Henrietta, N.Y. – For the Robert Morris University men's hockey team, Saturday night was tailor-made for a letdown.

On Friday, the Colonials had clinched their first-ever regular-season conference title with a thrilling 4-3 comeback win at RIT, capped by Cody Wydo's winning goal with 10 seconds to play.

Nevertheless, with the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Atlantic Hockey Conference playoffs already locked up, the 19th-ranked Colonials sprinted out to a 3-1 lead midway through the game before falling 4-3 to hard-charging RIT at the Gene Polisseni Center.

The Colonials' program-record-tying unbeaten streak ended at nine, as Saturday was their first loss since Jan. 10. Since then, Robert Morris (21-6-5, 18-4-4 AHC) had won five one-goal games – two of those in overtime. This time, the close decision didn't go the way of the boys in blue.

"We've been playing with fire in these close games," head coach Derek Schooley said. "We've been fortunate to be on the winning side of them lately. We matched their energy, but we didn't get some of the bounces."

Timmy Moore, Greg Gibson and David Friedmann scored goals for RMU, which also saw its five-game road winning streak cut down. Goalie Terry Shafer stopped 36 shots, but a natural hat trick by RIT winger Brad McGowan made the difference in front of a lively crowd.

"I think we kept the (energy) up all night long, but they buried a few more of their chances," sophomore defenseman Rob Mann said. "I thought we handled the emotion well for the most part. It's tough coming into an exciting atmosphere after a bye week. It was a fun weekend to be a part of…it had a playoff feel."

After Gibson and Friedmann scored less than a minute apart to give the Colonials a 3-1 lead with 9:19 to go in the second period, McGowan netted the final three goals of the game, including the game-winner on a left-circle wrister three minutes into the third.

The game turned in the second, though, as McGowan scored on a deflection 31 seconds after Friedmann's goal to limit RMU's growing momentum. Matt Garbowsky set up McGowan for a sharp-angle power-play goal in the dying moments of the middle period to tie the game.

In all, the RIT top forward line of McGowan, Matt Garbowsky and Josh Mitchell combined for six points (4g, 2a).

"That line dominated play when they were on the ice," Schooley said. "They were outstanding and carried them to victory."

For the second straight night, the Colonials excelled in the blocked shot department, knocking down 24. It was an impressive display of desire for a team that had to play the final 55 minutes with 11 forwards after senior center David Rigatti went down with an injury.

"We spent a lot of emotion last night," Schooley said. "I thought that maybe after winning the title we might mail a game in, but we didn't. I was proud of our effort."

If there's one area in particular that went wrong for the Colonials, it was their marksmanship. They missed on 20 of their 58 shot attempts, frequently seeing pucks ricochet back the other way, to say nothing of sparing RIT goalie Mike Rotolo additional work.

"We missed the net too much," Schooley said. "We have to make the goalie make a save. In the first period we had nine misses and six shots (on goal). You do that and the puck's going to break out the other way. You can't keep the puck in their end that way."

Despite the misfires, RMU had an opportunity to tie the game when they drew back-to-back penalties with about seven minutes to play. However, the visitors couldn't capitalize on the sequence, which included a 55-second two-man advantage.

The Colonials also spent most of the final minute in the RIT zone with an extra attacker on, but time ran out on their latest comeback try.

One night after blocking 25 shots, RMU got in front of 12 in the first period alone on Saturday night. That sacrifice helped the Colonials survive an opening frame that saw RIT often on the attack.

Three Tigers power plays helped their offensive cause – including a 33-second two-man advantage in the latter stages. Shafer made nine stops in the period and also got some assistance from the iron, as Mitchell and McGowan both fired shots off the post.

The second period was a vast departure from the first, featuring six combined goals. The first was scored at 2:52 by freshman winger Moore, who ripped a one-timer off a right-wing pass from Friedmann. It was Moore's second goal in 14 NCAA games, both of which have come against RIT.

Mitchell tied the game at 9:41 by pulling the puck into his body and firing into the top-right corner from the slot, but Gibson restored the RMU lead just seven seconds later, hauling in a good pass from Tyson Wilson and beating Rotolo to the blocker side with a deadly wrister.

Gibson's third goal of the weekend didn't have much time to sit before Friedmann followed up with a tally of his own – his fourth point of the series. Brady Ferguson collected a loose puck behind the net and fed Friedmann on the doorstep for his 11th of the season at 10:41.

However, powered by an aggressive forecheck in front of the home crowd, the RIT attack proved too hot to handle at times.

"They're all over you," Mann said. "They send two guys in and their (defensemen) crash down when they see a scrum. You just have to keep it simple shift by shift and make the little plays to calm everything down."

The Colonials will get a chance to get back on track when they face Niagara in a home-and-home series to close the regular season. RMU starts the weekend on the road, traveling to Lewiston, N.Y., on Friday. The return leg is set for 84 Lumber Arena at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.