as well as an early power play in the games opening few shifts.
Some slick puck movement and a number of dangerous shots from the slot threatened to put RMU in a hole, however big saves from Kapelmaster as well as a well-placed stick from Brendon Michaelian to break up a seam pass helped RMU kill it off an alleviate the early pressure.
A spark on special teams at one end led to fireworks on the other when Robert Morris cashed in its first power play chance of the night courtesy of a Nick Jenny point shot that sailed through a maze of bodies and over the glove of Holy Cross keeper Matt Radomsky low blocker near the far post.
Despite the early momentum, the Colonials were dealt a critical blow with under a minute to go in the first when senior Jacob Coleman was assessed a five minute major and a game misconduct for boarding Holy Cross's Logan Ferguson, setting the Crusaders up with nearly five full minutes on the man-advantage to start the second period.
The RMU PK continued its resurgent form, however, killing off the reminder of the Coleman major at the start of the second before a Connor Jean interference minor put the Colonials PP unit back out onto the ice.
Justin Addamo nearly made it 2-0 seconds into the man-advantage when he corralled a pass near the bottom go the right circle, however his shot was gloved down by Radomsky. Successive chances from Jenny and Nick Prkusic were blocked away or sailed wide as the Crusaders were able to avoid further damage on the truncated power-play.
The physicality and chippiness seemed to ratchet up with the passing of each successive minute, as both teams clawed their way further and further through what was already a hotly-contested game.
More shoving and scrums followed every whistle as neither side was content to back down, including one following a quick whistle on a net mouth scramble in front of Kapelmaster.
Darcy Walsh was crushed with a hard hit near the half-wall that appeared to catch the freshman in the head, however no penalty was given to the Crusaders as RMU now faced the daunting task of taking on the third down two men for the remainder of the game.
More special teams dominated the final frame, as Holy Cross took three straight minors back-to-back-to-back to set the Colonials up with six minutes of almost continuous power-play time.
Despite some solid puck movement, heavy traffic in front of Radomsky prevented the Colonials from getting point shots through or working the puck low-to-high from below the goal line. A big block on an Addamo shot and a clear needed the third PP before RMU could take advantage of the opportunity and convert.
The Colonials continued to control play for much of the final frame, limiting Holy Cross to just three shots on goal over the final 20, however the search for go-ahead goal on their proved to be just as elusive.
Despite a final push things were still knotted at 1-1 after 60 minutes of play, setting up a sudden death overtime on The Island.
It didn't take long for Hartikainen to provide the heroics. The freshman let go of a hard wrister from the high slot at 4:04 of the extra frame that beat Radomsky and secured at least one more game at Colonials Arena this season.
The winner was both the first career playoff point and goal for the young Finn. Â
"That was a good, hard-fought game," Schooley said. "It's been two that way, and the emotions are such that you've just got to make sure you channel it. We used a lot of energy tonight so we've got to make sure we're focused and determined come tomorrow."
