When the game had ended and the handshakes had been completed the Robert Morris Colonials assembled at center ice, tapped their sticks and raised them to the rafters in salute of the fans.

The tradition continued, even if the season would not.

The first home playoff game in the program's seven-year history turned out to be the final game of 2010-11, a record-setting campaign but one that ended in frustration via a 5-1 loss to Mercyhurst in the first round of the Atlantic Hockey Association Tournament.

It wasn't a 5-1 game anywhere but on the scoreboard.

"It hurts," forward Nathan Longpre said. "It hurts.

"We had our chances. We just didn't put it in the net."

Mercyhurst out-shot Robert Morris, but only by a 34-31 count. As for the scoring chances, the hits, the territorial edge, the penalties drawn and the penalties taken, all of that stuff was at least even.

The extent to which Robert Morris threw everything it had at Mercyhurst had been personified by defenseman Denny Urban, who double-shifted throughout what turned out to be his last game with the Colonials.

Urban also played the power play and killed penalties.

Urban had to have played at least 30 minutes.

He might have played 35.

"Whatever it takes," he said, "just trying to get it done."

The Colonials came agonizingly close to doing so on a number of occasions, especially in a second period that began with Mercyhurst leading, 1-0.

A two-on-one with Urban and Longpre went awry while the teams were skating four aside.

Moments after that, a Longpre blast was denied and Urban fired wide after corralling the deep rebound.

Then came a charge to the crease by Brandon Blandina, who split the defense but couldn't dent the net (Blandina at least drew a penalty).

On the subsequent power play Longpre was unable to stuff one home from in close and Colin South couldn't finish from the slot on what could have been a tic-tac-toe goal after Urban and Longpre had provided the "tic" and the "tac."

Later still Longpre couldn't convert a pass from behind the net to the slot by Adam Brace.

That occurred just before Longpre was denied again on a partial breakaway.

And so it went.

Andrew Blazek rifled a wrist shot off goaltender Ryan Zapolski's shoulder. Brace found a pad with a wrister from the top of the right circle. Scott Kobialko broke his stick attempting a shot from the high slot with less than two minutes remaining in the period.

It was 3-0 Mercyhurst by then.

A short-handed goal by Trevor Lewis renewed hope at 1:59 of the third, but a counter by Mercyhurst forward Taylor Holstrom at 16:35 proved to be a back-breaker.  

"I thought we worked hard," head coach Derek Schooley said. "I thought we got a lot of chances, we just couldn't convert.

"They got bounces, they played a great road game and they played well with the lead. It's a shame that we had to end our season this way and I feel bad for our guys but in no way should we be disappointed in how we played.

"In a one-game knockout when you don't get the bounces and you run into a hot goalie you're going home."

As he left the Island Sports Center ice for the final time Urban returned the applause being showered upon the Colonials by the sellout crowd, RMU's fourth in 2010-11.

It wasn't the way he intended to exit but the gesture was no less appropriate, even in defeat.

It had, indeed, been that kind of season.