Men's Hockey 11/26/2015 2:30:00 PM

Colonials Return Home to Host Sacred Heart

Pittsburgh, Pa. -- The Robert Morris University Colonials (5-2-3, 4-1-3 AHC) return home for a two-game Atlantic Hockey conference series with Sacred Heart University (5-6-2, 4-3-1 AHC).

WHEN: Saturday, November 28 at 7:05pm | Sunday, November 29 at 5:05pm
WHERE: 84 Lumber Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
LIVE STATS: RMU vs. SHU
RADIO: Not available Saturday
VIDEO STREAM: Saturday's game on Eversport ($) | Sunday's game on Eversport ($)
GAME NOTES: RMU Notes (.PDF) | SHU Notes (.PDF)

ROBERT MORRIS QUICK HITS
- Robert Morris is receiving votes in the USCHO.com and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls.
- RMU sports 9 seniors in the 2015-16 class, each making an NCAA Tournament appearance, winning Atlantic Hockey regular season & conference tournament titles.
- The Colonials are captained by redshirt-senior defenseman Tyson Wilson. Alternate captains are defenseman Evan Moore and forward Brandon Denham.
- The Colonials return seven of their top nine forwards from the 2014-15 team, all eight defensemen and all three goaltenders.
- Robert Morris is one of the highest-scoring teams in college hockey, scoring 44 goals in 10 games, lading the nation in goals per games played at 4.40
- Junior goaltender Dalton Izyk has been named to the Mike Richter Award watch list for the NCAA's top goaltender.
- RMU was picked to win the Atlantic Hockey conference in both preseason coaches and media polls. Zac Lynch was voted preseason all-star by the media.

SCOUTING SACRED HEART
- Sacred Heart head coach C.J. Marottolo is in his 7th season at the Pioneers' helm, leading SHU to the AHC quarterfinals in 2014-15.
- Goaltender Brett Magnus has started all 13 of the Pioneers games this season, with his last victory coming Nov. 10 at AIC. Magnus has a 2.27 GAA (2nd in AHC) & .921 sv% (4th in AHC)
- In 13 games, the Pioneers have scored 30 goals, adding 56 assists, averaging 2.31 goals per game and 30.1 shots.
- SHU has been outscored 31-30 and has struggled on the power play, scoring just 5 PPG in 39 chances, giving up two shorthanded goals.
- The Pioneers spend plenty of time in the penalty box, with 153 penalty minutes, giving up 8 PPG's, killing penalties at 85.2%
- SHU is led in scoring by Zach Luczyk and Justin Danforth, each with 9 points. Danforth is the leading goal-scorer with 5 goals, tied with Kory Kennedy (5G, 2A).
- Senior defenseman Jacob Brightbill is also an offensive talent with 4 goals & 4 assists, tied for second on the team in points with Evan Jasper & Alec Butcher.

LAST TIME OUT
The Colonials tied Army last Friday 4-4 but came back for a 5-2 victory Saturday. Brandon Denham scored 3 goals and 2 asssist on the weekend. Ben Robillard played his first game of the season on Saturday, netting the game-winning goal. Andrew Pikul's shutout minutes continued with 42:09 scoreless time on Friday.

The Pioneers tied Air Force 1-1 last Friday and lost to the Falcons 3-2 on Saturday. SHU gave up two goals in 15 seconds in the third, giving AFA the win. Zach Luczyk scored a power play goal in Saturday's loss and Jordan Minello netted a goal as well. Brett Magnus played both games in net and has started all 13 this season.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior forward Brandon Denham is the Atlantic Hockey player of the week for his 3-goal, 5-point performance at Army West Point. Denham is tied for the conference lead in goals (8) and goals per game (0.80) with fellow Colonial Greg Gibson. Denham is third in points in AHC with 14, behind teammates Gibson & Zac Lynch. Denham's 8 goals tie him for 5th nationally in goals, 17th in points.

FIRST THINGS FIRST
The Colonials have 20 1st period goals in 10 games, the most in college hockey.

ROAD WARRIORS
RMU is the nation's leader in scoring on the road with 29 goals away from home.

NATION'S BEST
The Colonials power play is the best in the NCAA, converting 31.4% of chances. Six players have PPG; Denham, Ferguson, Gibson, Leavens & Lynch each have 2.

GIBSON'S NATIONAL MARKS
Senior forward Greg Gibson was named the nation's player of the month for October, by the Hockey Commissioners' Association, the first such honor for a Colonials player. Gibson is currently tied for 4th in the nation in points (17), 5th in Goals (8), 4th in goals per game (0.80) and points/pg (1.70)

SHORTY GET DOWN, GOOD LORD
Zac Lynch scored two shorthanded goals against Army, besting Cody Wydo's 6 to set the new RMU program record for SHG with 8, also leading the nation in SHG.

