Pittsburgh, Pa. - Robert Morris University men's hockey opens a crucial weekend in the Atlantic Hockey regular season, hosting I-79 rival Mercyhurst on Friday to open a home-and-home series that concludes Saturday in Erie, Pa.

The Colonials enter the weekend in fourth place in the conference standings, four points behind first place Canisius and two points back of Mercyhurst, which is tied for second with Holy Cross. The Atlantic Hockey standings are so tight from top to bottom, that only ten points separate first and last place.

GAME INFORMATION
Robert Morris vs. (RV) Mercyhurst
Friday, Feb. 16  //  7:05 p.m.  //  Colonials Arena, Pittsburgh, Pa.
LIVE VIDEO  //  LIVE AUDIO  Radio: ESPN 970 AM  //  LIVE STATS
First 800 fans will take home a replica hockey jersey, courtesy of Eat'n Park

Robert Morris at (RV) Mercyhurst
Saturday, Feb. 17  //  7:05 p.m.  //  Mercyhurst Ice Center, Erie, Pa.
LIVE VIDEO  //  LIVE AUDIO  //  LIVE STATS



TEAM CAPSULES
ROBERT MORRIS COLONIALS     |     GAME NOTES (.PDF)

• Record: 13-15-2, 12-10-2 Atlantic Hockey
• Head Coach: Derek Schooley (14th Season)
• Captain: Alex Bontje
• Alternate Captains: Brady Ferguson, Timmy Moore
• Points Leaders: Brady Ferguson (38), Tonge (34)
• Goals Leaders: Brady Ferguson, Luke Lynch (13)
• Goaltending: Francis Marotte, 12-11-2, .910 save%, 2.66 GAA
• Blocked Shots: Eric Israel (60), Alex Bontje (55)
• All-Time Record vs. Mercyhurst: 9-10-8
• Last Time Out:  RMU was swept by RIT, 4-3 and 6-2. Luke Lynch opened the scoring in Friday's game before RMU went down 4-1. Alex Dagnal and Timmy Moore scored to start a rally but it came up short. Moore scored his second of the weekend on Saturday, with Brady Ferguson adding the other. Francis Marotte took the loss in goal in both games, with Andrew Pikul seeing relief time in both as well. Dyllan Lubbesmeyer made his second career appearance Saturday.
• Previous Meeting:  RMU swept the Dec. 16-17 home-and-home series 5-2 and 5-3. Brady Ferguson, Timmy Moore, Luke Lynch and Michael Louria scored two goals while Alex Tonge and Eric Israel recorded one goal for Robert Morris. Francis Marotte earned both wins in goal.

MERCYHURST LAKERS (RV)

• Record: 15-11-4, 12-8-4 AHC
• Head Coach: Rick Gotkin (30th Season)
• Points Leaders: Derek Barach (31), Jack Riley (28)
• Goals Leaders: Jack Riley (15), Derek Barach (13)
• Goaltending: Brandon Wildung (Sr.), 14-9-4, .915 save%, 2.91 GAA
• Blocked shots: Patrick Piacentini (49) 
• All-Time Record vs. RMU: 10-9-8
• Last Time Out: Mercyhurst fell in overtime, 6-5, to RIT on Monday night. Jonathan Charbonneau and Joseph Duszak recorded three points. Bryan Sienerth, Jack Riley, Patrick Piacentini, Les Lancaster, Joshua Lammon and Taylor Best each had one point. Colin DeAugustine was in goal Monday, as the Lakers played three games in four days.

GAME NOTES
HONORING WORKMAN
The Robert Morris hockey family is mourning the loss of former associate head coach Mark Workman, who passed away on Wednesday after a brief battle with cancer. Workman was with the Colonials from 2009-2016 before becoming an amateur scout for the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights. A jersey bearing his name will be on the Colonials bench for the rest of the season, and the team will wear his nickname 'Worky' above the numbers on their helmets the rest of the season as well. RMU will honor Workman with a moment of silence prior to Friday's puck drop.

SERIES HISTORY
The series has been fairly even, with the Lakers holding a 10-9-8 advantage over RMU. 11 of the 27 all-time meetings between the teams have gone to overtime with eight resulting in ties. RMU is 5-5-3 at home and 3-4-5 on the road.

The Class of 2018 is 5-4-2 all-time vs. Mercyhurst and the Colonials have won the last three meetings including a December sweep this season, and dating back to an overtime thriller on the Class of 2017's senior night last season.

CHASING HISTORY
Brady Ferguson is one point from taking sole possession of the title of the Robert Morris men's hockey program all-time scoring leader. Ferguson enters the weekend tied for that title with Zac Lynch '16, who capped his career with 156 points.

#FERGY4HOBEY
Brady Ferguson has been nominated for the Hobey Baker Award, the most prestigious honor in NCAA men's ice hockey. You can help with the fan vote by visiting Vote4Hobey.com. Ferguson leads the Colonials in scoring with 13 goals and 38 points on the season, ranking 5th in the NCAA and 2nd in Atlantic Hockey, nine points shy of the NCAA scoring lead.

RED-HOT HURST
The Lakers are receiving votes in the USCHO.com Poll for the third straight week and are 8-2-2 since being swept by RMU before Christmas, with Monday's overtime loss marking just the second loss since Dec. 17.

LUCKY SEVEN
Brady Ferguson posted seven points in the December series against Mercyhurst, with two goals and five assists.

IRON MAN DOWN
Senior defenseman Alex Bontje has been out of the lineup the last two weekends, dealing with a minor injury. The Colonials captain had played the most games of all active players, including 119 consecutive contests, dating back to his freshman season. Bontje had previously missed just one game in his entire RMU career (January 4, 2015, 4-1 L vs. Bowling Green).

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU
The fourth line of Alex Dagnal, Michael Coyne and Michael Louria combined for a goal and three assists in the weekend series against Sacred Heart. Dagnal added a goal to this total in Friday's game against RIT. The line combination changed after Friday's loss.

I LIKE TO SAY A PRAYER AND DRINK TO WORLD PEACE
Robert Morris is the least penalized team in Atlantic Hockey (20th lowest in NCAA), with 143 penalties and 297 minutes, averaging 4.77 penalties per game. RMU has the 8th lowest average of penalty minutes per game in college hockey at 9.90 a contest.

LONE STAR LEADING SCORER
Brady Ferguson the NCAA's active career scoring leader. Ferguson posted the fifth-highest scoring NCAA men's hockey season in 2016-17 with 58 points, and is currently fifth this season. The Carrollton, Texas native has 13 goals and 25 assists for 38 points in 30 games this season.

    NCAA Men's Hockey Active Career Points Leaders:

• Brady Ferguson, Robert Morris – 156
• Dylan Sikura, Northeastern (CHI) – 133
• Adam Gaudette, Northeastern (VAN) – 129
• Jake Evans, Notre Dame (MTL) – 124
• Dylan Gambrell, Denver (SJS) – 123

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