BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Robert Morris University women's hockey team came up just short in the 2020 CHA Championship game Saturday at Harbor Center, falling 2-1 in overtime to the Mercyhurst Lakers. They end the season 20-12-4 overall.

Michaela Boyle scored the lone goal for Robert Morris on the afternoon, her team-leading 22nd on the year. Raygan Kirk made 20 saves in goal for RMU.

After a slow start Friday afternoon put them in a 2-0 hole in the semi-finals against Syracuse, RMU searched for a tone-setting shift from the opening puck drop Saturday, determined to find a better start against the Lakers.

Courtney Kollman almost brought the Colonials bench to their feet just 45 seconds into the game, pouncing on a huge rebound in the slot after an initial Gebhard shot, however Mercyhurst keeper Kennedy Blair was in position to make the save.

Two shifts later, a perfect encapsulation of Colonials hockey led to RMU getting on the board and ahead 1-0 when a blocked shot at their own defensive blue-line turned into a 2-on-1 rush the other way between Boyle and Lexi Templeman.  After gaining the zone with possession, Templemen saucered a perfect pass over an outstretched defender, hitting Boyle in stride on her route to the net.

The sophomore walked in alone on Blair before waiting her out and roofing a backhander high glove, sending RMU off and running and throwing the sizable collection of Colonials fans in attendance into a frenzy.

That same defensive commitment that sprung Boyle for the initial goal continued throughout the first, with RMU staying within their structure and keeping the Lakers on the perimeter any time they touched the puck, allowing them just four shots on goal in the first 20 minutes.

Despite emphatically dominating the opening frame, RMU still faced a forceful pushback from the Lakers in the second period, as a determined Mercyhurst squad searched for the equalizer and for a response to the early deficit.

A pair of shifts off the opening puck drop saw RMU pinned in their own end as Mercyhurst poured on a flurry of shots.  Point blank stops by Kirk on Summer-Rae Dobson and Megan Korzack in the low slot helped preserve the RMU lead as the freshman net minder made a number of miraculous saves to keep Mercyhurst off the board.

Minutes later, a mad scramble in front of the Colonials cage saw a bouncing puck nearly poked home by Dobson through the pads of Kirk, but an official review confirmed that the puck stayed out.

A pair of Mercyhurst power plays threatened the Colonials lead after an unblemished first, however Kirk and the RMU PK unit did its job once again, getting big blocks by Anna Fairman and Gebhard in the slot.  The Colonials all-out commitment to structure and defense shone brightly once again, as RMU escaped the man-down situations unscathed as they nursed their 1-0 lead into the locker rooms at the end of two.

With 20 minutes separating them from postseason glory, the Colonials buckled down for one last period as Mercyhurst pressed all-out in desperation for the tying goal.

Natalie Marcuzzi nearly put the Colonials ahead 2-0 on a point-blank shot from the slot, but Blair was in position to make the save.  Wasyn Rice came up with a huge play on they other end, chasing down a Lakers forward on a breakaway before making an excellent stick check to prevent her from getting a shot off.

After a number of near-misses over the first 50 minutes, Mercyhurst finally broke through at 10:23 of the final frame when Rachel Marmen took off from her own defensive zone before going end to end and finished off a brilliant rush by beating Kirk for the first time on the afternoon.

The goal opened up the flood gates for a furious last 9 minutes, as both sides traded chances in end-to-end action desperate to end the game in regulation.

Somehow, a Mercyhurst 4-on-1 ended without a shot on Kirk before a quick pass the other way sprung Templeman all alone on a breakaway, but an excellent save from Blair to wait her out on the backhand kept it knotted at 1-1.

Another incredible save on Templeman on a 2-on-1 rush as time expired provided the final heart-stopper of regulation and sent the game into sudden death in Buffalo.

The Lakers would win it just 4:19 into the extra frame when Dobson buried a one-timer from the slot through Kirk's legs to give them their second CHA title in three years.