Robert Morris University’s 60-save night: How RMU hockey flipped a playoff series and reached the AHA semi-finals

robert morris university didn’t advance by cruising through the first weekend of the AHA playoffs; it advanced by absorbing a double-overtime gut punch and then turning the series into a statement. After dropping Game 1 to the United States Air Force Academy in a 3-2 overtime decision, Robert Morris University responded with a 4-1 win and then a 5-2 clincher that featured a program-record 60 saves by freshman goaltender Charlie Schenkel. The reward is a best-of-three semi-final matchup in Fairfield, Connecticut, running March 13th to 15th.

Robert Morris University turns a double-overtime loss into a series win

The quarterfinals began with a result that easily could have defined the weekend the wrong way. In the opener, Tanner Klimpke scored twice in a 3-2 overtime loss, while Jackson Renieke and Michael Craig collected assists on the goals. The turning point detail in that game was on special teams: the Colonials’ penalty kill could not hold, and a short-handed goal opened the door for Air Force to push through and finish it in overtime.

What followed was less about a single bounce and more about a reset in tone. In Game 2, Robert Morris seized control with a 4-1 win that forced the decisive third game. Luke van Why, Patrick Johnson, Julian Beaumont, and Dario Beljo supplied the scoring; for Beljo, it was his first goal for the Colonials. The goaltending line was decisive: Charlie Schenkel stopped 33 shots and posted a. 971 save percentage, a performance that made clear the series would not be settled by one-night frustration.

Charlie Schenkel’s program-record 60 saves define the clincher

Game 3 had the kind of shape that can test any team’s nerve: a series tied, a season on the line, and a need to be sharper than the opponent at the exact moment fatigue and pressure crest. Robert Morris answered with a 5-2 win, but the scoreboard alone undersells the workload behind it.

Schenkel recorded a program-record 60 saves in the pivotal matchup, anchoring the effort as the Colonials shut down Air Force and pulled away. The goal support arrived from multiple points in the lineup: Michael Felsing scored twice, while Ryan Taylor, John Babcock, and Max Wattvil added one goal each. Wattvil’s tally marked his first as a Colonial, reinforcing the sense of depth that emerged as the weekend progressed.

From an analytical standpoint, the sequence matters: a. 971 save percentage in Game 2 and 60 saves in Game 3 suggest the series was won not only through finishing chances, but also through sustained defensive survival and elite shot-stopping when the margin for error narrowed. The team’s ability to “dominate” the third game, as described in the game account, reads less like a comfortable run and more like controlled endurance—absorbing pressure, then converting at key moments.

What the quarterfinal arc signals ahead of the AHA semi-finals

The immediate next test is clearly defined: the Colonials will face #2-ranked Sacred Heart University in the AHA semi-finals, a best-of-three series scheduled in Fairfield, Connecticut, from March 13th to 15th. That setting introduces a new level of intensity, with the format demanding not just a peak night but repeatable execution across multiple games.

There are two grounded takeaways from the quarterfinals that travel into the semi-finals without overreaching beyond the known facts. First, the group proved it can rebound inside a series after a draining loss; losing the first game in double overtime did not spiral into a collapse. Second, the weekend established a clear spine to the team’s playoff identity: reliable goaltending under heavy load and scoring contributions spread across several names, including first-time goals in meaningful spots.

None of that guarantees what comes next, and it shouldn’t be framed that way. But the quarterfinal story shows a team that needed three games to advance—and emerged with its most defining performance when elimination was closest. If robert morris university can pair that kind of goaltending with timely, multi-source scoring again, the semi-final series in Fairfield, Connecticut will test whether this weekend was a peak moment or the start of a longer run.