NEVILLE TWP., Pa. — In a penalty-riddled affair on Friday night at RMU Island Sports Center, it was the No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes that made the most of a special team showdown and defeated No. 9 Robert Morris, 7-3.
The game was closer than the final score and Robert Morris controlled the game while at even strength. The problem was that was a scenario that was almost non-existent in the whistle-filled affair.
Ohio State went 4-for 10 on the power play as Robert Morris accrued 35 minutes of penalties.
“OSU had 12 penalties, we had nine. That’s insane.” said Robert Morris head coach Paul Colontino. “We want to look a little bit closer to see if we can be a little bit smarter, a little bit more disciplined. Giving our players the benefit of the doubt, it became a tough game to play in because it was hard to get a feel for what you could do in the first period and what you could do in the third.”
Brittany Howard cashed in on a short-handed opportunity in the third by firing a shot that slammed into Ohio State goaltender Kassidy Sauve’s shoulder pad, bounced into the air and landed in the back of the net.
The Colonials powerplay showed promise while seeing plenty of action, but wasn’t able to finish the job. An extended 5-on-3 in the second period yielded their best opportunities on the night, but they were not able to beat the quick-moving Sauve.
BAILEY RETURNS
The Colonials have had a rich history of being able to rely on goaltending depth, and this year have enjoyed a breakout season from goaltender Elijah Milne-Price. Lost in the shuffle has been goaltender Lauren Bailey. Bailey has been idle since Oct. 21, when she allowed two goals on six shots in a game against Brown. She entered the game at the beginning of the second period in relief of Milne-Price, who allowed four goals on the nine shots she faced.
Bailey, a Freeland, Michigan native, was able to contain the Ohio State attack in her return. She stopped 18 of the 21 shots the Buckeyes put on net.
NO EXCUSES
There are several factors that could explain the slow start for the Colonials on Friday with Colontino calling his timeout midway through the first.
“This isn’t us, we came out pretty flat, a little bit hesitant, not to say a little bit gun shy.” Colontino explained. “We almost had the deer in the headlights where [we had to] snap out of it. We were soft in all of the areas. We went out and wanted to see what was going to happen.”
“Obviously, we want no excuses,” Howard said. “We want to come out and compete against these top ten teams. Tomorrow we want a full 60 [minutes] instead of 50 minutes. We’re going to be ready off the start tommorrow.”
FOURTH LINE … AGAIN.
For the second consecutive game, the Colonials received production from the fourth line of Aneta Ledlova, Anjelica Diffendal, and Emily Harley.
Aneta Ledlova scored in the second, getting the Colonials on the board by walking in from the right circle and firing a shot low on Sauve. Diffendal scored her second on a low-percentage shot in the third, throwing the puck slowly along the goal line and bouncing it off of the inside leg pad of the Buckeyes goaltender. They each assisted on the others goals.
NOTEWORTHY
Brittany Howard won 24 faceoffs while losing 16 for a .667 win percentage on the night. She led the Colonials in shots on goal with eight. … Kirsten Welsh was ejected at the 9:06 mark of the third period for a contact to the head penalty, an infraction that occurred off a faceoff. … The Colonials fired 64 attempts on Sauve while Ohio State had 50 attempts. The Buckeyes blocked 23 shot attempts.
SECOND CHANCE AT No. 5
Robert Morris and Ohio State will finish the two-game series on Saturday at 2:05 p.m. at the Island Sports Center. They will then move on to face the Mercyhurst Lakers at home Dec. 1 – 2. The popular “Skate with the Colonials” will return after the 5:05 start on Saturday.
