Men's Hockey | 12/18/2015 8:58:00 AM

College hockey aficionado and Pittsburgh media personality Mike Prisuta contributes regular commentary on the RMU men's hockey team. This is his latest:

Moon Township, Pa. – For the first time this season, Derek Schooley started the same goaltender in both games of a series during last weekend's home-and-home series with Canisius.

Terry Shafer started but didn't finish.

The 6-0 shutout Shafer posted last Saturday night at the RMU Island Sports Center was his second in a row this season and the sixth of his career, a program record.

But Shafer wasn't able to make it to the start of the second period of Sunday's rematch, and the 6-2 loss the Colonials ultimately absorbed revealed much about where Robert Morris stands entering the Christmas break.

"Terry had back-to-back shutouts, he was hot," explained Schooley, who had been waiting for either Shafer or fellow goaltender Dalton Izyk to take over the net. "Dalton had not been seeing the puck like he had earlier in the year. We felt it was a good opportunity to start Terry again and give Dalton a break."

Shafter's night and Izyk's break came to an end with the Colonials trailing, 3-1, after 20 minutes at Canisius.

"Terry was left high and dry in front of the net by his team so we decided to make a change not because of Terry Shafter but as a wake-up call for the team," Schooley said.

It went unanswered. And the loss left RMU at 8-3-3, with 19 points and tied with Holy Cross for first place in the Atlantic Hockey Association.

At 9-4-3 overall, the Colonials' .656 winning percentage is good enough for No. 13 in the nation.

Given their experience, talent and the AHC Tournament and regular-season championships they've won the past two seasons, the Colonials expect more, individually and collectively.

They'll have that to chew on over a Christmas break that, as it turned out, began prematurely, and as they prepare for the Three Rivers Classic on Dec. 28 at CONSOL Energy Center and a showdown with No. 14 Penn State.

"We went on Christmas break (last) Saturday night after that 6-0 win," Schooley said. "We have to live with that until we play in the Three Rivers Classic. We've shown we have the ability to beat any team on any night but we need to see that consistency every game."

At least one member of this year's squad has been as consistent as he's been surprising.

Sophomore forward Alex Dagnal, who played on the Colonials' club team last season, appeared in his third and fourth games with the varsity against Canisius and scored his second and third goals of the season.

"Alex Dagnal does nothing but work hard," Schooley said. "He has an opportunity that he didn't have last year when he played for the club team and he doesn't want to let this opportunity pass.

"He's done everything that's been asked of him."

Dagnal dressed for the first time, Nov. 7, after the Colonials had been beaten by previously-winless AIC and scored his first collegiate goal. He dressed again the following Friday night at Army and didn't score, and didn't get into the lineup again until the opener against Canisius.

Dagnal's opportunity initially resulted from forward Ben Robillard undergoing hernia and hip surgery in the offseason, and from a decision by one of the Colonials' recruits not to join the team as anticipated.

"There was an opening and he was in school," Schooley said. "We told him he could come in for 30 days and we would evaluate where he fit in. He was the rookie of the year for the club team and the MVP in their league last season and he was in very good shape. He was prepared for the opportunity even though he didn't know he was going to get the opportunity, which says a lot about him as a player and as a person."

Former club goalie Ryan Gayso was RMU's No. 4 netminder in 2012-13 and John Walton was the Colonials' eighth defenseman/15th forward in 2013-14.

But Dagnal is the first player from RMU's club team to play for the varsity in an NCAA Division I game.

"Whether he's been in the lineup or not in the lineup his work ethic hasn't wavered," Schooley said. "His work ethic every day in practice is there. He doesn't take days off. It's a good story, but it's also a story every player in college hockey can learn from. He goes about his business, doesn't say much, comes to work and he's had success."
 
Tweet #ColonialPride