Pittsburgh, Pa. – After a one week layoff from action, the Robert Morris University men's hockey team returned to the confines of Clearview Arena on Friday evening to open their final series against No. 5 Bemidji State.
The Colonials, lead offensively by seniors Dave Cowan (Calgary, Alberta / Olds Grizzlys) and J.C. Velasquez (Clarkson, Mich. / Green Bay Gamblers), continued their trend of knocking off top-ranked opponents as they handed the Beavers a, 5-2, setback.
Sophomore netminder, Brooks Ostergard (Chagrin Falls, Ohio / Bay State Breakers), put forth an outstanding effort between the pipes as he made 43 saves, and allowed two goals.
With three minutes remaining in the first, Cowan broke the scoring drought as he tallied his first goal of the year from James Lyle (Nepean, Ontario / Smiths Falls Falls) and Velasquez to take a 1-0 lead into the second period.
At the end of one, the Beavers owned shots, 16-4.
Midway through the middle session, sophomore Ron Cramer (New Wilmington, Pa. / Indiana Ice) directed in a pass from Cowan and forward Brandon Blandina (Centennial, Colo. / Indiana Ice) to put Robert Morris up by two.
The Colonials continued their scoring surge with 58 seconds remaining in the second period as Nathan Longpre (Peterborough, Ontario / Mahoning Valley Phantoms) recorded his 12th of the year off a blast from blueliner Denny Urban (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Ohio Blue Jackets). RMU's third goal of the night came on a five-on-three power play opportunity at the 19:02 mark.
Heading into the final twenty minutes against the CHA's top squad with a 3-0 edge, RMU tacked on a fourth marker when Velasquez put a shot through the five-hole of BSU goalie, Dan Bakala. Helpers on the goal went to Cody Crichton (Palgrave, Ontario / Brampton Capitals) and Lyle.
With just over six minutes remaining in the contest, the Beavers finally broke through thanks to a goal from Tyler Lehrke to make the score, 4-1, still in favor of the Colonials.
Minutes later, the Beavers notched a second score on a power play opportunity to creep back within two at 15:53 with a short-handed goal from Jordan George.
As time continued to wind down, BSU pulled its goaltender for an extra skater. However, it proved to be a beneficial move for the Colonials as Longpre sealed the win and tallied his second of the night with the empty net score with over a minute to go. Scott Kobialko (Spruce Grove, Alberta / Camrose Kodiaks) and Urban added assists on the power play goal.
Overall, Robert Morris finished the night two-for-four on the man-advantage as Bemidji State had a 44-23 advantage on shots.
The Colonials now boast a 6-3 all-time record against teams ranked nationally in the top-eight.
Now 9-14-5 overall and 5-5-3 in CHA play, Robert Morris and Bemidji State will face off again tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m.
