Robert Morris University secured a 4-1 victory over Air Force in the second game of their Atlantic Hockey America quarterfinal series on Saturday at Clearview Arena in Pittsburgh. The result forces a decisive third game, scheduled for Sunday, March 8, at 5:05 p.m. ET. The winner will advance to the conference semifinals set for March 13-15.
Robert Morris (13-19-3) took an early lead by scoring twice within the first four minutes. Julian Beaumont opened the scoring at 2:48 with a goal from close range, followed just under a minute later by Dario Beljo’s shot from the slot at 3:36.
The Colonials extended their advantage midway through the second period when Patrick Johnson capitalized on a rebound at 9:44 to make it 3-0. Later in the period, Luke van Why scored after intercepting a pass and skating down the slot, increasing Robert Morris’s lead to four goals at 17:50.
Air Force (18-14-4) responded early in the third period as Chris Hedden netted his team-leading twelfth goal of the season. Freshman Hayden Nichol won an offensive zone faceoff before Hedden converted with a wrist shot from high in the slot at 1:40, reducing RMU’s lead to three.
“They came out and kicked our butt,” said Air Force head coach Frank Serratore. “They played with a desperation that we knew they would. We didn’t match their intensity and they imposed their will on us. We needed to survive that, but by the time the game settled, we were down 2-0. We need to be better tomorrow. It’s all about tomorrow. They showed us tonight how badly they don’t want their season to end. How badly do we want our season not to end? We will find out.”
Air Force held a slight edge in shots on goal, finishing with 34 compared to Robert Morris’s 31 attempts. Dominik Wasik made 16 saves for Air Force during the first two periods before junior Carter Clafton stopped another eleven shots in the third period. Charlie Schenkel recorded the win for Robert Morris with 33 saves on 34 shots faced.
Neither team was able to convert on special teams; Air Force went scoreless on two power play opportunities while successfully killing all three of Robert Morris’s man advantages.
