Pittsburgh, Pa. - Robert Morris University men's hockey opened defense of its Three Rivers Classic title with a 1-0 shutout of Ferris State and a return trip to the championship game. The shutout was the first of his career for freshman Francis Marotte who posted 32 saves en route to his eighth win this season. Daniel Leavens scored the lone goal of the game and Robert Morris improved its record to 10-6-3 with the victory. The Colonials are playing in their fourth Three Rivers Classic championship game in the five years of the tournament, aiming for their third Confluence Cup against #14 Quinnipiac at 7:30pm on Friday night.

Robert Morris and Ferris State played a fairly even first half with the Colonials taking a 14-9 advantage in shots on goal, going 0-for-2 on the power play. Freshman forward Luke Lynch and sophomore defenseman Eric Israel each saw scoring chances come up just shy of goals. Israel broke up the ice and made a nice move to the net but Bulldogs goalie Darren Smith was able to get his right pad on the puck.

After a scoreless first period, the Colonials took a 1-0 lead at the 4:01 mark of the second. Brady Ferguson skated towards the right side of the net with the puck and saw an open Leavens who chipped the puck past Smith for his seventh goal of the season to give Robert Morris the lead. Lynch once again saw scoring chances in the second, including one shorthanded, but couldn't find the back of the net. With the assist, Ferguson extended his scoring streak to 13 games.

The low-scoring trend continued through the third period, with the Colonials missing on a handful of quality chances. Alex Tonge nearly doubled the RMU advantage on a breakaway attempt with 1:07 remaining. Marotte stood strong throughout the contest, including a kick-save on a would-be game-tying goal in the third period. Marotte holds his spot atop the NCAA with a .947 save percentage and remains fourth in college hockey with a 1.72 goals against average.
 
 
"What a way to get his first career shutout," said head coach Derek Schooley after the game. "I thought Franky was solid. He made the saves he had to make and mixed in a few big ones."

"Sometimes, holiday hockey gets a little sloppy and you get a little tired," Schooley said, "but when we had breakdowns, Frankie was good. There's going to be a lot of turnovers, because you aren't as sharp. You've only practiced a couple times. So we wanted to capitalize on their turnovers, and we wanted to limit ours. We definitely got some chances off turnovers."

"It's a good feeling," said Marotte of his first career shutout. "But like coach said, it was a team effort. The rebounds I did give up, the defense was there to clean them up. It made the job easier for me. It feels good. It would feel even better to get the win tomorrow. I think that's what we're looking for."

"I think everyone likes playing here," said Leavens. "That's no knock on other rinks we play in, but it's always an honor to come play in a building like this. And we get treated awesome by the Penguins staff and everyone in the arena. It's fun. We get to play some of the best teams in the nation. And to have the success we've had the four years I've been here, it's exciting. And tomorrow's my last one, so I'm going to embrace it."

Robert Morris will face Quinnipiac, a 3-1 winner over Boston College in the early game, in the championship matchup on Friday night at 7:30pm at PPG Paints Arena. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.com or by calling the Box Office at 412-642-1800. 

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