Pittsburgh, Pa. - Robert Morris University men's hockey lost to Mercyhurst 4-3 in overtime Saturday night at 84 Lumber Arena. In true rival fashion, the Colonials and Lakers exchanged both goals and penalties throughout the contest. 

After a scoreless first period, both RMU and Mercyhurst's offenses found the back of the net in the second. Sophomore defenseman Eric Israel led the Colonials with a goal and an assist, firing the shot that gave Robert Morris a 1-0 lead. With the Colonials on the power play, Brady Ferguson passed to Israel who fired a slapshot from just above the circles and Timmy Moore deflected the puck past Colin DeAugustine for his seventh goal of the season.

Mercyhurst responded just 63 seconds later with Jonathan Charbonneau's first goal of the night, tying the game 1-1.

With 7:28 remaining in the second, Israel cashed in for his fourth goal of the season. Israel fired the puck off a Lakers player and it flipped past DeAugustine into the goal. Ferguson tallied his second assist of the game, winning the faceoff before Israel's shot, bringing his league-high scoring total to 30 points. Ferguson now has points in eleven consecutive contests.



Charbonneau again had the answer for Mercyhurst, tying the game 2-2 five minutes later with his second even-strength goal of the night. The Lakers pulled ahead on a goal by Stephen Hrehoriak with 1:07 left in the second, giving Mercyhurst a 3-2 lead at the period break.

Five minutes into the third period, Israel nearly tied the game, rining a shot off the crossbar 30 seconds into a 4-on-4 opportunity. Just past the midway point of the frame, senior defenseman Rob Mann scored his first career power play goal to tie the game 3-3. Spencer Dorowicz and Luke Lynch picked up assists on the goal. Mann has recorded a point in three straight games. 

In the overtime frame, Andrew Pikul made a save to hold the Lakers off the board with 42 seconds left. After the ensuing faceoff, Mercyhurst crowded the corner of the net and Derek Barach pushed the game-winning goal through with 28.7 seconds remaining. Pikul made a career-high 38 saves in his first-ever loss, topping the 37 saves the junior made in a tie with 11th-ranked Ohio State earlier this season.

Pikul made 17 saves in an impressive first period effort that included 10 blocked shots, six of which came on the penalty kill. Robert Morris was a perfect 6-for-6 on the penalty kill and converted 2-of-9 power play opportunities. Mercyhurst took 13 penalties, totaling 42 minutes, while RMU took nine penalties for 26 minutes. The Colonials racked up 18 blocked shots, five of those by Israel who finished the night with a goal, an assist, four shots, five blocks, plus-one and zero penalty minutes.

Robert Morris (9-6-2, 7-5-1 AHC) and Mercyhurst (7-9-0, 7-6-0 AHC) take the rivalry up I-79 for a 4:05pm contest on Sunday. Fans can follow the action with live stats, video stream ($) and the Colonials social media accounts.

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