Pittsburgh, Pa. / Island Sports Center - Six different players registered multi-point nights as the Robert Morris University men's hockey team rolled to a 6-0 shutout victory over Penn State in exhibition hockey action at the RMU Island Sports Center Sunday afternoon. Colonials senior goaltender Joe Tuset (Eagan, Minn. / N. Michigan University) made 22 saves, including 10 in the third period, to secure the shutout.
Sophomore Chris Margott (Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Bay State Breakers) led all scorers with a goal and two assists. Junior Sean Berkstresser (Apollo, Pa. / Pittsburgh Forge) added two goals while freshman Parker Burgess (Calgary, Alberta / Olds Grizzlys) added a goal and an assist. Juniors Brett Hopfe (Didsbury, Alberta / Olds Grizzlys) and Chris Kaufman (Gig Harbor, Wash. / Helena Bighorns) and sophomore Jason Towsley (Lasalle, Ontario / Leamington Flyers) chipped in with two assists each.
The game also marked the debut of the team's alternate grey jerseys that prominently features the new Robert Morris athletics logo on the chest.
Robert Morris scored early in the first period as Margott tipped in a centering feed from Hopfe to give the Colonials the lead 3:28 into the game.
Berkstresser stretched the margin to 2-0 at 8:16 when his slap shot from the left circle ricocheted off the right post and in. Senior Doug Conley (East Amherst, N.Y. / Niagara University), who dropped the puck back to Berkstresser, Towsley were credited with the assists.
RMU built on the lead in the middle stanza with three goals, outshooting the visiting Nittany Lions 15-6 in the frame. Berkstresser scored his second of the afternoon when he shoveled home a rebound off the doorstep following a shot by Kaufman. Just 53 seconds later, the lead was 4-0 when junior David Boguslawski (Cottage Grove, Minn. / Tri-City Storm) crashed the net and put away a rebound from Hopfe's shot off the crossbar.
Senior Bryan Mills (Oakville, Ontario / Niagara University) then tipped in a centering pass from Margott on a 2-on-1 break, making it 5-0 as the team's headed into the second intermission.
Burgess scored the only goal of the third period with a solid hustle play. The rookie forward dove through the crease to get his stick on a rebound from a shot by Kaufman at 6:08 of the third period, making it 6-0. Freshman Tyler Webb (Austin, Texas / Fort McMurray Oil Barons) was also credited with an assist on the goal.
Penn State goaltender Nick Signet had 23 saves as host Robert Morris had a 29-22 advantage in shots including 24-12 over the first two periods. Matt Schwartz tallied four shots on net for the Nittany Lion Icers who went 0-for-10 on the power play. RMU had one goal in four power-play tries.
The Colonials return to regular season action with a two-game set at Quinnipiac beginning Friday, October 13, at 7:00 p.m.
