Robert Morris (7-4-2 / 4-3-1) vs Penn State (7-8-0)
Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, at 4:35 p.m. / CONSOL Energy Center - Pittsburgh, Pa.
About Robert Morris - After extending their unbeaten streak to five games with a win over Penn State, Robert Morris now sits with an overall record of 7-4-2. The offense for RMU is clicking at a pace of 2.8 goals per game while the defense and goaltending is allowing an average of 2.5 goals per game. Seniors Adam Brace and Zach Hervato share the team lead with twelve points each. Hervato leads the Colonials with six goals while Brace and junior Colin South both have five goals a piece. Five different Colonials have recorded five or more assists and leading the group is sophomore Jeff Jones who has nine assists in thirteen games. Senior goaltender Eric Levine improved his record to 6-2-2 on the season while going unbeaten in his last six starts. In his ten appearances this season, Levine has a 2.17 goals against average to go along with a .942 save percentage.
Scouting Penn State - Penn State is 7-8-0 in its first season as a NCAA Division I member. The Nittany Lions' schedule in their first and only season as an Independent team has consisted of many Atlantic Hockey teams as well as a few Division III teams. Against Division I opponents only, the Nittany Lions are 5-7-0 with wins coming against American International, RIT, Army, Sacred Heart, and Air Force. The most recent victory for Penn State came over Division III opponent Fredonia by a score of 4-0 in the early days of December. Prior to the first meeting with Robert Morris, the Nittany Lions' most recent contests against a Division I opponent came as they traveled to Holy Cross for a two-game series. PSU would drop both games against the Crusaders, including an overtime loss in the first game of the series. Penn State is averaging 2.8 goals per game while allowing an average of 2.7 goals per game. The Nittany Lions have scored five power-play goals in sixty chances (8.3 percent) while the team has allowed twelve power-play goals to their opponents in 74 opportunities (83.8 percent). Freshman David Glen leads Penn State with sixteen points in fifteen games. Glen has registered a team-high eight goals and eight assists. The only other Nittany Lion to have double-digit points is freshman Casey Bailey who has tallied eleven points. Freshman, and McKees Rocks, Pa. native, Matthew Skoff has seen the majority of the action in net for Penn State. Starting in nine of the team's fifteen games, Skoff has a record of 3-6-0 with a 2.32 goals-against average and a save percentage of .926. PJ Musico has started the other six games this season with a 4-2-0 record to go along with a .918 save percentage and a 2.52 goals against average. Penn State is in their sixth year of recognizing men's ice hockey as a varsity sport, but the first since the 1946-47 season. The current Nittany Lion program got its start in 1971 as a club team before making the jump back to Division I this season. Head coach Guy Gadowsky is in his second season with the Penn State program after taking over in 2011 before the team's final season in the ACHA. Prior to becoming the head coach with PSU, Gadowsky was the head coach at Princeton University. Gadowksy also served as the head coach at Alaska-Fairbanks for five seasons prior to taking the Princeton job.
Road Woes - Robert Morris is just below .500 on the road since the team joined the Atlantic Hockey Association with a record of 19-20-6 as the squad plays in its third season as a member of the AHA. All-time, RMU has a road record of 50-86-15 as the team picked up its 50th road victory in program history over Penn State on Dec. 15. The Colonials have never had a winning record on the road, but this season RMU is currently 6-2-1 including a road victory against a nationally ranked Quinnipiac team in the season's first weekend. The Colonials also picked up their first ever win at RIT and the first win on the road against Canisius since the 2006-2007 season. The team then proceeded to take three of four points from Atlantic Hockey foe Holy Cross at the end of November. The most recent road victories came as the Colonials took down a pair of future Big Ten members in Ohio State and Penn State. RMU skated in to Columbus, Ohio and took down the Ohio State Buckeyes by a score of 3-2 on Dec. 7. and then went to Penn State and defeated the Nittany Lions by a score of 3-2 as well.
