Buffalo, NY - Robert Morris University men's hockey is back in action following a bye week, with a two-game weekend series against Canisius College.

GAME INFORMATION
Robert Morris (1-1-0) vs. Canisius (1-3-0) at the HarborCenter, Buffalo, NY
RMU Game Notes   |   Canisius Game Notes

Friday 10.21.16       |   7:35pm
LIVE STATS   |   LIVE VIDEO ($)

Saturday 10.22.16   |   7:35pm
LIVE STATS   |   LIVE VIDEO ($)

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SCOUTING THE GRIFFS
The Griffins were 12-22-5 finishing tied for 6th in the AHC standings last season. Canisius was picked ninth in the AHC preseason coaches poll. Top scorers Shane Conacher (20-26-46) and Ralph Cuddemi  (20-22-42) depart the program, Cuddemi graduating and Conacher leaving early to play professional hockey. Canisius returns offense in junior Ryan Schmelzer (10-22-32) and sophomore Dylan McLaughlin who ranked 4th among AHC rookies in points (8-18-26). The Griffs have four goalies on the roster: two freshman Daniel Urbani and Blake Weyrick, Charles Williams, a fifth year transfer from Ferris State, and returning sophomore Simon Hofley. Canisius has scored just three goals in its first four games, by Geoff Fortman, Dylan McLaughlin and Nick Hutchison.

LAST TIME OUT
COLONIALS |
Robert Morris opened the season two weeks ago with a series split at RIT. The Colonials dropped the opening game 6-3 and rallied for a 6-5 win to close the weekend. Timmy Moore scored two goals in the loss while Brady Ferguson chipped in one. Dalton Izyk made 45 saves in net. Ferguson scored an RMU record six points in Saturday's win, including completing a hat trick with the game-winning goal. Eric Israel posted a five-point game while Alex Tonge scored his first & second career goals. Andrew Pikul made his first career start in goal. Freshman Francis Marotte appeared in relief, making 27 saves for his first career victory.

GRIFFINS |
Canisius split a pair of games at the Brice Alaska Goal Rush tournament, taking down Fairbanks 2-1 in overtime before dropping a 1-0 contest to Anchorage. Geoff Fortman scored the game-winner in overtime against Fairbanks. The Griffs were outshot 28-22, but won the faceoff battle 34-24. Charles Williams made 27 saves in the win. Daniel Urbani made 25 saves in the loss to Anchorage.



COLONIAL BULLETS
RECORD-SETTING START
In the second game of the 2016-17 season, Brady Ferguson and Eric Israel added their names to the RMU record books. Ferguson set a new program record for points in a game with 6 points on 3 goals and 3 assists. Israel matched the record for most assists in a game with 4, also tying the previous single-game points record with 5, now second in that category behind Ferguson.

CONFERENCE HONORS
If not for a two-hat trick weekend for Holy Cross' TJ Moore, Brady Ferguson would likely have taken home AHC Player of the Week for his performance against RIT. Eric Israel, however, did earn AHC Defensive Player of the Week honors, the first weekly award in his career.
 
POWER UP
The Colonials top power play unit put on a display in the opening weeked of play at RIT, scoring 5 power play goals during 12 power plays, taking 20 shots. The man-advantage squad is converting at 41.7% through two games.

BLOCK PARTY
Senior defenseman Rob Mann picked up where he left off in the shot-blocking department. Mann finished sixth in the nation with 94 blocks and fourth with an average of 2.52 blocks per game in the 2015-16 season. The senior captain blocked 6 shots in the season-opening series to lead the team. Eric Israel made 4 blocks while Timmy Moore and John Rey each chipped in 3. As a team, the Colonials blocked 33 shots against RIT.

FIRST THINGS FIRST
Several Colonials picked up career firsts in the opening weekend. Sophomore forward Alex Tonge scored his first and later his second career goal in Saturday's 6-5 win at RIT. Freshman goaltender Francis Marotte entered the game in the second period Saturday and ended up saving his way to his first career victory. Freshman forwards Luke Lynch and Matthew Graham each recorded first career points with assists. Freshman Graham, Lynch, Marotte, Jacob Coleman, Kevin Lavoie, Daniel Mantenuto and Sean Giles each played in their first career games.

CHASING 200
Head Coach Derek Schooley is 8 wins shy of reaching 200 career victories.
 

ROAD TO REVOLUTION
The all-access video series "Road to Revolution" continues this season, bringing fans an inside look at Colonials hockey. Here's the latest episode.