Columbus, Oh. - Robert Morris University men's hockey dropped the opening game of this weekend's home-and-home series with Ohio State by a score of 5-3.

The Colonials took a 2-0 lead before the Buckeyes battled back to gain the advantage. RMU tied the game in the second but OSU pulled back in front just before the end of the second, and the Buckeyes added a goal in a shot-filled third period to cap their 5-3 win.

Just over halfway through the first, RMU took the lead on sophomore forward Luke Lynch's fifth goal of the season and fourth in the last three games. Sophomore forward Matthew Graham fed the puck to sophomore defenseman Alex Robert who fired the shot on goal and the rebound came out to Lynch who put it past OSU's Sean Romeo.

Just 1:04 later, junior forward Alex Tonge made a two-line pass up ice to senior forward Timmy Moore who sniped the shot from the right faceoff circle over Romeo to give the Colonials a 2-0 lead. The goal marked the first this season for the team's assist leader Moore. Sophomore forward Daniel Mantenuto earned the second assist on the goal.

Ohio State quickly returned fire with a Tanner Laczynski goal 18 seconds later, cutting the RMU lead in half.

The 2-1 score held until the second period. Ohio State started the second on a power play and John Wiitala scored with just 14 seconds left before the Colonials would have killed the penalty off. A minute later, Eugene Fadyeyev took a feed from behind the net and cashed in for his first career goal, giving Ohio State a 3-2 lead.

With 10:25 left in the second, Mantenuto skated into the slot and ripped in his first goal of the season, a power play goal to tie the game at three apiece. Senior defenseman Robert Powers picked up the assist on the goal. With one goal and one assist, Mantenuto matched a career-high with a two point game.

Ohio State regained its momentum on a goal by Matthew Weis with just one minute remaining in the second.

Trailing 4-3 entering the third, Robert Morris and sophomore goaltender Francis Marotte fought off an onslaught of Buckeyes shots before one finally broke through. Austin Pooley scored his career first to put OSU ahead by two with 7:14 remaining. Robert Morris couldn't find the late comeback and Ohio State closed out the win.

The Buckeyes outshot RMU 45-27 including a 20-shot third period. Marotte made 40 saves, his third highest single-game performance. RMU was 1-for-4 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.

"I liked our energy, I liked our effort, I loved our start. I loved our fight," said head coach Derek Schooley. "Even when it was 3-2, we came back and made it 3-3, but you can't give good teams easy goals. We gave them four easy goals and they converted on them. You can't do that."

"We're close, but not good enough in certain areas every game."

Robert Morris (2-4-0, 2-3-0 AHC) returns home to host the Buckeyes in a Whiteout game at Colonials Arena, RMU encouraging fans to wear white. Fans can also Skate with the Colonials after the game. Bring your own skates or rent a pair for $3 from the Island Sports Center.

Saturday, Oct. 28, 7:05pm at Colonials Arena, Pittsburgh, Pa.
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