His speed drew him away from his pursuers and slowed down time as he dashed toward the goalkeeper. The shot went five-hole, trickling past the line after hitting the lower inside of the goalie\'s leg pads. The bench cleared to pile onto the weary hero, and with the win over Colorado State in the second round of the national tournament, Pitt\'s roller hockey team set a new precedent.

\"I stepped my game up and turned into the clutch player that the team needed me to be. Our game against Colorado State will be a memory for me to last the rest of my life,\" Abbott said. \"Five goals including the OT winner ... It was the best moment of my entire hockey career.\"

Expectations were high for the team after a very promising start but disappointing finish to the 2000 season with a surprise loss to Penn State-Altoona. This year, the team\'s strides to its second national championship appearance turned into stumbles, as the team lost five of its last nine games of the regular season.

Abbott and Pete Bartolomeo, two of the team\'s top forwards, could not attend the regional championships. The Panthers finished fifth in their division in both the regular season and the playoffs.

The team did receive an invitational bid after failing to secure one of three originally allocated to the Mid-Atlantic Region of the Collegiate Roller Hockey League.

Invited as the fifth and final team from the MAR, Pitt was dismissed as prey in the hands of the vicious competition. But the Panthers bounced back to finish in the elite eight of the national championship in Upland on April 8.

In fact, the squad finished with two losses, both to Lindenwood University, the national runner-up. The first loss came in the round-robin session, which Pitt finished with a 2-1 record. The two wins came against Ohio State and Texas Tech by scores of 5-2 and 6-1, respectively. The 11-5 trouncing Pitt received from Lindenwood in the round robin put the Panthers at a sixth seed to begin the elimination round.

The first battle came against Chico State, after that team\'s shaky start to the tourney. Its 0-1-2 round-robin record landed Chico State the 11th seed. Chico finished its regular season second in the Western Region.

Abbott scored four goals for the second game in a row to lead the Panthers to an 8-5 victory.

Colorado State awaited Pitt in the second round of the tourney.

Seeded third, last year\'s national runner-up suffered its only loss against Pitt last season when the Panthers handed them a 6-1 loss in round-robin play. Like last season, the odds were in Colorado State\'s favor again. The Rams\' 4-2 lead and their aggressive forechecking style kept the Panthers on their heels halfway through the contest. The Panthers needed to make a statement to advance. It was Abbott\'s five goals and one assist that rung out the loudest in the team\'s first ever elite eight finish.

Senior goalkeeper Colin McGrath\'s acrobatics in the second contest withered as Pitt suffered a 7-3 loss to Lindenwood and its sniper offense. The loss didn\'t turn any smiles into scowls, as the team reached the status of being one of the country\'s top eight teams.

\"Our team really displayed a lot of character given the adversity throughout the season,\" Abbott said. \"We pulled it together just in time to bring the University its most successful roller hockey team ever.\"

Abbott\'s 17 goals in the tourney gave him a clip of 2.83 goals a game, the largest ratio of any player at nationals, the second year in a row he has accomplished that feat.

As the last lights of the season dwindled into twilight, the team prepared to lose captain Abbott, goalie McGrath and defenseman Ivan Thomas to graduation in May.

\"The team has some very big shoes to fill for next year. I\'m confident, though,\" Abbott said. \"The character that the team has, and the heart and skill of a guy like Holzy [Kurtis Holzshu] should make us a contender again for the third straight year.\"