Pittsburgh, Pa. – Robert Morris University men's hockey heads back across town without the "three-peat," falling just short of another Three Rivers Classic Championship, as the No. 11 Providence Friars earned their first title with a 2-1 victory.
 
Providence came out heavy in the first period, firing 18 shots and managing 32 shot attempts, holding RMU to six shots on goal in the first 20 minutes. Colonials goaltender Francis Marotte held off the bulk of the storm, making 17 saves in the opening frame. The Friars struck first with a goal by Scott Conway, his second of the tournament, with 6:37 left in the first.

Robert Morris would find more of its offensive swagger in the second period, outshooting Providence 11-8 in the stanza and 20-12 the rest of the way. Freshman Ryley Risling fired home a goal past Hayden Hawkey, the only goal surrendered by the Friars netminder in the two-day tournament. Freshman defenseman Nick Jenny and senior forward Brady Ferguson each earned assists on the tally, which came 3:52 into the second.

The Colonials nearly escaped the second with a 1-1 score. The Friars scored a power play goal with 2:09 left in the period. Pittsburgh Penguins 2016 2nd round draft pick Kasper Bjorkqvist chipped in a puck from under Francis Marotte to put Providence ahead 2-1. Marotte made the stop on a blast by PC's Brian Pinho, but Bjorkqvist was able to keep it moving into the goal.

Neither team scored in the third. Robert Morris controlled more of the play in the final frame, holding Providence to just four shots in the third. The Colonials were 0-for-6 on the power play and went 1-for-2 on the penalty kill. The teams combined for 37 blocked shots, 17 by the Colonials, including three from captain Alex Bontje. Ferguson and Luke Lynch each fired four shots on goal but couldn't cash in for the equalizer. Marotte totaled 28 saves, allowing just two goals in the tournament.

2017 Three Rivers Classic All-Tournament Team: 
F Brian Pinho – Providence*
F Brady Ferguson – Robert Morris
F Scott Conway – Providence
D Jacob Bryson – Providence
D Joey Raats – Arizona State  
G Nick Kossoff – Lake Superior State
*- Denotes MVP

"After we got our feet under us, I thought we were really good," said head coach Derek Schooley after the game. "Frustrating that we didn't come home with our fourth championship and third in a row, but that's a good team and if we play like that, with that effort and that passion that we did for the last 40 minutes, we're going to win a lot of hockey games."

Robert Morris (8-12-1, 7-7-1 AHC) is back in action on January 9 at Niagara University for a 7:05pm Atlantic Hockey tilt and the Colonials will see nothing but conference play the rest of the way.


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