A scoreless game for over 41 minutes erupted into a third-period shootout that saw Bentley overcome Robert Morris, 3-2, on Friday afternoon.
The Colonials were in search of their first-ever back-to-back wins, but it was not to be after they fell behind the Falcons, 3-0, in the third period.
Canisius’ Anthony Canzoneri got the scoring started 1:16 into the third period, breaking open a scoreless tie by collecting a loose puck in traffic and finding the back of the net.
Josh Thompson extended the lead to 2-0 at 11:08 of the third when he buried a rebound from a shot by Paul Markanian. The game looked all but over when Ryan Lessnau, who had assists on the first two goals, scored shorthanded after a poor clearance by Robert Morris sophomore goaltender Christian Boucher.
Lessnau’s goal made it 3-0 with 7:33 left in the game.
Robert Morris, however, came back with two power-play goals in the game’s final 3:48. Sophomore Brett Hopfe cut the lead to 3-1 after putting home a rebound from a shot by junior Doug Conley.
After pulling Boucher with 2:16 left on the clock, the Colonials skated with a two-man advantage thanks to a Bentley penalty.
The extra man paid off when senior Kurt Wright ripped a slapshot over Bentley goaltender Ray Jean’s shoulder with just seven seconds remaining, but that left too little time for another Colonial opportunity.
Boucher finished with 28 saves for Robert Morris while Jean had 39 saves for Bentley. The Colonials went 2-for-10 on the power play while holding the Falcons scoreless on five opportunities.
With the loss, Robert Morris drops to 1-2-0 on the year while Canisius improves to 2-1-0. The Colonials outshot Bentley, 41-31, including 21-13 in the third period.
The two teams square off again Saturday in a 5 p.m. start.
