Box Score

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – October 11, 2013 - The Robert Morris University men's ice hockey team kicked off its tenth season on the road for the eighth consecutive season with an evening contest against Lake Superior State.  Despite a short-handed goal from Cody Wydo (Southgate, Mich. / Motor City Metal Jackets), the Colonials would start their tenth season with a 3-1 loss at the hands of the Lakers.

After leading the NCAA in short-handed goals with nine last season, Robert Morris (0-1-0) capitalized again while a man down.  Wydo, who netted three short-handed goals last season, made his first goal of the 2013-14 season a short-handed one.  Special teams would play a big role in the contest as two of Lake Superior State's (1-0-0) goals came with the man advantage.  On the other hand, RMU would not capitalize on any of its seven power-play opportunities.

Before the game was two minutes old, each team had already committed a penalty.  The trend of Colonials marching to the penalty box early in the contest would continue when they committed a second infraction just five minutes in to the opening frame.  Withstanding the power-play pressure of the Lakers, RMU would generate scoring chances while a man down.  Whether on the penalty kill or on the power play, the senior-laden defense of the Colonials stood strong in front of sophomore goaltender Terry Shafer (Penfield, N.Y. / New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs).  The defense shut down a pair of odd-man rushes for the Lakers that included a left pad save by Shafer, one of his 16 saves in the first period.

Robert Morris would get itself in to more penalty trouble with seven minutes remaining in the period as the Colonials committed two penalties to give Lake Superior State a two-man advantage for 72 seconds.  RMU would stay afloat down two men as Shafer bailed out the team with two saves before the Lakers got on the board first after the Colonials' initial penalty had expired.  Alex Globke would get the goal for Lake Superior State as he was positioned at the left post to capitalize on a rebound kicked out by Shafer.  The period would come to an end with the Colonials trailing, 1-0.

Just over a minute in to the second period, Robert Morris' deficit would double as a shot from the blue line floated past Shafer.  The shot by Matt Bruneteau made its way through traffic in the slot and the crease as Shafer was screened on the play.

The Colonials would get their own two-man advantage in the second period and they had 82 seconds to capitalize.  After the first few shots went awry, the best chance with the advantage came off of the stick of Tyson Wilson (Brockville, Ontario / Brockville Braves) who rung the post to the left of Kevin Murdock, the Lakers' goaltender, with a snapshot.

RMU would get on the board with just 21 seconds remaining while killing off its sixth penalty of the evening.  After clearing the zone, Greg Gibson (Burlington, Ontario / Amarillo Bulls) picked up the puck along the left wing boards and carried it into the attacking zone on an odd-man rush with Wydo.  Gibson's pass was deflected by the Lakers' defender but the puck made it to Wydo although he had to drag his stick behind him to pick up the puck.  Wydo then chipped the puck over the shoulder of Murdock as it fluttered over the line to make the score 2-1, which is how the second period would end.

For most of the third period, Robert Morris held control of the puck.  The pressure was start by the line of Matt Cope (Lakewood, Colo. / Wenatchee Wild), Brandon Denham (Milton, Ontario / Oakville Blades), and Gibson.  The trio hemmed Lake Superior State in their defensive zone while on the ice and created numerous chances around the net and in the slot.  Despite the barrage of pressure, Shafer came up huge stoning the Lakers on a breakaway after a turnover at the blue line.  Staring down the forward, Shafer stood tall and flashed the leather for a glove save that kept RMU within a goal of tying the contest.

The best chance for the Colonials to tie the game came in the form of a Laker penalty with less than eight minutes remaining.  Unable to capitalize on either of their two shots on goals, the Colonials would then take a penalty of their own with four minutes left.  With just four seconds remaining in the penalty, Lake Superior State would net its third goal of the game and second on the power play.  Possessing the puck along the goal line to the right of Shafer, Chris Ciotti flung a shot towards the net that squeezed between the arm and body of Shafer before settling just beyond the goal line.

As time expired and the Colonials suffered their first defeat of the season, 3-1, the two teams became involved in fisticuffs that resulted in 19 penalty minutes being handed out.

A trio of Colonials made their collegiate debuts in the loss.  John Rey (Turnersville, N.J. / Amarillo Bulls) was one of the three and was one of five Colonials to record a team-high three shots on goal.  Ben Robillard (Ottawa, Ontario / Ottawa Jr. Senators) and Daniel Leavens (Thornhill, Ontario / Newmarket Hurricanes) each recorded one shot on goal in their debuts.

While Shafer stood tall and made a career-high 32 saves, the defense in front of him blocked 14 shots.  The group was led by newly-named assistant captain Evan Renwick (Calgary, Alberta / Canmore Eagles) who put his body on the line to block a game-high three shots.

The Colonials look to right the ship after the season's first loss on Friday when they take to the ice for game two of the series tomorrow afternoon against the Lakers.  RMU dropped the season opener in a similar fashion last season, but rebounded against Quinnipiac after being shut out to then record its first win with a shutout of its own.  The second game against Lake Superior State is scheduled to start at 5:07 p.m.