Niagara falls thanks to late goal
Alexandra Cardozo
Issue date: 11/19/08 Section: Sports
If there was one common word coming from the locker room of the Robert Morris University women's hockey team, it was insanity. The Colonials defeated Niagara with a buzzer beater at Mellon Arena during their appearance in the "Pittsburgh Hockey Showcase."
It was a game that these girls will never forget.
"It was the whole emotion of playing there, it was crazy insane, our girls on special teams pulled through and made it happen," said senior defenseman Jenny Monteleone on the team's over-all reaction to the exciting win.
The game was everything it could be. The mere of idea of playing in Mellon Arena was just what Monteleone said, crazy. By the end of the first period, it was going to be a strong game based on the emotion of the opening period.
Both teams played smart by not being called for any penalties throughout the first period. The Purple Eagles gained the lead by the end of the first, but this did not stop the Lady Colonials from connecting with the net towards the end of the second period when freshmen Brianna Delaney tied it up with help from Whittney Pappas and senior Samantha Ulrich. This marks Delaney's fifth of the season. The Colonials special teams did their job, killing off all three of Niagara's power plays.
Third period, one minute remaining, overtime looming for both teams and Morgan Beikirch, with 40 seconds remaining in the game, scores what ends up being the winning goal. The goal was Beikirch's second goal of the season.
"Hold on a sec, let me go back and reminisce for a bit," Beikirch said with a smile, "it was great to come through like that for the team in a clutch moment, I was actually really surprised that it went in, due to the fact that it got lost in my feet."
While the women's team defeated Niagara at the Mellon Arena, the men's team was not so lucky. They fell to their previous Pittsburgh Showcase opponent Ohio State University 4-0.
The following night, playing Niagara again was a memorable for Monteleone.
"I didn't know what to do, I was so excited and shocked, and the first person I came to was Traynor, it just made it that much more special," Monteleone said after scoring her first goal.
Kathryn Traynor, along side Ali Proodian was there to get the assists.
The Purple Eagles handed the Colonials their first conference loss that night, gaining the lead at the beginning of the third period and keeping the lead throughout the rest of the game at 3-2.
"We were disappointed that we lost our first conference game, though we pulled it off on Friday, we did not play like we hoped to," said senior goaltender Brianne McLaughlin.
It was a game that these girls will never forget.
"It was the whole emotion of playing there, it was crazy insane, our girls on special teams pulled through and made it happen," said senior defenseman Jenny Monteleone on the team's over-all reaction to the exciting win.
The game was everything it could be. The mere of idea of playing in Mellon Arena was just what Monteleone said, crazy. By the end of the first period, it was going to be a strong game based on the emotion of the opening period.
Both teams played smart by not being called for any penalties throughout the first period. The Purple Eagles gained the lead by the end of the first, but this did not stop the Lady Colonials from connecting with the net towards the end of the second period when freshmen Brianna Delaney tied it up with help from Whittney Pappas and senior Samantha Ulrich. This marks Delaney's fifth of the season. The Colonials special teams did their job, killing off all three of Niagara's power plays.
Third period, one minute remaining, overtime looming for both teams and Morgan Beikirch, with 40 seconds remaining in the game, scores what ends up being the winning goal. The goal was Beikirch's second goal of the season.
"Hold on a sec, let me go back and reminisce for a bit," Beikirch said with a smile, "it was great to come through like that for the team in a clutch moment, I was actually really surprised that it went in, due to the fact that it got lost in my feet."
While the women's team defeated Niagara at the Mellon Arena, the men's team was not so lucky. They fell to their previous Pittsburgh Showcase opponent Ohio State University 4-0.
The following night, playing Niagara again was a memorable for Monteleone.
"I didn't know what to do, I was so excited and shocked, and the first person I came to was Traynor, it just made it that much more special," Monteleone said after scoring her first goal.
Kathryn Traynor, along side Ali Proodian was there to get the assists.
The Purple Eagles handed the Colonials their first conference loss that night, gaining the lead at the beginning of the third period and keeping the lead throughout the rest of the game at 3-2.
"We were disappointed that we lost our first conference game, though we pulled it off on Friday, we did not play like we hoped to," said senior goaltender Brianne McLaughlin.
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