College hockey aficionado and Pittsburgh media personality Mike Prisuta contributes regular commentary on the RMU men's hockey team. This is his latest:Pittsburgh, Pa. – When last on the ice prior to last weekend's bye the Colonials were very good in the first period of Game 1 against Mercyhurst and even better in the second and third periods of Game 2 against the Lakers.
That they emerged with three points rather than four in the two-game series at the RMU Island Sports Center suggests they're still struggling with consistency in terms of how they want to play the game.
"It's not rocket science," head coach
Derek Schooley maintained once again during the Mercyhurst series. "It's put the puck in (the offensive zone), play against their defense and don't turn pucks over in the neutral zone."
When RMU strays from that approach, as it did in the opener against the Lakers, 2-0 leads after 20 minutes can degenerate into unsatisfying 2-2 ties after 65.
But when the Colonials play to their strengths and play with as much urgency as they do attention to detail, as they did in the second and third periods of the Mercyhurst rematch, 2-0 leads can balloon into three and four-goal advantages on the way to statement-making, 6-1 victories.
When the Colonials are flying in such a fashion, it's impossible not to recognize.
"It looks like only five shots (against) in a period, which I always like," goaltender
Terry Shafer said.
Shafer was referencing RMU outshooting Mercyhurst, 16-5, in the second period of the Jan. 23 rematch and increasing its lead to 3-0. The Colonials had done everything but score on three consecutive power-play opportunities, but rather than become frustrated at their inability to put the puck in the net they just kept coming and didn't stop until they were celebrating a 6-1 victory.
It had been a different story in the series opener on Jan. 22, as Mercyhurst cut its 2-0 deficit in half in the second period on the way to earning a 2-2 tie.
"You can always just tell when our team is clicking," Shafer continued. "The puck was in their end basically the whole second period. Most of the game we just played so well. We were playing fast, getting pucks deep, winning battles, making good first passes.
"It's really fun to watch. I've been watching hockey for a long time now and just to see when we're playing like that, it's pretty impressive. It's beautiful to see, to be honest with you."
That's the standard the Colonials will be out to match this weekend at Sacred Heart (7 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday).
RMU, 15-7-4 overall, leads Atlantic Hockey with a12-4-4 mark in conference that's good for 28 points. But RIT (12-5-3, 27 points), Air Force (11-5-4, 26) and Holy Cross (11-5-4, 26) are all in hot pursuit.
Sacred Heart is 10-14-4 overall and 8-11-3 in AHC play (eighth with 19 points). The Colonials swept the Pioneers, 6-3 and 5-4, on Nov. 28-29 at 84 Lumber Arena.
"We've been pretty inconsistent this year," defenseman
Chase Golightly said. "That's something we're definitely trying to work on. We're in first right now but it's a lot closer than we'd like. There are a lot of games we'd like to have back. All we can worry about is from here on forward."
The Colonials have shown "flashes," Golightly said, of their best hockey.
If they can consistently capture what they had when they were at their best against Mercyhurst they're going to be a tough team to beat in the season's stretch run.
"When we're playing our best it's easy out there, it's easy hockey," Golightly said. "The puck is moving, we're making the easy plays and it's a quick transition and we catch teams off guard. If we're going, it should look fast and it should look like we're making a lot of easy passes and it's just clicking."
The Colonials know what can happen when that happens.
And what can happen when it doesn't.Â
Â