LYNCH LEAVING HIS MARK
Lynch among the top active career performers in all of college hockey. The Pittsburgh native is tied for 3rd in the nation in scoring with 117 points, 4th in assists (68) and is 8th in goals (49). Lynch is also & tied for 10th in power play goals (15).

CHART-TOPPERS
Robert Morris has several other players ranked in the top 50 nationally in career numbers. Gibson is 12th in goals (45), 31st in points (83) and tied for 33rd in game-winning goals (6). David Friedmann is 45th in goals (29), and 25th in GWG (7). Tyson Wilson is 24th in career assists with 51. Brandon Denham cracked into the top 50 this week, at 48th in points (70) and 45th in goals (29), also tied for 33rd in GWG (6).

HOT LINE BLING
The Colonials top line of Leavens - Gibson - Lynch have combined for 45 points this season; 21 goals and 24 assists, they're the highest scoring line in Atlantic Hockey, third highest in the country, behind top lines at New Hampshire (49) & Boston College (46).

WALL OF DEFENSE
Rob Mann is ranked 5th in the nation in blocks per game (2.80), blocking 28 shots (12th) in 8 games. Mann is 3rd in the conference in blocks & second in B/PG. Tyson Wilson is 6th in the conference in blocks (23), tied for 25th for most points by a defenseman nationally (8) tied for 14th in assists by a defenseman (7).

THAT'S A PLUS
Five of the top six +/- leaders in Atlantic Hockey are Colonials. 1st is Zac Lynch (+15) 2nd Tyson Wilson (+13), 3rd Greg Gibson (+12), T-4th Chase Golightly (+11) and 6th Alex Bontje (+9). Lynch is 7th nationally, Wilson 10th, Gibson 13th. Wilson is 4th in the nation among defenseman, Golightly 9th. Wilson second among free agent defenseman.

TEAM SCORING
Robert Morris is one of the top scoring teams in college hockey. The Colonials have scored 44 goals in 10 games, averaging 4.40 goals per game, 4th best in the NCAA. RMU ranks 5th nationally in goal margin, outscoring opponents by 20 through the first 10 games. The Colonials are 7th in the nation in points (119) & goals (44).

SHOW STOPPER
Junior goaltender Dalton Izyk is ranked 4th nationally in win percentage (.875), 15th in save percentage (.933) and his 2.18 goals against average ranks 19th. Izyk is first in the conference in GAA and win%, second in sv% and has the fewest goals allowed (9) among those who have played at least 5 games.

IZYK REACHES MILESTONES
Dalton Izyk surpassed the 1,000 save milestone in a 34-save shutout of #10 Michigan, the fifth shutout of Izyk's career, tying an RMU record set by Eric Levine '13.

BETTER WITH AGE
Robert Morris has the oldest team in college hockey. The Colonials average age as of October 1 is 22 years, 121 days.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow Pittsburgh's college hockey team on social media using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by adding RMUhockey on Snapchat.

COACH'S CORNER
WATCH: Coach's Corner with Derek Schooley [11/25/15]

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Players Mentioned

#23 Cody Wydo: F; 5' 11"; Senior; Sr.

#2 Alex Bontje: D; 6' 1"; Sophomore; So.

#44 Brandon Denham: F; 6' 4"; Senior; Sr.

#9 David Friedmann: F; 5' 11"; Senior; Sr.

#16 Greg Gibson: F; 5' 10"; Senior; Sr.

#4 Chase Golightly: D; 5' 10"; Senior; Sr.

#31 Dalton Izyk: G; 5' 11"; Junior; Jr.

#27 Zac Lynch: F; 6' 0"; Senior; Sr.

#6 Rob Mann: D; 6' 4"; Junior; Jr.

#5 Evan Moore: D; 5' 11"; Senior; Sr.

Players Mentioned

#23 Cody Wydo
: 5' 11"; Senior; Sr.
: F

#2 Alex Bontje
: 6' 1"; Sophomore; So.
: D

#44 Brandon Denham
: 6' 4"; Senior; Sr.
: F

#9 David Friedmann
: 5' 11"; Senior; Sr.
: F

#16 Greg Gibson
: 5' 10"; Senior; Sr.
: F

#4 Chase Golightly
: 5' 10"; Senior; Sr.
: D

#31 Dalton Izyk
: 5' 11"; Junior; Jr.
: G

#27 Zac Lynch
: 6' 0"; Senior; Sr.
: F

#6 Rob Mann
: 6' 4"; Junior; Jr.
: D

#5 Evan Moore
: 5' 11"; Senior; Sr.
: D