SYRACUSE — Peyton Armstrong scored 2:01 into the second overtime to put Syracuse over Robert Morris 3-2 at the Tennity Ice Pavilion on Saturday. The Orange move on to face Mercyhurst in the Atlantic Hockey semifinals next weekend.
“I’ve never been as proud to be a coach of a team,” Logan Bittle said. “It seems silly because I’ve been a coach of some really good teams. This team could have easily mailed it in with how they finished, and they gave a good Syracuse team everything they could have ever thought of.”
Robert Morris routinely outplayed Syracuse once again, with the Colonials readily throwing everything they had at Orange net minder Allie Kelley and creating problems for a systemic offense.
Syracuse opened up the scoring in the second with a rising shot from junior Heidi Knoll, who found the net over the glove of Phillips at the 1:29 mark of the second. The majority of the action took place in the third as Phillips and Giannone gave Robert Morris the lead with just over nine minutes remaining. Saarela’s power-play goal with just under three minutes remaining forced the overtime period.
PHILLIPS IN NET
First-Year transfer Lucy Phillips made the surprise start in goal for Robert Morris, stopping 29 of 32 shots she faced.
“She was spectacular,” Bittle said. “It was kind of a last minute decision, [Maggie Hatch] is a little banged up, and for Lucy to step in and play like that was great. We asked our girls to do what they were doing and be themselves, and it was spectacular.”
UP NEXT
This concludes the 2024-25 season for the Robert Morris Colonials Women’s Hockey Program. Concurrently, it also concludes my time covering the team. I thank you all for following along for the past ten years, thank the program for allowing me the chance to bring coverage in multiple capacities over that time and I look forward to watching the future of the program from a different angle. I will see you “In The Rink”. Take care.
