RMU Returns to Action at Sacred Heart

Pittsburgh, Pa. - Conference-leading Robert Morris returns from a bye week with a road series at Sacred Heart. The Colonials registered a 3-point weekend against Mercyhurst before the bye. Zac Lynch & Brandon Denham scored in a 2-2 tie in the first game of the series. In game two, six different RMU players scored including Greg Gibson notching his 100th point with a goal. Gibson finished the night with 3 points including an assist on a 3-on-3 goal. Goaltender Terry Shafer picked up his tenth win of the season. The class of 2016 is just two wins shy of becoming the winningest class in RMU history, currently with 78 victories.

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ROBERT MORRIS QUICK HITS
• Robert Morris is receiving votes in the USCHO.com poll and has been in the poll each week of the season.
• Robert Morris is in first place in Atlantic Hockey, with a one-point lead over second place RIT.
• The Colonials have three nominees for the Hober Baker Award: Brandon Denham, Greg Gibson and Zac Lynch.
• David Friedmann is a nominee for the Hockey Humanitarian Award.
• Zac Lynch & Tyson Wilson are among 20 candidates from men's ice hockey for the Senior CLASS Award.
• RMU sports 9 seniors who have each made an NCAA Tournament appearance and won the Atlantic Hockey regular season & conference tournament titles.
• The Colonials captain is redshirt-senior defenseman Tyson Wilson. Alternate captains are defenseman Evan Moore and forward Brandon Denham.
• Robert Morris is the third highest goal-scoring team in college hockey, netting 111 goals and is third in goals per game (4.27). RMU is fourth in points (296) behind #3 St. Cloud State, #5 Michigan, #4 Boston College.
• Zac Lynch was the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Month for November. Greg Gibson took home the honor in October and Dalton Izyk was goaltender of the month as well.
• RMU was picked to win Atlantic Hockey in preseason coaches & media polls. Zac Lynch a preseason all-star.

SCOUTING SACRED HEART
• Junior forward Justin Danforth was named the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week and Player of the Month this week. He earned his second Player of the Week honor in three weeks after having six points (3G, 3A) at UConn and Bentley. Danforth was named Player of the Month on Wednesday. He had 10 goals and eight assists in 11 games in January, including SHU's first hat trick since 2012 on Jan. 16 at Mercyhurst. Danforth is fifth in Atlantic Hockey in both points (32) and goals (16).
• Senior Zach Luczyk is currently on a six-game point scoring streak after having a goal and an assist at Bentley last weekend. Luczyk has four goals and three assists in the last six games, and has 11 points in the last 13 games. He also had a four-game point streak Nov. 13-21.
• Since being put together on a line Nov. 28, Justin Danforth, Jordan Minello, and Evan Jasper have combined for 53 points on 21 goals and 32 assists. The trio has combined for six points in a game four times, including at UConn on Jan. 26. They had seven points on three goals and four assists on January 9 when the Pioneers beat Army West Point 4-1.
• Sophomore forward Alec Butcher is tied with Evan Jasper for the team lead in assists with 18. Butcher is currently on a five-game point streak after having a goal and an assist last weekend at Bentley. During that stretch, Butcher has one goal and five assists. He's had five multi-point efforts this season.

SERIES HISTORY
The Colonials lead the all-time series with the Sacred Heart 14-0-1. Four of the last six meetings have been decided by one goal, going to overtime twice. RMU swept SHU in Pittsburgh earlier this season.

FIRST THINGS FIRST
The Colonials have 37 first period goals in 26 games, the most in college hockey. RMU is also second in the nation in second period goals with 39 including 13 on the power play. Robert Morris has 32 goals (86 points) in the first five minutes of a period, both NCAA-best marks. 15 of those 32 "first 5:00" goals have been power play goals.

FANTASTIC FOUR
Four of the top ten scorers in Atlantic Hockey are Colonials: Lynch (1st, 38 points), Gibson (2nd, 36 points), Denham (8th, 30 points), David Friedmann (10th, 27 points)

NATION'S BEST
RMU's power play is the NCAA's best, converting 32.4% of chances. The Colonials have more power play goals than any other team (36). Ten players have PPG; Brandon Denham has 7, Brady Ferguson & Greg Gibson have 6, Dan Leavens has 5, Zac Lynch has 4, Matt Cope has 3, Chase Golightly 2, Spencer Dorowicz, David Friedmann & Tyson Wilson each have one.

TEAM SCORING
Robert Morris is the third highest goal-scoring team in college hockey, netting 111 goals and is third in goals per game (4.27). RMU is fourth in points (296) behind #3 St. Cloud State, #5 Michigan, #4 Boston College. The Colonials rank 6th nationally in goal margin, outscoring opponents by 38, a margin of 1.46 goals/per game.

