Men's Hockey 12/27/2015 11:27:00 AM

THREE RIVERS CLASSIC: Tournament Preview

Colonials bring 9-4-3 record into fourth annual tournament in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, Pa. -- The Robert Morris University men's hockey team returns to action at the Three Rivers Classic at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh. Head Coach Derek Schooley's Colonials (9-4-3, 8-3-3 AHC) are tied for first place in the Atlantic Hockey Association standings. The Three Rivers Classic is one of two tournaments in the span of a week for the Colonials, who travel to Hanover, New Hampshire for Dartmouth College's Ledyard Classic on January 2-3. Robert Morris opens the Three Rivers Classic on Monday against in-state rival Penn State. RMU is 3-2-0 in the all-time series with the Nittany Lions, most recently defeating PSU 4-2 on December 29, 2014 at last year's Classic.

THREE RIVERS CLASSIC SCHEDULE
Live Stats will be available for each game
Monday, December 284:30pm #8 UMass Lowell vs. Clarkson
7:30pm (RV) Robert Morris vs. #14/15 Penn State
(Robert Morris Radio Feed | Penn State Live Video Stream)
Tuesday, December 29 4:30pm Consolation game - #14/15 Penn State vs. Clarkson
7:30pm Championship game - (RV) Robert Morris vs. #8 UMass Lowell
(Robert MorrisRadio Feed)

TICKETS: Available on Ticketmaster

GAME NOTES: Robert Morris (.pdf)|Penn State (.pdf)|UMass Lowell (.pdf)|Clarkson (.pdf)

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Twitter: @3RiversClassic

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ROBERT MORRIS QUICK HITS
Robert Morris is receiving votes in the USCHO.com poll.
Robert Morris is tied for first place in the Atlantic Hockey standings.
RMU sports 9 seniors who have each made an NCAA Tournament appearance and won the Atlantic Hockey regular season & conference tournament titles.
The Colonials captain is 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 70 goals (191 points) in 16 games, tied-2nd in the nation in goals per games played at 4.38
Zac Lynch is the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Month for November. Greg Gibson took home the honor in October and Dalton Izyk was goaltender of the month as well.
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 Atlantic Hockey in both preseason coaches and media polls. Zac Lynch was voted preseason all-star by the media.

SCOUTING THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
#14/15 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Guy Gadowsky is in his fourth year as Head Coach of Penn State's varsity program, notching his 50th win at the Lions helm in PSU's 6-3 win over Princeton before break.
The Lions are 11-2-3 overall, ranked 14th in the USCHO poll and 15th by USA Today.
Penn State brings a program record nine-game unbeaten streak into the Three Rivers Classic tournament.
Penn State and RMU are tied for second nationally in goals per game, each club averaging 4.38 tallies per contest.
PSU's power play scores at a 30.4% clip, second to only Robert Morris' 35.4%
Penn State outscores its' opponents by a 2.06 goal margin with a .097 shooting %
The Nittany Lions take more shots than any team in the country at 44.9 shot per game clip, averaging 16.06 more shots per game than their opponents.

#8 UMASS LOWELL RIVER HAWKS
Head Coach Norm Bazin is in his fifth season, leading UML to three NCAA Tournament appearances.
UMass Lowell is ranked 8th in both the USCHO and the USA Today polls and has been nationally ranked for 77 consecutive weeks. Of those 77 weeks more than half, 49, have been spent in the top ten.
The River Hawks are 10-3-4, in first place in Hockey East (6-2-3 HEA) through 17 games.
Seventeen different players have scored goals, Senior Adam Chapie leads the team with eight. C. J. Smith (7g, 10a) and Chapie (8g, 9a) lead the team with 17 points.
Senior goalie Kevin Boyle has started all 17 games for the River Hawks and has a 1.74 GAA and a .939 Sv%.
UMass Lowell has scored power play goals in 11 of 17 games and in nine of their last 11.

CLARKSON GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Casey Jones is in his fifth year as Head Coach at Clarkson, with a 65-80-24 record overall.
Sophomore Sam Vigneault leads the Knights offensively with 13 points on five goals and eight assists through 15 games.
Junior A. J. Fossen is Clarkson's leading goal scorer with seven, and has recorded 12 points. He has connected for five power-play markers and has three two-goal games.
The Knights' power play has not connected on the man-advantage over the past nine games (0-25) and is 0-22 in ECAC Hockey. Overall, Clarkson is 9-51 (17.6%) on the power play.
Four current Knights are NHL Draft picks: James de Haas (2012 Detroit - 6th rd), Terrence Amorosa (2013 Philadelphia - 5th rd), Troy Josephs (2013 Pittsburgh - 7th rd), Kelly Summers (2014 Ottawa - 7th rd).

PENNSYLVANIA PUCK
A total of 14 players who call the Keystone State home are on the tournament rosters. Robert Morris sports a pair of Pittsburgh players, senior forward Zac Lynch and sophomore forward Alex Dagnal. Penn State carries seven PA natives on its' roster, including Steel City locals - freshman forward Matt Mendelson and senior goaltender Matthew Skoff of McKees Rocks. UMass Lowell has a trio of talent from Pennsylvania, including forward Michael Louria of Wexford. Clarkson sports two Western PA goaltenders - senior Greg Lewis of Mars & junior Steve Perry of Ligonier.

FROM COLLEGE HOCKEY, INC.
"Seniors leading RMU -The Pittsburgh Penguins may have struggled offensively this season, but the goal lights at CONSOL Energy Center could get a workout this week. Penn State and Robert Morris enter their semifinal in the Three Rivers Classic tied for second nationally in goals per game. The Colonials are led by an impressive senior class that has accounted for 64% of the team's 191 points and has 26 more points than any other group of seniors in the country."
Most Points, Seniors
123 - Robert Morris
97 - St. Cloud State
90 - Providence
73 - Penn State
61 - Minnesota Duluth

FIRST THINGS FIRST
The Colonials have 26 1st period goals in 16 games, the most in college hockey.

