Pittsburgh, Pa. – Robert Morris University men's hockey raced out to a 2-0 lead in the first period en route to a 5-0 shut out of Lake Superior State University, clinching a spot in the Three Rivers Classic Championship game for the fourth consecutive season and fifth time in six of its hometown tournaments. 
 
Timmy Moore and Brady Ferguson opened the night with 3-point first periods, both with a goal and two assists, to set the stage for a well-balanced offensive night for the Colonials.

Not to be outdone, the defense not only chipped in on offense but blocked 14 shots, aiding sophomore goaltender Francis Marotte earn his third shutout of the season and fifth of his career. Marotte is now tied with 2013 graduate Eric Levine for third all-time in shutouts at RMU.

The first 20 minutes of the game were a dominating show from Robert Morris, a streatch head coach Derek Schooley dubbed "Welcome to Pittsburgh" when speaking with the media after the game. Moore put the Colonials on top 1-0 off a no-look backhand pass into the slot from Ferguson, 7:06 into the game. Sophomore defenseman Sean Giles picked up an assist on the play, his second of the season.

Five minutes later, Ferguson and Moore connected again, this time setting up linemate Alex Tonge for his sixth goal of the season. Ferguson slid a pass from the left circle through the slot to Tonge on the backdoor to put the Colonials ahead 2-0.

RMU would get one more before the period came to a close. Ferguson took a backhand pass from defenseman Robert Powers and skated end-to-end, dancing through the Lakers defense and sniping a shot past LSSU netminder Mareks Mitens to pop the water bottle and put the Colonials in front 3-0 through 20 minutes of play.

Robert Morris allowed just four shots by the Lakers in the first period, while racking up 17 shots of its own.

Freshman defenseman Nick Jenny ripped a shot over Nick Kossoff, who replaced Mitens for the remainder of the game, scoring his first NCAA goal and giving the Colonials a 4-0 advantage.

The first four goals of the game for the Colonials were all at even strength. That changed when Luke Lynch lit the lamp on the power play with 7:13 remaining in the second. Pretty passing from Spencer Dorowicz to Matthew Graham set up the Lynch tally, his 12^th of the season, tops for RMU.

Lake Superior managed just 10 shots on goal through the first two periods.

The Colonials held court the rest of the way, keeping the Lakers off the board through the final horn. Final shots on goal were 38-19, Robert Morris doubling up on Lake Superior.

Robert Morris went 1-for-9 on the power play, putting up 15 shots on the man advantage. The Colonials penalty kill was 4-for-4, the fifth blemish-free outing of the season.

The Colonials (8-11-1, 7-7-1 AHC) will face No. 11 Providence in the Championship game on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 7:30pm. The Friars also earned a shut out on their way to the title tilt, blanking Arizona State 6-0.

Tickets for the 2017 Three Rivers Classic can be purchased from the PPG Paints Arena DICK'S Sporting Goods Box Office, currently 50% OFF by using this link on Ticketmaster.com 


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