Quick Starts - The Colonials have registered a goal within the first five minutes of a period on ten different occasions in six of the team's first thirteen games. In games when the Colonials have scored an early goal in a period, RMU is 4-1-1. Senior Zach Hervato has four of his team-leading six goals scored in the first five minutes of a period.
The Story of the First Period - Robert Morris has scored 9 of its 37 goals in the first period. RMU is getting outscored by a single goal as the team has allowed ten goals in the first period this season. The first period is the only period that the Colonials have been outscored as Robert Morris has increased their scoring output in each period by scoring thirteen goals in the second period and fifteen goals in the third.
Top Heavy - Robert Morris' top two lines have shown up on the scoresheet almost every night. With 25 goals and 62 points, the two lines have produced 67.6 percent of the team's goals and 66.0 percent of the team's points this season. The first line of Wydo-Jacklin-Brace has twelve goals and sixteen assists. Following them is the line of South-Hervato-Jones which has netted thirteen goals while collecting 21 assists.
Weekly Honors - Five different Colonials have received weekly honors from the Atlantic Hockey Association during the 2012-2013 season. Most recently, senior goaltender Eric Levine was named Goaltender of the Week for the second time this season on Dec. 10. Levine turned in a 79-save weekend performance as a win and a tie against Ohio State extended the Colonials' unbeaten streak to four games. Levine's award marked the second consecutive week that a Robert Morris student-athlete earned a weekly accolade from Atlantic Hockey. Prior to Levine's honor, freshman forward David Friedmann was named the Rookie of the Week on Dec. 3 after his two-point performance against Holy Cross in which he returned to game action for the first time since Nov. 2. Friedmann was the second RMU freshman to earn Rookie of the Week honors as goaltender Terry Shafer earned the honor on Nov. 12 after he picked up his first career win and shutout as the Colonials picked up their first victory at Canisius since 2006. Line mates Zach Hervato and Jeff Jones earned Co-Players of the Week on Oct. 29 after their performances led Robert Morris to its first victory at RIT in program history. Hervato would contribute one goal and three assists while Jones would add a goal and two assists in the victory over the Tigers. The first Colonial to earn a weekly honor was Levine when he was named Goaltender of the Week on Oct. 15 after his 48-save shutout of #18 ranked Quinnipiac.
Classy Defenseman - Senior defenseman Brendan Jamison was one of twenty student-athletes named as a nominee for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award. The award recognizes achievements on and off the ice. A native of Pittsburgh, Jamison is a nominee field that will be cut down to ten finalists midway through the regular season. The winner will be chosen through a nationwide vote by media, coaches, and fans. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on student-athletes that use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact in their communities. As the team captain for the 2012-13 season, Jamison boasts a cumulative grade-point average of 3.70 and has been named to the Atlantic Hockey All-Academic Team in the two seasons that Robert Morris has been a member while majoring in both finance and accounting. In the community, Jamison and the entire Robert Morris team work with multiple youth programs in the area.
Men of the Century - Robert Morris has three players who have competed in at least 100 games during their NCAA career. Both Adam Brace and Brendan Jamison have each played in 110 contests during their careers. Brace played in 33 of those game during his freshman season with Canisius before transferring to Robert Morris. The most recent Colonial to surpass the century mark was Zach Hervato as he played in game 100 against Niagara on Nov. 17. With 23 games remaining in the season for the Colonials, two more student-athletes could join the century club. Junior forward Colin South has seen action in 79 games while senior assistant captain Tyler Hinds has played in 77 career contests.
Levine Nearing 1,500 Saves - Senior goaltender Eric Levine has 1,391 career saves and needs just 109 more saves to become the third goaltender in school history to reach the 1,500-save benchmark. Averaging 29.60 saves per game over his career, Levine would need to play four more games to reach the milestone. On his current pace, Levine would break the barrier on Jan. 5 on the road against Army. The most recent goaltender to reach the mark was Brooks Ostergard as he finished his career with 2,776 saves, the second most in program history. Levine currently ranks third on the career saves list, 1,385 saves behind Ostergard. Christian Boucher holds the career saves record with 3,244 saves over his four-year career that started with Robert Morris' first year of hockey in 2004.
