PITTSBURGH, Pa.  –The Robert Morris men's hockey team extended its unbeaten streak to six games on Friday night – tying the school record in a 2-2 overtime tie with Niagara. Senior forwards Nick Chiavetta and Trevor Lewis each tallied a short-handed goal in the second period to pace the Colonials while senior goaltender Brooks Ostergard made 47 saves to remain unbeaten in his last five games.
The Colonials (7-6-2 overall, 5-2-2 Atlantic Hockey) matched RMU's previous record of six-straight games without suffering a loss – originally set last season between 12/3/10-12/19/10.
Chiavetta (Harrisburg, Pa. / New York Applecore) and Lewis (Lititz, Pa. / Syracuse Stars) combined to set an additional program record in the tie as their pair of short-handed goals were the most in Colonials single game history. Chiavetta put Robert Morris up 1-0 at 14:42 of the second period when he rifled an attempt over Chris Noonan's shoulder for his fifth goal of the year. The senior, who improved his team-leading season point total to 12 on the goal, tallied a point in his sixth-straight game for the Colonials after being set up by junior defenseman Tyler Hinds (Orleans, Ontario / Nepean Raiders) and senior defenseman Josh Jones (Scenery Hill, Pa. / Hawkesbury Hawks).
Lewis would make it a two-goal game less than four minutes later when he and senior forward Ron Cramer (New Wilmington, Pa. / Indiana Ice) hooked up for another short-handed score at 18:09. The duo would feed a pair of passes back and forth deep in RMU's offensive zone before Cramer found his teammate in front of the net. There, Lewis lifted his shot over Noonan's should for his sixth goal of the year – tying freshman forward Scott Jacklin (Kimberley, British Columbia / Trail Smoke Eaters) for the team lead. Jacklin, meanwhile, would see his five-game goal scoring streak come to an end on Friday night – one game shy of setting a new program record.
Niagara (4-5-6, 3-2-5) would outshoot the Colonials 49-33 on the night and added a pair of third-period goals to force overtime. C.J. Chartrain notched a rare power-play goal against the Colonials at 12:52 for just the fourth power-play goal that RMU has allowed this year. The Purple Eagles were held to a 1-for-7 performance on the power play on Friday while Robert Morris was shut out in six opportunities. Ryan Rashid would notch the equalizer with 1:04 left in regulation to force overtime.
In goal for the Colonials, Ostergard (Chagrin Falls, Ohio / Bay State Breakers) tied junior goaltender Eric Levine's (Wheeling, Ill. / Pembroke Lumber Kings) season-high mark with 47 saves – also tying for the fifth most saves in RMU single-game history. The senior moved to 3-4-2 on the season and 3-0-2 in his last five games.
Robert Morris returns to action on Sunday with a 5:05 p.m. weekend wrap up against Canisius at Clearview Arena in the RMU Island Sports Center.
-Robert Morris University, 2013 NCAA® Frozen Four® Host Institution-
