Veteran sportswriter, member of the WDVE Morning Show and hockey aficionado Mike Prisuta has been covering the Pittsburgh sports scene for over 20 years. He has covered Pittsburgh sports as a reporter for the Beaver County Timesand as a columnist for thePittsburgh Tribune-Review and has had his pulse on the happenings of each of the professional organizations and college programs in the area. A graduate of Michigan State University, Prisuta got his start in the profession covering the Spartan hockey program and possesses knowledge of the college hockey world unmatched in the region.

Throughout the 2012-13 season, Prisuta will serve up weekly stories surrounding Colonial hockey as well as the latest notes and news around college hockey.

Prisuta on Pucks: The Journey of Adam Brace

To Adam Brace it was just another series of games.

He turned it into a weekend to remember, anyway.

The two goals and one assist Brace accounted for in RMU's 6-3 victory over Canisius last Saturday night elevated the senior winger's career point total at Robert Morris to 84, one better than Trevor Lewis' 83 and good enough to crack the top five on the Colonials' all-time points list at No. 5.

Brace might have had a hat trick, but rather than attempt a long shot at an empty net late he chose instead to make a safer play and chip the puck out of the RMU zone and ahead to teammate Cody Wydo, who in turn dented the unguarded cage.

“We're not really worried about points right now,” Brace explained. “We were just trying to get the win and seal it.”

Doing so against Canisius, the school from which Brace transferred to RMU after his freshman season in 2008-09, likewise mattered little.

“It was probably the last time I'll play them so it was nice to leave it at that,” Brace said. “But it was a long time ago.”

Long enough for Brace to have transformed himself as a player.

His combined plus 4 in RMU's 4-2, 6-3 sweep of Canisius left Brace alone atop the Atlantic Hockey Association at plus 20 for the season.

Brace's team-leading 33 points (12-21-33) aren't surprising. But the plus-minus mastery and his success as a penalty killer (Brace is tied for No. 1 in the nation with three short-handed goals) have revealed a “backside” to Brace's game that simply wasn't there when it first came time to select a destination to play college hockey.

Colonials head coach Derek Schooley was “kinda lukewarm” about Brace back then.

Schooley accepted Brace as a transfer after Brace's 23-point freshman season at Canisius (6-17-23) because “it was a good chance to take, a low-risk gamble.”

“I knew he had offensive skill,” Schooley continued. “One of the things that kept a lot of people from taking Adam (initially) was, what Adam was going to show up? I think that's why he didn't end up working out very well at Canisius. He didn't show up all the time. He's had those spurts where he's been in and out.”

“This year he's been really consistent. He works hard, shows up every day to practice and he plays as hard as he can in the games. It's been a completely different Adam Brace.”

One that's as appreciative for the opportunity he's received at Robert Morris as the Colonials are for all of Brace's multi-faceted contributions.

“It was a good opportunity for me,” Brace said. “It was tough coming in and sitting out (a season after transferring), not playing games. But Coach Schooley gave me a good opportunity and I tried to make the most of it.”

“I think I've done OK since I've been here. And I'm glad I'm here, for sure.”

Where Brace and the Colonials are headed is what matters most at present.

They take on Mercyhurst in their final regular-season series this weekend (7:05 p.m. Friday at the Island Sports Center, 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Mercyhurst) still battling for a first-round bye in the AHA postseason tournament.

RMU's 13-11-1 AHA mark is good for 27 points and fifth place in the conference, one behind fourth-place Connecticut and two behind third-place Holy Cross.

The top four finishers receive a first-round bye in the postseason.

Robert Morris is 18-12-2 overall, matching the 2010-11 team (18-12-5) for the most wins in a season in the program's nine-year history in NCAA Division I.

“We're on a bit of a roll,” Brace said of the Colonials, who will take on Mercyhurst as winners of three straight games. “Our goalie (Eric Levine) is hot, the defensemen are healthy and we're putting pucks to the net.”

“If we keep that up we'll be alright.”