Erie, Pa. - Robert Morris University men's hockey heads into the semester break after a 2-2 tie on the road against in-state rival Mercyhurst.

After a scoreless first period, the Colonials drew first blood with a power play goal by sophomore defenseman Eric Israel 4:04 into the second. During a 5-on-3 power play, Brady Ferguson and Daniel Leavens tallied assists setting up Israel for the goal, his second on the man-advantage in as many nights. The point for Ferguson extended his point streak to 12 games.

Mercyhurst responded with a pair of goals coming two minutes apart, by Les Lancaster and Joseph Duszak, both at even strength, to give the Lakers a 2-1 lead.

The Colonials were able to tie the game back up before the second period came to a close. Timmy Moore and Alex Tonge picked up assists, moving the puck to Ferguson who blasted home his 14th goal of the season with another power play snipe. Ferguson leads the nation in power play goals this season with eight and is third in the NCAA scoring with 32 points through 18 games.



Despite outshooting Mercyhurst 45-25, including dominating play 16-5 in the third, the Colonials couldn't find the go-ahead goal and played through the third period and overtime to a 2-2 tie. Francis Marotte made 23 saves and the tie brings his record to 7-3-2. Marotte continues to lead the nation in save percentage with a .942 mark.

Robert Morris was 2-for-7 on the power play, bringing their season total to 25 power play goals, ranked second in the nation. RMU is third overall in power play percentage at 24.5%. The penalty kill was 5-for-5, holding the Lakers to just four total shots on their power plays. Sunday marked the third consecutive game the Colonials penalty kill held a perfect mark (16-for-16 over the last three games).

Robert Morris (9-6-3, 7-5-2 AHC) finishes the first half of the season tied for second place in the Atlantic Hockey standings. The Colonials return to action on December 29 and 30 at PPG Paints Arena for the Three Rivers Classic. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.

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