WALL OF DEFENSE
The Colonials are leading the nation in blocked shots with 477 blocks, the nation's top average at 18.35 blocks per game. RMU has registered 20 or more blocks in 10 of its' 26 games and the team is 7-1-2 when blocking 20 or more shots. Rob Mann is 6th in the nation in blocks with 66 blocks in 24 games played, fourth in blocks per game (2.75). Mann is 1st in the conference in blocks & in b/pg, with three others Colonials also in the top ten in Atlantic Hockey: Chase Golightly (5th with 46 blocks, 7th in b/pg with 1.77), Eric Israel (9th with 44 blocks, 5th in b/pg with 2.00), Tyson Wilson (10th with 42 blocks, 11th in b/pg with 1.68)

OFFENSIVE DEFENSEMEN
Wilson is the highest scoring defenseman in the conference with 20 points (2 G, 18 A), the fourth most points by a defenseman nationally, tied for 2nd in assists by a defenseman. Golightly is the third highest scoring defenseman in the conference with 18 points (4 G, 14 A), 13th nationally. Wilson and Golightly are 3rd and 10th in scoring by free agent defenseman nationally.

MAMA SAID SHUT YOU OUT
The Colonials have posted four shutouts so far this season, three by senior goaltender Terry Shafer, pushing him to the top of the Robert Morris recordbook for career shutouts with seven.

RECORD SETTER
In the month of November, Zac Lynch put together a streak of four consecutive games with shorthanded goals, an NCAA record. Lynch leads all active college hockey players with a total of 11 career shorthanded goals, also an program record. RMU is tied for the 2nd-most SHG this season with 6 (5 Lynch, 1 Gibson).

LYNCH LEAVING HIS MARK
Lynch is number two in the nation in career points among active players with 139 and is averaging 1.0 point per game for his career. Lynch is currently third in the nation in points this season with 38. The senior forward also has career marks ranking 4th in goals (60) and 3rd in assists (79). Lynch is also T-11th in career power play goals (17), T-32nd with 7 game-winning goals.

CHART-TOPPING CAREERS
Robert Morris has several other players ranked in the top 50 nationally in career numbers.
Greg Gibson is 9th in goals (56), 24th in points (102), T-41st in power play goals (10) and T-32nd in game-winning goals (7).
David Friedmann is 40th in points (88), 47th in goals (34), 38th in assists (54) and 15th in GWG (9).
Brandon Denham is 43rd in points (86), 40th in goals (38), 55th in assists (48) also tied for 32nd in GWG (7).
Tyson Wilson is 22nd in career assists with 62.

THAT'S A PLUS
Five of the top 10 +/- leaders in Atlantic Hockey are Colonials. 1st is Tyson Wilson (+27), T-2nd Zac Lynch and Greg Gibson (+17), T-6th Eric Israel and Matt Cope (+13). Wilson is 5th nationally, first among all defenseman.

BETTER WITH AGE
RMU has the oldest team in college hockey with an average age of 22 years, 121 days (as of 10/1).

ROAD TO REVOLUTION
Follow the Colonials throughout the season with a behind the scenes look at the program. Episode 12 "Warriors" shares the Colonials relation with the "It's About the Warrior" Foundation that helps post-9/11 veterans transition home.

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Players Mentioned

#28 Matt Cope: F; 6' 2"; Senior; Sr.

#44 Brandon Denham: F; 6' 4"; Senior; Sr.

#15 Spencer Dorowicz: F; 5' 11"; Sophomore; So.

#12 Brady Ferguson: F; 6' 0"; Sophomore; So.

#9 David Friedmann: F; 5' 11"; Senior; Sr.

#16 Greg Gibson: F; 5' 10"; Senior; Sr.

#4 Chase Golightly: D; 5' 10"; Senior; Sr.

#31 Dalton Izyk: G; 5' 11"; Junior; Jr.

#27 Zac Lynch: F; 6' 0"; Senior; Sr.

#6 Rob Mann: D; 6' 4"; Junior; Jr.

Players Mentioned

#28 Matt Cope
: 6' 2"; Senior; Sr.
: F

#44 Brandon Denham
: 6' 4"; Senior; Sr.
: F

#15 Spencer Dorowicz
: 5' 11"; Sophomore; So.
: F

#12 Brady Ferguson
: 6' 0"; Sophomore; So.
: F

#9 David Friedmann
: 5' 11"; Senior; Sr.
: F

#16 Greg Gibson
: 5' 10"; Senior; Sr.
: F

#4 Chase Golightly
: 5' 10"; Senior; Sr.
: D

#31 Dalton Izyk
: 5' 11"; Junior; Jr.
: G

#27 Zac Lynch
: 6' 0"; Senior; Sr.
: F

#6 Rob Mann
: 6' 4"; Junior; Jr.
: D