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: Not the Team from Last Season
The big-picture objective was to respect not just the opponent but also the playoffs and the process, to embrace a series against a last-place, two-win team with the prerequisite win-or-else mentality.
Robert Morris hadn't necessarily done that a year ago in a first-round, best-of-three get-together with American International.
But the Colonials served notice last weekend against Sacred Heart that they are a different team this season, one apparently intent on crafting a different postseason.
“That question was answered very quickly,” head coach Derek Schooley assessed.
The Robert Morris response was that overtime in Game 3 wouldn't be required this time. Or even a Game 3, for that matter.
This time, the Colonials struck just 1:12 after the opening face-off on the way to three goals in the first 14:14 of Game 1 in what became a 4-1 triumph.
Game 2 saw Robert Morris snap a 1-1 tie just 2:22 into the second 20 minutes on the way to another three-goal period and, eventually, a 6-1, series-ending victory.
“Our guys were dialed in,” Schooley continued. “Theywere flying, doing everything the right way. We kind of announced our presence for the series, announcedthat we were going to be here and be ready to play.”
More of the same will be on the agenda this weekend in a best-of-three, Atlantic Hockey Association quarterfinal series at Connecticut (Friday and Saturday at 7:05 p.m., Sunday night at 7:05 if necessary).
The stakes have been raised (a trip to the AHA Final Four is at stake) and so has the caliber of competition (Connecticut finished fourth in the conference, two points ahead of Robert Morris).
On paper it's a toss-up, especially when factoring in the regular-season split between Robert Morris (20-12-4 overall, 13-11-3 AHA) and Connecticut (17-13-4, 14-10-3) on Jan. 11-12 at the Island Sports Center (3-2 UConn, 4-3 RMU).
“Two hard-fought, intense games,” Schooley recalled.
At least two more are anticipated this time around.
Robert Morris enters with a program-record 20 wins on the season and with a best-in-the-nation seven-game unbeaten streak (5-0-2).
Connecticut (4-0-1) is unbeaten in its last five, trailing only the Colonials and Michigan (5-0-1) in thatdepartment.
But that said Robert Morris will still be most interested in replicating the same approach, the same focus and the same attention to the details of its game it was able to unleash against Sacred Heart.
The Colonials didn't get to all of the above often enough in the second round against Niagara last seasonand were swept out of the postseason.
But as it established last weekend, Robert Morris is a different team this season.
“The guys that were here last year realized that no matter what playoffs aren't going to be easy,” Schooley said. “It's not going to be like the regularseason. Teams are going to give you their best shot and you have to be able to give teams your best shot.
“We're still so young; I think our focus leading into thefirst round was excellent. I thought we looked nervous going in but I think that's a sign of a mature team thatknows what's at stake. Getting off to a good start takescare of those nerves. Now, it's a matter of playing your game.
”We have good depth. All four lines scored on Friday night (against Sacred Heart) and all four played good minutes all weekend. We have six defensemen playing good minutes. And we have guys sitting that could be valuable contributors in these playoffs and have been valuable contributors this season.
“We're healthy and we're playing well at the right time.”
