PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Robert Morris women's hockey team earned a win over Mercyhurst Tuesday afternoon at Clearview, taking down the Lakers, 3-2.
Gillian Thompson scored the game-winner while Raygan Kirk made 20 saves in goal.
RMU set the tone early with a good shift from the starting line of Anjelica Diffendal, Joelle Fiala and Kyleigh Hanzlik, working the puck low-to-high and setting up a couple prime chances from the slot off the hop.
Early penalty trouble put RMU back on its heels as they were forced to kill 35 seconds of a five-on-three. Despite some intense pressure, the Colonials PK unit managed a few timely clears to get out of things without damage.
The Lakers kept pressing, however, and eventually struck first seconds after the penalty expired when a sharp-angle shot from Chantel Ste-Croix snuck between Kirk and the post and in.
Despite the early hole, the Colonials continued to pressure MU and eventually evened things up on the power play after Emily Curlett banged in a loose rebound at the side of the cage.
With the intensity steadily rising on what has been a fierce rivalry all season, both squads took to crashing the net in the hope of cashing in with a goal.
Ellie Marcovsky appeared to put the Colonials up 2-1 midway through the middle frame after her shot bounced behind Ena Nystrom, however it was determined the puck did not cross the line after a brief review.
Another kill for RMU threatened to restore the Mercyhurst lead but the Colonials managed to again kill it off without taking damage.
Gillian Thompson finally put RMU ahead 1:17 into the final frame, letting go of a long shot from the point that pinballed its way through a maze of bodies in front before squeaking through the legs of Nystrom to give the junior her second tally in three games.
Joelle Fiala made it a two-goal lead near the midway mark of the third, stepping around Nystom in the slot and firing a low shot between her pad and the near post to put the Colonials in the drivers seat.
Mercyhurst would cut it back down to 3-2 with the extra attacker pulled but could not manage a third as RMU secured a huge win at Clearview Arena.
SCORING PLAYS
Ste-Croix, 13:13, 1st - Assists: Mortlock, Rowbottom
Curlett, 15:29, 1st - Assists: Harley, Boyle
Thompson, 1:17, 3rd - Assists: Templeman, Marcovsky
Fiala, 6:43, 3rd - Assists: Hanzlik
Dobson, 18:08, 3rd - Assists: Marmen
QUICK HITS
RMU scored twice in the third period…First career GWG from Thompson…Emily Curlett is now five points from tying the all-time defender scoring record…Raygan Kirk made 20 saves in goal
QUOTABLES
"It's been an extremely busy schedule for us the last few weeks. With what we've been doing in terms of travel and the number of games we've played, I'm really proud and excited of the way our players came out today and played when they were a little bit tired from a lot of games in a short term." - Head Coach Paul Colontino
NEXT UP
RMU heads up to Rochester for a pair against RIT on Friday and Saturday.
