PITTSBURGH -- "That's hockey."

The Robert Morris University men's hockey team felt the cruel side of those two words Saturday evening at the RMU Island Sports Center, as the Colonials controlled the flow of play but ended up on the short end of a 2-0 final score to Atlantic Hockey foe Holy Cross.

Michael Laffin, the captain of the visiting Crusaders, scored early in the second period and again late in the third to send the Colonials (7-8-1, 6-5-1 AHA) to the semester break on a quiet note. It was a reversal of Friday night, when Holy Cross (2-11-2, 2-7-1 AHA) probably deserved better than a 2-0 loss to RMU.

"Complete opposite of last night's game," RMU head coach Derek Schooley noted of Saturday's outcome. "We played hard. We played with energy. We played with a lot of passion. I thought we played well. The only thing we didn't do was score."

Turnabout might be fair play, but that'll be little consolation to the Colonials, who were hoping to sweep a weekend series at home for the first time in four tries this season. Instead, they'll head into their three-week holiday with results that are split almost exactly down the middle.

In a lot of ways, this weekend matched up with the character of the Colonials' season to date. Especially in league play, they've been extremely stingy, allowing two or fewer goals in 10 of 12 AHA games. On the other hand, they skate into the break with just five goals scored in their past four outings.

Unlike Friday, RMU burst from the starting gate in this one, with each forward line and defense pairing helping tilt the ice in convincing fashion. The Colonials finished with 66 shot attempts to Holy Cross' 42, highlighted by a 22-10 edge in the third. Schooley called his team's five-on-five play "tremendous," and it was impossible to argue that point when RMU's half of the ice was still wet after the final buzzer sounded.



"We came together in the locker room and said, 'We're going to come back and win this one,' " sophomore defenseman Nick Jenny said. "We threw everything we had at 'em. Couldn't find one in the back of the net. ... That third period we showed how hard we can work and how we can throw pucks at the net. We'll take that into the break."

Holy Cross' team bus probably shed about two tons of weight for the trip back to Massachusetts, since the Crusaders ended a 13-game winless streak with their first road victory of the season. Painfully for Robert Morris, Laffin's game-winner at 5:12 of the second was the result of a fortunate bounce, as defenseman Johnny Coughlin deked his way into open space at the left circle and centered the puck into a tangle of bodies at the back post. The pass hit Laffin's leg and caromed into the goal.

Luke Lynch ended up with the best opportunity to tie the game with 15 minutes remaining, but Crusaders freshman goalie Erik Gordon dived across the crease to get a piece of Lynch's knuckling shot toward the open goal. Lynch also was denied on a shorthanded breakaway in the second, so the junior center's rare empty night on the scoresheet wasn't for lack of trying.

The Colonials went 0 for 6 on the power play Saturday, with freshman Justin Addamo barely misfiring on two Grade 'A' chances in the low slot. That trend continued through the evening, which inspired Schooley to make a greater point about the 15th edition of men's Division I hockey at Robert Morris.

"Every team's different," Schooley said. "We're accustomed to being a high-flying, wide-open, goal-scoring team, but we found that we're a tight-checking (team) that's giving up very few goals. ... Every team's different, but we've got to produce a little more offense."

Saturday's shutout loss was RMU's first at home in a span of 14 games, dating back to last Feb. 23. The Colonials have split their first 11 home games, going 5-5-1 with one of the losses occurring in overtime.

Bright spots on the offensive end include senior Alex Tonge, who is maintaining a point-per-game pace despite seeing his six-game point streak come to an end Saturday. Tonge's classmate Eric Israel didn't score this weekend, but he has 11 points in 12 games since returning from an injury that cost him the first four games. Lynch's production has revived after a slow start, too.

However, the biggest positive for a team that regularly ices several freshman is on the defensive side of the puck. Junior goalie Francis Marotte has lifted his save percentage to .911 after a few tough games and likely wishes he could keep playing through December. He entered Saturday's game with a .941 save percentage in AHA games, giving his teammates a healthy dose of confidence.

"Frank's finding his groove, being the goalie we knew he was," Jenny said. "As long as he's back there for us, we're pretty positive with him in net. Besides that, we're staying with our guys and not getting lost in the 'D' zone. It's working for us … now we have to capitalize on our offense and get more goals."

 

Part of that process will include getting healthy. Freshman center Grant Hebert missed four of the past five games with injury, but he's one of many Colonials battling through some pain. Getting 21 days off between now and a Dec. 29 faceoff at American International will go a long way toward refreshing a roster with several newcomers to the unique challenges of college hockey, both physical and mental.

What also might help is the fact that, even after another home split, RMU sits just two points out of second place in the tightly-bunched AHA standings. They'll play 13 of their final 18 regular-season games away from Neville Island, but they're in position to make a run at the top.

"They probably deserved better than what they got last night and the same for us tonight," Schooley said. "It is what it is. We've got to make sure we focus and do our work over our break. It'll be good for our guys to get home. It'll be good to get healthy. We're pretty banged up. Get healthy, recharge and get ready for the second half."