FAB FIVE
Five of the top ten scorers in Atlantic Hockey are Colonials: Lynch (1st - 25 pts), Gibson (3rd - 21), Denham (5th - 19), Brady Ferguson & David Friedmann (T-7th - 17)

NATION'S BEST
RMU's power play is the NCAA's best, converting 35.4% of chances. The Colonials have more power play goals than any other team (23). Eight players have PPG; Brandon Denham, Brady Ferguson & Zac Lynch have 4, Matt Cope, Greg Gibson, Dan Leavens have 3. David Friedmann & Chase Golightly each have one.

ROAD WARRIORS
Robert Morris is the nation's 3rd highest road scoring team, tied with North Dakota, scoring 36 goals away from home. RMU is 2nd in goals/per game on the road (2.25)

RECORD SETTER
In the month of November, Zac Lynch put together a streak of four consecutive games with shorthanded goals, an NCAA record. Lynch leads all active college hockey players with a total of 10 career shorthanded goals, also an RMU record.

WALL OF DEFENSE
Rob Mann is ranked 5th in the nation in blocks per game (2.57), blocking 36 shots (15th) in 14 games. Mann is 2nd in the conference in blocks & first in B/PG. Chase Golightly is 7th in the conference in blocks (33) and 8th in b/pg (2.06). Tyson Wilson is 10th in blocks (28) and 12th in b/pg (1.75), tied for 4th most points by a defenseman nationally (14 points) tied for 2nd in assists by a defenseman (13).

LYNCH LEAVING HIS MARK
Lynch is currently sixth in the nation in points this season with 25, third in career points among active players with 126. The senior forward is also 4th in assists (72) and is 6th in goals (54). Lynch is also & tied for 9th in power play goals (17).

CHART-TOPPERS
Robert Morris has several other players ranked in the top 50 nationally in career numbers. Gibson is tied for 13th in goals (48), 32nd in points (87) and tied for 38th in game-winning goals (6). David Friedmann is 40th in points (78), 41st in goals (33), 51st in assists (45) and 18th in GWG (8). Brandon Denham is 49th in points (75), 45th in goals (31), 56th in assists (44) also tied for 38th in GWG (6). Tyson Wilson is 20th in career assists with 57.

THAT'S A PLUS
Six of the top 10 /- leaders in Atlantic Hockey are Colonials. 1st is Tyson Wilson ( 15), 3rd Chase Golightly ( 12), 4th Zac Lynch ( 11), 5th Alex Bontje & Matt Cope ( 9), 10th Brandon Denham ( 7). Wilson is 10th nationally, Golightly 23rd. Wilson is 3rd in the nation among defenseman, Golightly 10th.

TEAM SCORING
Robert Morris is one of the highest-scoring teams in college hockey, scoring 70 goals (191 points) in 16 games, tied for 2nd in the nation in goals per games played at 4.38. The Colonials 70 goals in 16 games played ranks 2nd nationally, tied with North Dakota & Penn State, behind only St. Cloud State (77). RMU is 4th in points per game at 11.94, behind only SCSU, Boston College & Michigan. The Colonials rank 7th nationally in goal margin, outscoring opponents by 27, a margin of 1.69 goals/pg.

BETTER WITH AGE
RMU has the oldest team in college hockey with an average age of 22 years, 121 days (as of 10/1).

ROAD TO REVOLUTION
Follow the Colonials this season with 'Road to Revolution' - a documentary style weekly series giving fans an inside look at the Robert Morris men's hockey team on and off the ice. The latest episode (Ep. 8) features a behind-the-scenes look at the team from equipment manager Alex Mann and athletic trainer Tim Goldinger. All episodes are available in the Men's Hockey playlist on YouTube.

THREE RIVERS CLASSIC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
2014 TOURNAMENT
Day 1
#14 Colgate 2, Western Michigan 1
Robert Morris 4, Penn State 2

Day 2
CHAMPIONSHIP
#14 Colgate 6, Robert Morris 1
CONSOLATION
Western Michigan 4, Penn State 1

2013 TOURNAMENT
Day 1
#7 Boston College 5, Bowling Green 0
Penn State 3, Robert Morris 2

Day 2
CHAMPIONSHIP
#7 Boston College 8, Penn State 2
CONSOLATION
Bowling Green 4, Robert Morris 2

2012 TOURNAMENT
Day 1
#5 Miami 1, Ohio State 0
Robert Morris 6, Penn State 0

Day 2
CHAMPIONSHIP
Robert Morris 1, #5 Miami 0
CONSOLATION
Penn State 5, Ohio State 4

THREE RIVERS CLASSIC CHAMPIONS
2012 - Robert Morris
2013 - Boston College
2014- Colgate

THREE RIVERS CLASSIC MVP
2012 - Robert Morris G Eric Levine
2013 - Boston College F Johnny Gaudreau
2014 - Colgate G Charlie Finn

2016 TOURNAMENT FIELD
Robert Morris
Boston College
Ferris State
Quinnipiac

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Players Mentioned

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

#28 Matt Cope: F; 6' 2"; Senior; Sr.

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

#12 Brady Ferguson: F; 6' 0"; Sophomore; So.

#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.

#10 Tyson Wilson: D; 6' 1"; Redshirt Senior; R-Sr.

Players Mentioned

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

#28 Matt Cope
: 6' 2"; Senior; Sr.
: F

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

#12 Brady Ferguson
: 6' 0"; Sophomore; So.
: 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

#10 Tyson Wilson
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Senior; R-Sr.
: D