UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The final score Friday night at Pegula Ice Arena didn't show it, but the Robert Morris University men's hockey team had No. 8 Penn State on its heels in the middle stages of what became a 7-2 loss.
Unfortunately for the Colonials, they gave a talented Nittany Lions squad too many high-quality scoring chances to pull out a victory. Now, Robert Morris (3-5-1) will have to win Saturday night at the RMU Island Sports Center to earn a split against their Big Ten foe
Alex Tonge and Grant Hebert scored in the second period for the Colonials, who have lost consecutive games for the first time this season. Meanwhile, Penn State (7-1-0) recovered from its first loss last Saturday by netting three goals in the second and three more in the third.
"I don't know whether to be mad or excited," RMU head coach Derek Schooley said. "I thought we were really good at times. We had some glorious chances. We outplayed them in spurts; it's just their skill took over when we made puck mistakes. We turned it over a few times in third period and they all ended up in our net."
Penguins draft pick Nikita Pavlychev paced the Nittany Lions' nation-leading offense on this night, scoring a pair of goals and adding two assists. The 6-foot-8 Russian connected on a power-play deflection midway through the second to cap a two-goal burst that put Penn State up 3-1 and squelching some RMU momentum.
After Penn State carried a 1-0 lead through one, Tonge tied the game 3:37 into the middle frame off a drop pass from freshman Nick Lalonde, but Lions freshman Aarne Talvitie scored exactly five minutes later to put the home team up for good.
RMU then quieted the rowdy crowd of over 6,000 when Hebert banged home his first NCAA goal from the low slot at 12:27. Fellow first-year collegian Justin Addamo earned the primary assist with incredibly powerful work below the goal line, eventually driving the net. Penn State goalie Chris Funkey poked the puck off Addamo's stick, but right to Hebert.
"(Addamo) is a workhorse down low, he's a big body and he used it there," said Hebert, who ended an eight-game scoreless streak to start his Colonials career. "He was working his defender for a while and the puck ended up on my stick. Lucky enough to bang it home there."
Following the Hebert goal, RMU spent several shifts buzzing Funkey's net. Tonge might've had the best chance to tie the score again when he surged in for a partial breakaway, but he was wrenched off the puck at the last moment, with no penalty called on Penn State.
That turn of events proved painful for the Colonials when PSU's Sam Sternschein ripped the puck away from Hebert near the left dot and flung a wrister under RMU goalie Francis Marotte with 3:35 remaining in the second. Then, Alex Limoges and Alec Marsh added insurance goals in the opening 7:38 of the third to salt away the result and trigger an RMU goalie change; freshman Reid Cooper handled the final 12 1/2 minutes in Marotte's place.
"We have to make sure we play better tomorrow with and without the puck," Schooley said. "There's a lot of positives to take out of that game. We had some good pushback and some good plays, but at the end of the day we have to be a little more deliberate about what we do.
"Pleased with some of it, but disappointed with how the game got away from us."
To Schooley's point, while the seven goals against marked a season high against RMU, the Colonials' 39 shots on goal were also a season best on the positive side. They're still averaging exactly two goals per game, but the scoring opportunities remain there.
"We had some good chances," Hebert noted. "Offensively, I thought we had a pretty good game. We've just got to capitalize some more."
Tonge's goal was a beauty for sure, a dart to the top-left corner for his third of his senior season. Tonge led all players in shots on goal (nine) and attempts (11) but Schooley was also impressed by how his freshmen continued to grow.
Lalonde notched a pair of assists, giving him four points in two games and six points for the season, one behind Tonge for the team lead. Counting Cooper in net, nine first-year players saw the ice Friday. Included in that group were defensemen Aidan Girduckis and Brendon Michaelian, both of whom were returning from injuries.
"A lot of guys played really well," Schooley said. "Our freshmen didn't look like freshmen."
With junior Michael Coyne being forced to leave the game due to injury, it's likely that more young players will have to rise up to give RMU a good opportunity to upset Penn State on Saturday. Faceoff is set for 7:05 as the Colonials will host the Nittany Lions on the Island for the first time since 2013.
The Colonial Crazies will form a student section for the occasion, while the popular Skate With The Colonials promo will follow the game.
