BUFFALO, N.Y. -- After starting the new year on the wrong skate, the Robert Morris University men's hockey team took out some frustrations Friday night at HarborCenter, handing Canisius a 7-2 defeat in the opener of a two-game Atlantic Hockey set.

Freshman Nick Lalonde and junior Daniel Mantenuto each scored twice, three other teammates had multi-point nights and RMU matched a season high in offense while ending a four-game losing streak. The Colonials (9-13-1, 8-8-1 AHA) not only leveled their conference record, they improved to 4-4 on the road, where they will play eight of their next 10 games.

More to the point, RMU cleansed its palate after a pair of stinging home losses to Bentley last weekend, the first time the Colonials had been swept by an AHA foe all season.

"Really impressed by our team tonight," head coach Derek Schooley said. "A full 60 (minutes). Heart, determination, passion. ... Really liked our game. We fought some adversity. Hat's off to our guys, because they really, really earned that. They played the game the right way."

Lalonde, who stretched his point streak to five games with his second two-goal game of the season, scored just 17 seconds in, converting a pass from Nick Prkusic from in front of the net. After Canisius scored twice near the end of the first period to tie the score, 2-2, Lalonde got his stick in the way of a D-to-D pass in the opening minutes of the second, poking the puck past Golden Griffins goalie Matt Ladd to put RMU up for good.

It was a symbolic moment for the evening, which saw the Colonials put in their due diligence on the defensive side of the game, pursuing the puck and closing down much of Canisius' space to make plays.

"It was really nice to put one in right away and get the boys going," Lalonde said of his opening strike, RMU's quickest goal of the season. "We wanted to stick to our game. The puck was just going in. I think that's a credit to our work ethic tonight." 



Lalonde's second goal started a four-goal outburst in the span of 5:16, with Mantenuto, freshman Aidan Spellacy and senior Michael Louria all cashing in before the midway point of the game. When Canisius coach Trevor Large pulled Ladd for junior Blake Weyrick after Louria's breakaway goal, it marked the second time the 2018-19 Colonials have chased an opposing goaltender.

Also encouraging for the visitors: The power play went 2 for 5, ending a 10-game stretch in which the Colonials converted just twice on 40 total opportunities.

With RMU up a man at 8:53 of the first, senior Alex Tonge's whirling forehand put RMU ahead 2-0; the team's leading scorer buried his 10th of the season to finish the loud rebound of Grant Hebert's wrister. Tonge kept going on the advantage at 7:54 of the second, finding Mantenuto uncovered in the slot for a redirect that Ladd had no chance to stop. 

"We just wanted to keep playing with energy," Mantenuto said after cutting down a 10-game goal drought with his first collegiate two-goal game. "It was nice. We haven't played with a lead for a while. ... It opens up the game a bit, and we got some chances we were able to capitalize on. We've kind of been struggling to score goals, so it's nice to break out like that. It's always fun when a lot of guys can get involved."

Eleven of 19 RMU skaters recorded at least a point in the team's largest offensive output since a 7-1 win Nov. 24 at Mercyhurst. Much like that night nearly two months ago, Mantenuto netted a short-handed breakaway goal, the only puck the Colonials put behind Weyrick on 16 shots.



But by the time the Griffins (8-12-2, 5-10-1 AHA) swapped 'tenders, the horse was already well out of the barn. Nine minutes into the second, Spellacy buried the third goal of his freshman year, following Prkusic's strong move to the doorstep to raise the RMU advantage to 5-2. Less than a minute later, Louria pulled in a breakaway pass from Alex Robert and lifted a backhand over Ladd's glove for a four-goal margin.

Schooley lauded the all-around play of Prkusic-Spellacy-Lalonde, which combined for three goals and two assists, but the Colonials' bench boss also made note of Kyle Horsman's hard backcheck that ultimately produced the Louria strike. 

"That was contagious, because our backcheck effort was outstanding," Schooley said.

Only during a short span late in the first, when Canisius generated goals for Cameron Heath and Félix Chamberland, did the Colonials ever appear to be on their heels. RMU junior goalie Francis Marotte denied 33 Griffins shots, seven of those from their top gunner Dylan McLaughlin, to rebound from allowing 19 goals in his past four games. Marotte's win was the 43rd of his career, tying Terry Shafer '16 for the most in program history.

"There's not really much you could say negative, and that's good," Schooley said. "We needed that. We needed a complete performance. That's a good feeling for our guys."

Although a winter storm was approaching the eastern seaboard as Friday ended, RMU and Canisius are scheduled to play their rematch in downtown Buffalo at 4:35 p.m. Saturday.