History Made: Colonials Stun College Hockey World
By Mike Prisuta
www.rmucolonials.com
Jan. 11, 2010
Prisuta On Pucks Link
Pittsburgh, Pa. - Among the remarkable developments that conspired to produce a 3-1, 2-1 sweep for Robert Morris over No. 1 Miami, Ohio over the weekend was this:
The Colonials, for the most part, held their own against an NCAA finalist from the previous season, a team that had been ranked No.1 in the nation all season this season and one whose roster included seven NHL draft picks.
“The only real period where the ice was tilted all weekend was the first period on Sunday,” RMU head coach Derek Schooley said.
After beating Miami, 3-1, on Friday night at Mellon Arena in the Pittsburgh College Hockey Showcase, Robert Morris anticipated the RedHawks hitting the ice flying in Sunday afternoon's rematch in Oxford, Ohio.
The Colonials weren't disappointed.
“Our goal was to weather the storm and get out of that first period either tied or ahead,” Schooley said. “We were out-shot 17-3 and the attempts were 35-6 or something awful such as that, but we weathered the storm.”
It was 0-0 after that first period on Sunday at Steve Cady Arena.
And once Nathan Longpre opened the scoring with a 4-on-3 goal 11 seconds into the second, the Colonials were on their way to a sweep that almost defies description.
Denny Urban's unassisted power-play goal at 16:45 of the second countered a Miami power-play goal that had tied things up at 1-1 midway through the period.
After that there was just one more storm to weather.
The RedHawks out-shot the Colonials 14-2 in the third period but couldn't crack goaltender Brooks Ostergard, who wound up stopping 77 of 79 shots on the weekend.
“He made the saves he had to make and he threw a couple of big one in there,” Schooley said. “That's all you can ask of a goaltender, to make the saves he should make and then throw a couple of big ones in there that he shouldn't make.
“That's what Brooks did all weekend. He was just in a zone.”
Another critical element to the Colonials' unprecedented success was their ability to limit odd-man rushes for Miami against Ostergard, a facet of the game Schooley had emphasized heavily prior to the series.
One such drive to the net by Miami's Andy Miele on Friday night resulted in a penalty that produced a two-man advantage for the RedHawks, one that led to what turned out to be Miami's only goal of the game.
There weren't many other odd-man chances.
“We gave up a couple of breakaways here and there but we were much better on Sunday in limiting their odd-man rushes and quality scoring chances,” Schooley said. “We stuck to what we needed to do. We got pucks out, blocked shots, kept a third man high (on the fore-check).
“The things we asked our guys to do we did.”
Miami didn't score an even-strength goal in the two games and wound up just 2-for-14 on the power play, an area where Robert Morris had been especially vulnerable for much of the season.
And the Colonials were as opportunistic as they needed to be in both games, scoring on a short-handed breakaway (Chris Kushneriuk), a 2-on-1 (J.C. Velasquez) and during a delayed penalty (Stefan Salituro) on Friday night, and twice with the man-advantage on Sunday.
That's how a team with a 3-12-3 overall record knocks off a 13-2-5 team that's ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Twice.
In the immediate aftermath Schooley said he received 11 text messages and had seven missed phone calls “before we even got off the ice on Sunday.
“The president of our university (Dr. Gregory G. Dell'Omo) sent an email, and he's in Cancun,” Schooley said. “It's been a whirlwind.”
The players were given a well-deserved day off on Monday.
“I told our guys to hold their heads high and be proud of what they accomplished because we did accomplish something pretty special, something they'll remember forever,” Schooley said. “But now it's time to move forward and get ready for Alabama-Huntsville.”
