Schenectady, N.Y. – In game two of the series, the Colonials fought back to win 3-2 in overtime at Union, winning their first game of the campaign. RMU now moves to 1-1-0 on the year and Union is 1-3-0 overall.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Similar to yesterday's game, the first period ended scoreless. Both sides spent minutes on special times, as RMU was on the power play twice and shorthanded once.
Just as the Colonials did yesterday, they skated strong to begin the game, creating more chances than the Garnet Chargers. Through the first 20 minutes, RMU was out shooting Union, 7-3.
Again, a similar situation to yesterday, Union found the back of the net first, two minutes into the second period.
Coming up on the halfway point of the game, the Garnet Chargers took a 2-0 lead, scoring at even strength again.
After going down 0-2, the Colonials took a penalty. Skating a player short, the team gained momentum killing off a crucial power play opportunity for the opposing side.
Heading into the locker room after two periods, down two goals, was not ideal for the Colonials. But, in the face of adversity, it was the start of RMU's first historic win of the season.
The home side continued to keep possession in their offensive end. Standing tall for RMU to keep the program in the game, alternate captain
Emma Gorski made four crucial saves in the first six minutes of the third period. Laying down the body, Chloé Puddifant and
Courtney Hall both blocked shots to help their team.
After some great defensive play, the Colonials were rewarded with a goal a few moments later.
Thalia D'Elia scored her first goal of the season off an assist by
Courtney Hall, moving the Colonials to within one.
Upon scoring a goal, the Colonials were called for slashing and were down a player again for two minutes. On the penalty kill, the unit came up big once again and Gorski provided another huge save.
Following the save,
Morgan Giannone off a pass by
Janelle Evans tied up the game and scored the programs first shorthanded goal of the season. Union, then called a timeout.
With about five minutes left in the game, the Colonials recorded penalties back-to-back, falling into a 3v5 situation. The three-man unit worked well together though, and killed it off without giving up a goal. The veteran Gorski tending the twine, made another four vital saves, frustrating the opposition.
Concluding 60 minutes of play, both teams headed to overtime, tied up 2-2.
During the craziness of 3v3 overtime, both team's shared chances going back and forth.
The game would end off the stick of previous goal scorer,
Morgan Giannone. Off a turnover D'Elia found Giannone into space. On the breakaway she diced out the Union goalie and took the puck to her backhand, placing the shot nicely in the top right corner.
Ending the game off a sudden death goal in OT, the Colonials celebrated their first win of their historic campaign, taking down Union, 3-2.
GOALS FOR GIANNONE
Forward
Morgan Giannone was an impact player across the two-game series at Union. The first night in New York she dished out an assist on both of the team's goals. Tonight, she scored the two most crucial goals of the game, slotting in the tying goal and the game winner in overtime. Through the first series of the season, she leads the roster in points with four.
FROM DEFENSE TO OFFENSE
Last night, graduate defenseman produced a goal and an assist at Union. This time, it was freshman
Thalia D'Elia. The Pennsylvania native posted a two-point game, scoring one goal and one assist, including the game-winning pass to Giannone.
TEAM STATS
Today's game was much tighter than yesterday's as both sides buttoned up on defense. RMU outshot Union 55-45 in the first game. Today, shots were tied as each side peppered 29. The refs called 14 penalties Friday night but only had to call nine in today's match. On faceoffs, senior center
Mya Neugent won a team-high 11 draws. And, in her first game as a Colonial, Emma Gorksi made 29 saves, owning a .931 save percentage and 1.75 G.A.A.
BITTLE'S BIG WIN
Head Coach
Logan Bittle has been a part of several dozen wins as a player and coach, but tonight's may have been his most meaningful. In fact, during his time as a college athlete at RMU from 2004-2008, he won 59 games as a student-athlete. Coaching as an assistant and associate head coach for the Colonials from 2010-2021, Bittle earned 189 wins from behind the bench. In total, that's 248 wins, and with his first win as head coach of the program, Bittle is one away now from 250 wins.
QUOTABLE
"It's an exciting day to be a Colonial! The look on the girls face after that win was something our staff will never forget and a moment they will remember for a long time. We learned from some mistakes last night, corrected them and refused to give up. It was a great character win for this team."
- Head Coach Logan Bittle
The Colonials return home for the long-awaited home opener of the 2023-24 campaign next weekend. RMU hosts Saint Anselm at 2:00 p.m. at Clearview Arena in the RMU Island Sports Center on Saturday, October 7.
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