ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Cody Wydo scored his team-leading 19th goal of the season with 9.6 seconds remaining to clinch the 4-3 win over RIT and the Atlantic Hockey regular-season title for Robert Morris.
The bounce at the end was most unfortunate for the Tigers and senior goaltender Jordan Ruby. The Colonials chipped the puck high out of their zone in the dying moments of the third period and the puck fell between Ruby and a streaking Wydo. Ruby rushed out of the net hoping to reach the puck first, but Wydo beat him and deftly maneuvered to the side and to slide the puck into the empty net.
“A tough way for us to lose and I think we can’t let that affect us tomorrow,” RIT coach Wayne Wilson said. “They’re a very good team and they find ways to win.”
The game began with an RIT goal just 12 seconds into the first period when Matt Garbowsky found linemate Josh Mitchell, who promptly chipped the puck over the shoulder of RMU netminder Dalton Izyk.
The Colonials got on the scoreboard later in the first with a power-play goal from Greg Gibson.
RIT’s Max Mikowski added another goal in the first period with a wrist shot from the outside hash mark.
The Tigers added to their lead early in the second period when Chase Norrish scored the first goal of his collegiate career.
“We were a little rusty at the start,” said RMU coach Derek Schooley, attributing the slow start to the fact that his team didn’t play last week. “But at about the 12-minute mark of the second period, I thought we got our game back going.”
Gibson scored again for the Colonials later in the second on a rebound from a John Rey shot.
The Colonials tied the game early in the third period with a power-play goal from Chase Golightly.
The teams continued a tightly contested third period, trading “spurts” of dominating play as Schooley describes it.
“Shots were fairly even, scoring chances were probably fairly even, and we were just fortunate enough to get the bounce at the end,” said Schooley.
Both coaches commented on what a close game it was for each team, capped with early and late goals and lots of physical play.
It was a “fun game to watch from a fan’s perspective” noted Schooley. “Physical and a lot of scoring and chances.”
“I think things just intensify as the season goes along,” said Wilson. “At this point of the year, everyone’s now looking at the standings. It’s tangible.”
It was certainly a tangible victory in the standings for the Colonials, who clinched their first Atlantic Hockey conference title with the win and will enjoy a first-round bye when they return to Rochester in March for the Atlantic Hockey championship at the Blue Cross Arena.
