College hockey aficionado and Pittsburgh media personality Mike Prisuta contributes regular commentary on the RMU men's hockey team. This is his latest:

The Robert Morris Colonials checked a lot of boxes on the way to Rochester, N.Y., but not all of them.

No. 20 RMU's 4-2, 6-3 sweep of Niagara in an Atlantic Hockey Conference best-of-three quarterfinal series last weekend was encouraging, but it wasn't perfect.

And the Colonials' game wasn't quite what it'll need to be this weekend in the AHC final four.

"It was good enough when we were good," head coach Derek Schooley assessed. "The second period (of Game 2 last Saturday night) doesn't get us where we want to be.
"We gotta make sure we're doing things the right way."

Robert Morris saw a 3-1 lead degenerate into a 3-3 tie in the second period of Game 2 Schooley referenced.

But on either side of that the Colonials flashed the type of capability, combustibility, versatility and resiliency they'll need to advance past Mercyhurst in Friday afternoon's semifinal and then RIT or Canisius in Saturday night's championship game at Blue Cross Arena and earn a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The highlights for RMU against Niagara included:

- Killing eight of nine Niagara power plays on the weekend, including a 47-second 5-on-3 disadvantage followed by a 1:13 5-on-4 Purple Eagles power play in Game 1. The 5-for-5 penalty-killing effort in Game 2 included winger Zac Lynch scoring a short-handed goal that eventually stood as the series-winning goal at 4:30 of the third period of what was a 3-3 game.

- Scoring on an extended two-man advantage and then again on the subsequent 5-on-4 power play. Those two goals late in the first period broke a 1-1 tie in Game 2.

- Freshmen forwards Spencer Dorowicz and Timmy Moore each scoring a goal in Game 1. Freshman defenseman Alex Bontje and freshman center Brady Ferguson also held up in their first exposure to postseason pressure.

- Players who are counted upon to score goals scoring their share (center Scott Jacklin managed a goal in both games, center Greg Gibson and Lynch each netted a pair in Game 2).

- Goaltender Dalton Izyk robbing defenseman Kevin Albers on a breakaway to preserve a 3-2 lead in the third period of Game 1. Albers had broken in alone after escaping the penalty box following a failed RMU power play.

- The Colonials enjoying a significant advantage in scoring opportunities as graded by the RMU coaching staff, 28-11 in Game 1, 21-10 in Game 2 and 49-21 for the series (RMU's goal per game is a 16-10 edge).

- Starting fast both nights, even in Game 1, which the Colonials somehow trailed 2-1 after 20 minutes. Schooley's characterization of RMU's play at that juncture: "I thought we were really good."

- Winning third periods, something the Colonials did 2-0 in Game 1 and 3-0 in Game 2.

The exception to all of that mastery was the second period in Game 2, when the Colonials - up one game to none in the series and 3-1 in Game 2 - perhaps got a little comfortable.

"We didn't get pucks in (the offensive zone)," Schooley said. "We were turning pucks over in the neutral-ice area. We weren't getting pucks deep. We needed to play with pressure and we weren't doing that.

"We really got away from what we wanted to do."

What the Colonials want to do next is play six periods against Mercyhurst and then RIT or Canisius as well as they played for five against Niagara.

They'll show up in Rochester brimming with anticipation and with expectation toward that end.

"We're the No. 20 team in the nation," Schooley noted. "We're league (regular-season) champions. We're the defending playoff champions. We're going back to the (AHC) final four.

"It's time for us to do what we came into this season to do."

A Michigan State University graduate, Prisuta is a longtime member of the DVE Morning Show and previously served as a reporter for the Beaver County Times and as a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Follow Mike on Twitter at @DVEMike.