ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The game was billed as a battle of goaltending, as Robert Morris freshman Francis Marotte came into the Atlantic Hockey semifinal against Canisius with the second-best save percentage in all of college hockey.
The only better mark was owned by his opponent, Canisius senior Charles Williams.
But it was the youngster Marotte that turned aside 27 of 29 shots and the Colonials put four goals behind Williams in a 6-2 victory that advanced the Colonials to the AHC tournament final for the second consecutive season and the third time in four years.
The conference has boasted stellar goaltending for several years. Robert Morris senior Dalton Izyk, Army senior Parker Gahagen and Air Force sophomore Shane Starrett have all had recent seasons with gaudy save percentage numbers that drew national attention. But this year, it was the newcomers that stole the spotlight as the freshman Marotte and Williams, a graduate transfer from Ferris State, battled all season for the top save percentage in not just the conference but the country.
They faced one another back in October and battled to a 2-2 tie. This time there had to be a winner, and only the winner got to continue their season. That wasn’t something lost on either player.
“In life, you always want to be the best,” Marotte said. “I think even though it’s a team sport, I wanted to beat him tonight.”
Williams finished his season with a .943 save percentage, and thought Marotte’s season will continue, it’s unlikely he’ll be able make up the .11 difference that currently separates the two. The competition with Marotte in the leaderboard and with the Golden Griffins in the standings has made the final season of his collegiate career a memorable one for Williams.
“It was fun,” Williams said. “The motivation I had was to compete with my team Monday through Thursday and the just enjoy the weekends.”
Charles Williams holds on for a whistle. — BRIAN MITCHELL
When the Colonials took a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Spencer Dorowicz and Daniel Mantenuto, things changed from competition to desperation. The Golden Griffins maintained the momentum through much of the second period and outshot Robert Morris, 14-8, in the middle frame.
When the Colonials needed him most, Marotte came up with a pair of huge saves, the first a glove stop through traffic and the second with his left pad on a breakaway to keep the game at 2-0. Moments later, Brady Ferguson broke through with the first of his three goals. Robert Morris had a 3-0 lead going into the third and all the momentum.
“That was a big turning point in the game,” head coach Derek Schooley said. “They have the breakaway at 2-0 and we come back after the whistle, come down and score a goal.”
Ferguson said that just knowing how solid Marotte has been all season kept the bench relaxed when things weren’t going the Colonials’ way.
“We know he can save the hard shots and the easy shots,” Ferguson said. “It definitely helps us on the bench. … We know he’s back there.”
Ferguson’s second-period goal was pure athleticism and skill as he raced into the slot to meet a deflection pass from the stick of Daniel Leavens. But his power play goal in the third period was more tactical, with the Colonials using a bit of video sleuthing to find something they could exploit.
“[Williams is] an amazing goalie; you can tell by his stats,” Ferguson said. “We watched video and you can just kind of tell that he plays back in his net. The power play goal, Timmy [Moore] screened him and he was pushed far back in the net. I just picked a corner.”
“We wanted to make him feel him uncomfortable in the crease. Canisius does a pretty good job of protecting the front of the net,” Schooley said. “We wanted to be around the net a lot and get a lot of traffic. Niagara scored a very similar goal to the one that Brady scored that we actually showed. We had a good net-front presence and backed him into his crease. We opened up some high [shots] because he wasn’t able to come out and cut down the angle.”
GRINDING IT OUT
The Colonials got a gutsy effort from the fourth line of Kyle Horsman, Alex Dagnal and Ben Robillard. They didn’t show up on the score sheet, but several times, they were able to maintain puck possession deep in the Canisius zone, frustrating the Golden Griffins’ comeback attempts.
“They played with a lot of energy,” Schooley said. “You want to keep the chains moving. You want them to make sure that you’re very smart — not having the last change — where you use them. … It’s going to be tough for them because they know they’re going to get some of their top guys. I thought they were good.”
TOP SEED DOWN … AGAIN
For the fifth consecutive season, the top seeded team in the AHC tournament will not win it, as the Colonials bounced the No. 1 Golden Griffins. The last two years, it was Robert Morris that was the upset top seed.
“I know how hard it is as the No. 1 seed to have your season ended here at Rochester,” Schooley said. “You feel like you’re a failure. … We dealt with it the last two years, so I know how they’re feeling.”
Canisius head coach Dave Smith doesn’t think there’s any jinx or magic involved.
“It’s very simple. It’s good teams,” he said. “The top seed is a marathon. This is a one game scenario. … The league is legit, and to win the championship, you have to be great on this weekend. We weren’t great tonight.”
Robert Morris will face No. 2 Air Force, which beat Army, 1-0, in the late game Friday night. Faceoff in the title game on Saturday is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
