MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Robert Morris used a timely goal from David Friedmann and a highlight-reel third-period goal from Zac Lynch to earn a hard-fought tie with visiting Air Force Friday night at 84 Lumber Arena.
And it was no easy chore, to say the least.
The Falcons kept the high-powered Colonials’ offense at bay for the majority of the contest while managing three goals of their own on 24 shots through two periods. But in the end, the Colonials’ experience and depth proved to be the keys to turning the tide in their favor.
“Robert Morris is a really good team,” Falcons’ coach Frank Serratore said. “They’re deep, they’re old and they’re tough to play against and there’s no quit in them.”
The Falcons got on the board first at 4:13 of the first period when Scott Holm fired a rebound from a Chad Demers shot past RMU goaltender Terry Shafer. And although they’d not score again for the rest of the opening frame, the Falcons won one loose puck battle after another and kept the Colonials out of their game for large stretches of the first two periods.
Air Force doubled its lead just 1:17 into the second period while on its third power-play attempt. Phil Boje put his blast from the right point past Shafer for his third goal of the season. The two-goal lead seemed as if it may just hold up the way the Falcons had started out, but the game changed with two goals from Friedman.
His first goal at the 11:12 mark of the period cut the lead in half as he deflected a puck from Brady Ferguson behind Air Force goalie Chris Truehl.
But it was his second that gave the Colonials new life.
Following Mike McDonald’s goal at 14:39 that put the Falcons back in front by two, Friedmann went to the net and got rewarded just nine seconds later when he finished a Daniel Leavens pass to light the lamp at 14:48.
From that point, the momentum turned completely in Robert Morris’ favor.
The Colonials outshot and outplayed Air Force over the remainder of the second period and well into the third. However, the Falcons still had a one-goal lead and a goaltender (Truehl) who’d not left many golden opportunities to cash in. It would take a near picture-perfect goal to tie the game, and Lynch proved equal to the challenge.
Lynch found himself skating down the left wing boards on a two-on-one over the Falcons’ blue line when he decided to attempt to thread a pass across to Cody Wydo, which was blocked by an Air Force defender. The puck caromed back to Lynch in the left circle, who then skated in on net while teeing up a backhander that he managed to put upstairs past Truehl for the tying goal at 7:23 of the third period.
Truehl kept Robert Morris off the score sheet through the rest of regulation and overtime to help the Falcons earn a point as the Colonials amassed a 18-6 shot advantage over the final 35 minutes.
“We came out and started the game the way we wanted to start the game with those two goal leads,” Serratore said. “We needed to get that next goal and it’s tough to do against a team like that. It’s a game we could have won or a game we could have lost.”
With the tie, the Colonials extended their school record unbeaten streak to nine games.
“It was a really good hockey game,” said RMU coach Derek Schooley. “The fans had to be entertained. I wasn’t entertained with our first and second periods, but I’m proud of how our guys were able to come back in the third. After we gave up that goal to make it 3-1, I thought that would be a real back-breaker, but I’m really proud of our work ethic.”
