#20 ROBERT MORRIS (24-7-5) vs. MERCYHURST (18-5-4)
Atlantic Hockey Conference Semifinal Game
Friday, March 20 at 5:05 p.m. | Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, N.Y.
LISTEN: Penguins Live | WATCH ($): AtlanticHockey.TV 
LIVE STATS: Sidearm | TWITTER: @RMUHockey

THE LEAD
ABOUT ROBERT MORRIS
- RMU improved to 4-0 all-time in home playoff series, including a pair of sweeps. The Colonials, who are now 8-3 in postseason games on the Island, finished the season with their best-ever home record: 14-3-2, including 10-2-2 in conference.
- Following a 4-2 comeback victory in Game 1 last Friday, the Colonials completed the sweep in a 6-3 Game 2 win Saturday. Greg Gibson and Zac Lynch netted two goals each on the night as RMU pulled away with a three-goal third period.
- Senior Scott Jacklin had a breakout weekend, ending an eight-game drought with a tally in each contest, plus an assist. Junior Lynch also emerged from a mini-slump with three points (2g, 1a) Saturday after a stretch of four scoreless games; he became the sixth Colonial to reach 100 career points.
- Sophomore goalie Dalton Izyk remained undefeated in the AHC postseason, improving to 7-0. He has stopped 230 of 245 shots during league playoff action, good for a .939 save percentage. Izyk was named to last year's AHC all-tourney team, along with teammates Gibson and Cody Wydo.
- RMU experienced all manner of drama in last year's semifinal against Niagara. Although the Colonials lost a 4-2 third-period lead, Jacklin's overtime goal advanced the program to its first league title game, where it defeated Canisius to qualify for the NCAA tournament.

MATCHING UP WITH MERCYHURST
- Fifth-seeded Mercyhurst stared into the abyss during its three-game quarterfinal victory over Bentley. The Lakers trailed 2-0 midway through the third period of Sunday's Game 3 before netting three goals in the final 7:48 to steal the series.
- Last year's regular-season champion Mercyhurst was selected to win the league in the preseason coaches' poll. However, the Lakers endured a pair of four-game winless streaks in an up-and-down second half that put them on the road in the quarterfinal round.
- Head coach Rick Gotkin's Lakers kept up their reputation as an explosive offensive squad, averaging exactly three goals a game - ranking third in the AHC and 18th in Division I. Three players topped 30 points, led by Daniel Bahntge's 35; Kyle Just (32) and Matthew Zay (31) were close behind.
- After an injury to last year's AHC Goalie of the Year Jimmy Sarjeant, freshman Brandon Wildung has taken over in net. He has posted a .923 save percentage and a 10-9-3 record in 22 appearances, 19 of them starts.
- This is just the second postseason meeting between these Pennsylvania programs. RMU fell 5-1 to the Lakers in a 2011 opening-round game at the Island.

PLAYER INTERVIEW
Senior center Jacklin talked about his productive weekend against Niagara and the excitement of advancing to Rochester again:



Cody For Hobey: After a program-record 31-goal, 54-point junior year, senior Wydo has paced RMU's attack once again, becoming the first Colonial to ever be a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. The Michigan native, who entered the season as the active Division I leader in goals, has 41 points (19g, 22a) in his first 34 games, ranking in the national top 20.

Gibson Catches Fire Again: After scoring three goals in a two-game Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal sweep of Niagara, junior center Gibson finds himself back in the same groove he found late last year. As a sophomore, Gibson scored nine goals in a 15-game span to help RMU's second-half surge; following the Niagara series, the Ontario native has seven goals in six games and 11 in his past 13.

The Race is On: Lynch and Wydo continue to duel for the program's all-time lead in shorthanded goals. Lynch took the solo lead with his fifth Nov. 22 at American International, but Wydo caught up with a shorthanded tally a win over Sacred Heart on Dec. 5. Wydo pushed ahead with his sixth career "shorty" Jan. 23 at Holy Cross, only to see Lynch tie him with a critical go-ahead tally late in an AHC quarterfinal game vs. Niagara on March 14.

Hanging Another Banner: With a record of 19-5-4 in Atlantic Hockey action, the Colonials claimed their first regular-season conference title in 11 seasons of Division I play. RMU's 42-point total in the AHC standings tied the 2012-13 Niagara team for the second-most in conference history. The Colonials clinched the title with three games to go after a 4-3 victory at RIT on Feb. 20.

The Fergie Flyer: Freshman Brady Ferguson was named to the Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team after posting 25 points (11g, 14a) in the regular season. The native of Lewisville, Texas, brought a sterling offensive reputation from junior hockey and delivered by setting a new program best for points by a freshman, surpassing Nathan Longpre's 2007-08 total.

Longevity in the Polls: The Colonials broke into the USCHO.com top 20 on Nov. 3, taking the No. 18 ranking. It was the first time RMU had a number next to its name since 2012-13. RMU bumped up to No. 17 on two occasions during the fall semester, matching an all-time high for the program in any national survey. As of March 16, the Colonials had been ranked in a program-record eight straight USCHO polls.

Five-Year Plan: Robert Morris has risen to national prominence over the past five seasons, all of which have seen the Colonials finish at .500 or better. Since joining Atlantic Hockey in 2010-11, RMU is 98-68-24 overall (.578) - the 13th-best winning percentage among 59 Division I teams over that span. 

Kudos from Atlantic Hockey: The Colonials have not only succeeded on a team-wide basis this season, they've also earned several individual honors. Wydo and Dalton Izyk earned Atlantic Hockey monthly awards in October, Daniel Leavens won player of the month for December and Lynch claimed the prize for January. RMU has won 16 AHC weekly honors in total this season; David Friedmann (two), Wydo (two), Rob Mann (two), Terry Shafer (two) and Izyk (three) have all won multiple weekly awards.

Fighting the Possession Battle: Thus far this season, RMU has launched 48 percent of the shot attempts in its games, a measurement known as Corsi. Judging by Fenwick, which factors out blocked shots, the Colonials stand at 50 percent. In terms of simple shots on goal, RMU has owned 52 percent of those.

GAME NOTES


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