Veteran sportswriter, member of the WDVE Morning Show and hockey aficionado Mike Prisuta has been covering the Pittsburgh sports scene for over 20 years. He has covered Pittsburgh sports as a reporter for the Beaver County Timesand as a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and has had his pulse on the happenings of each of the professional organizations and college programs in the area. A graduate of Michigan State University, Prisuta got his start in the profession covering the Spartan hockey program and possesses knowledge of the college hockey world unmatched in the region.

Throughout the 2011-12 season, Prisuta will serve up weekly stories surrounding Colonial hockey as well as the latest notes and news around college hockey.

Prisuta on Pucks: AHA Quarterfinals Preview

After scoring the goal that finally put American International away and sent Robert Morris to Niagara for this weekend's Atlantic Hockey Association's best-of-three quarterfinal series, senior forward Brandon Blandina didn't so much celebrate as he did exhale.

“I really didn't know what to do,” Blandina acknowledged on Tuesday, two days after his goal at 2:13 of overtime in Game 3 against AIC allowed the Colonials to at long last survive and advance. “Even (on Monday), I was sitting in a movie theatre and it was still kind of surreal. I wasn't sure if I was dreaming.

“But I think we're all back in the swing of things. I think everyone's excited and everyone's ready to play Niagara.”

After splitting 5-3 and 7-5 verdicts in games 1 and 2 against AIC (the Colonials had to rally from a 3-1, third-period deficit to win Game 1), Robert Morris found itself leading 3-0 in the third period of Game 3. Things unraveled quickly from there, however, as AIC rallied for three consecutive goals, the last of which was scored with the goalie pulled and just 11 seconds remaining in regulation.

Blandina had been in the middle of that one, too, coming agonizingly close to clearing the puck after having taken a defensive-zone face-off, a clear that would have sealed the deal in advance of OT.

“We kind of split the draw,” Blandina recalled. “It went toward the center-hash (along the near boards). 'Chevy' (senior forward Nick Chiavetta) tried to chip it out of the zone and couldn't, and then I came out to the blueline and missed the puck by a few inches, it was literally inches. The kid got the puck to the other point and then I turned around and it was in the net.

“It was pretty upsetting.”

Added Chiavetta: “To have them score with 11 seconds left, I was just like … wow.”

Head coach Derek Schooley spent the first couple of minutes between the end of regulation and the start of OT alone, in the women's equipment room, in the dark, trying to collect his thoughts.

Blandina paced the hallway outside the Colonials' locker room.

Chiavetta and the rest of the team battled to regain control of their emotions and their focus.

“We had to regroup,” Chiavetta said.

Now that they have, there's momentum to be gleaned where fear, frustration and dismay had so recently threatened their season.

“To fight that kind of adversity, especially in the playoffs, it's a great thing,” Chiavetta said. “To get that done, we feel like we got a lot of momentum out of it and we know we can pretty much get through anything if we just keep working and playing our game.

“That's what we're going to do this weekend.”

Niagara and RMU have met three times previously this season. The teams skated to a 2-2 tie on Dec. 9 at the Island Sports Center (Niagara scored with the goalie pulled at 18:56 of the third to tie it) and Niagara won a pair of 2-1 decisions on Jan. 27-28 at Niagara. RMU is 2-2-2 against Niagara over the last two seasons.

“We feel very confident playing against them,” Chiavetta said. “As a senior, I've probably played against Niagara over 20 times. Going into Niagara's barn we feel very comfortable.”

So the Colonials have that going for them. And captain Trevor Lewis' eight-point weekend against AIC (1-7-8). And the hat trick Adam Brace scored in Game 1 against AIC (Brace had four goals in the series overall). And the goal Cody Wydo scored in Game 2, one that tied Chris Margott's RMU freshman record of 13.

RMU did it the hard way against AIC, but because RMU ultimately did it the right way the Colonials get to do it again against Niagara.

“I think it's something to rally behind,” Blandina said. “Good teams win even when they're not playing well. That's a testament of our will to win, that third game.

“We just need to rally behind that.”