PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Oct. 21, 2011 - The Robert Morris men's hockey team topped Quinnipiac 5-4 in nonconference action on Friday night at Clearview Arena, snapping the Bobcats' five-game winning streak in the process. Three Colonials had multi-point games in the win while senior forward Tom Brooks tallied the game winner for RMU.
Special teams would play a major factor in Friday's contest as the Colonials (2-2-0 overall, 0-1-0 Atlantic Hockey) went 2-for-5 on the advantage while shutting out its opponent's power play for the fourth-straight game. On Friday, Robert Morris went 5-for-5 while down a man - improving its season mark to an unblemished 15-for-15.
"We had a lot of energy and a lot of jump. Our penalty kill, we're not going to go one hundred percent the whole year, but we did what we needed to do," Colonials head coach Derek Schooley said. "We're happy with the win. At the end of the year, they won't ask how, they'll ask how many."
Quinnipiac (5-2-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) took a 1-0 lead in the first period with a goal from Spencer Heichman at 12:02 with an assist from Clay Harvey, but the Colonials wouldn't wait long to notch the equalizer. Sophomore forward Colin South (Sewickley, Pa. / Bay State Breakers) tallied his first goal of the year on RMU's first power-play opportunity of the night. Senior Ron Cramer (New Wilmington, Pa. / Indiana Ice) and freshman defenseman Tyson Wilson (Orleans, Ontario / Nepean Raiders) tallied assists on the power-play goal, which ended a drought of nine-straight opportunities for Robert Morris without a goal.
While the Colonials offense dug the team out of the early, one-goal hole, sophomore goalie Eric Levine (Wheeling, Ill. / Pembroke Lumber Kings) ensured it stayed that way heading into the first intermission. The netminder, who ended the night with 35 saves, made 11 saves in the first period - none more important than a breakaway stop on the Bobcats' Yuri Bouharevich.
The second period would be all Robert Morris as the Colonials built a 4-1 lead with three goals in the second stanza. Freshman forward Cody Cartier (Sylvan Lake, Alberta / Canmore Eagles) tallied his first career goal to open the period at 11:43 with assists from senior forward Trevor Lewis (Lititz, Pa. / Syracuse Stars) and senior defenseman Josh Jones (Scenery Hill, Pa. / Hawkesbury Hawks).
Senior forward Brandon Blandina (Centennial, Colo. / Indiana Ice) would extend the lead to 3-1 just under five minute later at 16:08 with his first goal of the year and Wilson would make it 4-1 with a goal with 1:41 left in the second on a diving attempt at the puck - his first score as a Colonial. Blandina's goal would come off assists from South and Lewis while junior forward Zach Hervato (Stittsville, Ontario / Smith Falls Bears) and South would record helpers on Wilson's power-play goal.
Quinnipiac would rally with a pair of early, third-period goals from Matthew Peca and Mike Dalhuisen at 0:23 and 1:42 of the third, respectively. But senior forward Tom Brooks (St. Louis, Mo. / St. Louis Bandits) would tip in a blast from the point by senior forward James Lyle (Nepean, Ontario / Smith Falls Bears) at 12:22 of the third for the eventual game winner. Junior blue-liner Brendan Jamison (Pittsburgh, Pa. / New Jersey Hitmen) also assisted on the goal.
The Bobcats would make it interesting late in the contest when Kellen Jones cut the deficit to one with an extra-attacker goal at 18:56. That's as close as Quinnipiac would get, however, as Levine and the Colonials would hold on to bring the team back to .500 in the record books. With the win, Levine improves to 2-0-0 on the year while Dan Clarke took the loss for Quinnipiac - falling to 3-1-0 on the season.
Robert Morris returns to action on Saturday with the series finale against the Bobcats. Clearview Arena will once again host tomorrow's action, which is set to start at 7:05 p.m.
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