Pittsburgh, Pa. - The 18th-ranked Nittany Lions' offensive firepower was too much for the Colonials as Robert Morris University men's hockey fell 5-2 to Penn State at PPG Paints Arena on Friday night. Fans were entertained by a spirited bout between the in-state rivals, highlighted by heavy hits and tight back-and-forth action.

Penn State, the nation's shots on goal leaders, fired 78 shot attempts, registering 42 shots on goal. Despite a solid performance by goaltender Francis Marotte, who made 37 saves and often kept the Lions at bay, the loss marked the third straight for the Colonials, who now hold a 5-10-1 overall record.

Robert Morris struck first with the Colonials leading scorer, junior forward Michael Louria, finding the opening tally with 6:49 remaining in the first. Defenseman Eric Israel fired a shot stopped by Penn State netminder Peyton Jones, but Louria scooped up the puck in the crease and lifted it past Jones to put RMU ahead 1-0 after one period. Junior forward Alex Tonge also picked up an assist on the play.

"I thought we had a really good first period," said head coach Derek Schooley. "I thought we played with a lot of energy and emotion and I thought we did a lot of good things."



The second period belonged to Penn State, which grabbed a 3-1 advantage after 40 minutes of play. Nate Sucese and Sam Sternschein scored in the opening half of the second frame, before James Gobetz made it a two-goal advantage with less than 90 seconds remaining in the period. The Lions totaled 30 shot attempts in the second period. Marotte made 27 saves across the first two periods, including a huge right pad stop on PSU's Alec Marsh with 3:01 to play in the second.

But it didn't take long for Penn State to increase its lead in the third. Just 34 seconds into the final stanza, Denis Smirnov potted home the power play goal on an odd bouncing puck, his seventh goal of the season, giving PSU a three-score advantage.

The Nittany Lions rode that momentum until Brady Ferguson cut the PSU lead to two, with his first even-strength goal of the season, seventh goal of the year, making it a 4-2 game. Seniors Timmy Moore and Alex Bontje earned assists, the first point of the season for Bontje and tenth for Moore.

Penn State extended its lead with a goal by Chase Berger to reclaim a three-goal advantage, capping the scoring at 5-2.

"I thought we got a little loose in the second and really what was the tipping point of the game was odd man rushes and not playing away from the puck," said Schooley. "Obviously on the last goal we were pressing and we got a bad bounce on the fourth goal. We played the whole first period, and then in spurts after that."

The loss for RMU was its tenth of the season, simultaneously marking the tenth win for Penn State.

The final shot attempts were 78-56, shots on goal 42-30 in favor of Penn State. The Colonials blocked 24 shots as a team, led by Israel with five, Ferguson, Bontje and Spencer Dorowicz with three apiece.

RMU went 1-for-4 on the power play and was 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.

Robert Morris, which holds a 4-3 all-time record against Penn State, is back in action against the Nittany Lions, on Saturday at 7:00pm for its first-ever appearance at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, Pa., the second-ever visit to PSU's campus. RMU played at Penn State's Greenberg Ice Pavilion in the Lions inaugural Division I season in 2012.

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