WALTHAM, Mass. -- The
Robert Morris University men's hockey team continues to set a torrid pace in Atlantic Hockey play, as the Colonials tacked on a fourth consecutive conference win with a 6-4 victory Friday night at Bentley Arena.
Now boasting a 6-1 record against AHA foes, first-place RMU (6-4-0 overall) rallied from an early deficit to beat Bentley for the fifth straight time, and the third time in a row at the Falcons' year-old facility.
The Colonials scored five consecutive goals from the middle of the first period through the early stages of the third, building enough of a cushion to hold off a late three-goal charge by the home team.
"We did an excellent job of creating chances and capitalizing on them," head coach
Derek Schooley said. "There were no style points given out tonight, but I'm proud of our team for getting the win."
The offensive heroes were many in this series opener: Junior co-captain and RMU leading scorer
Nick Prkusic scored two goals, senior Moon Township native
Jacob Coleman earned two points, sophomore defender
Brendon Michaelian scored his third goal in three games and Pittsburgh-born freshman
Roman Kraemer pumped in his first NCAA goal.
Senior goalie
Justin Kapelmaster denied 32 Bentley attempts, highlighted by a breakaway save on Ryner Gorowsky in the second period with the score still tied 1-1. Kapelmaster held out the Matt Riggleman rebound try as well, providing the most clutch moment of his sixth RMU victory in nine starts.
Kapelmaster also had to come up with a couple of stops with RMU ahead 5-4 in the final minute, but Bentley (3-7-0, 2-6-0 AHA) couldn't convert with an extra attacker on the ice. In the final seconds, Colonials sophomore
Justin Addamo lofted in an empty-net goal that literally floated through the rafters before dropping perfectly in the Falcons cage.
Although the Colonials have been collecting the regulation wins, they've allowed seven combined goals in their past three third periods, a trend they'd like to cut off immediately.
"We get content and take our foot off the gas," Coleman said. "We need to continue to play the way that has made us successful."
To be sure, there was plenty of success on the attack in this series opener. The Falcons scored first, with Brett Orr zipping a shot through traffic five minutes into the game, but RMU's three straight wins in Waltham have all been of the comeback variety.
Friday's rally got started when Coleman's net-front deflection of
Bradley Stonnell's point shot with 6 1/2 minutes left in the first leveled the score going into the break. Coleman's third goal in six games -- his hottest stretch as a collegian -- bestowed an assist on Stonnell, his first NCAA point in his seventh game.
After Kapelmaster stonewalled Gorowsky and Riggleman early in the second, the Colonials jumped ahead on Prkusic's fourth goal of the season. Coleman set it up beautifully, zooming wide to the right circle and guiding a pass to the left post for Prkusic to jam into a half-open net.
"I think our line is building a lot of chemistry because we play hard and simple," said Coleman, who has built a six-game scoring streak. "Both (Prkusic) and (
Grant Hebert) are smart and skilled players, so it makes it easy to play with them. I certainly think my recent production has to do with playing with those two.
"I feel that I'm starting to play with more confidence. I'm trying to be more effective in the offensive zone."
The lead grew to two at 13:01 of the second, as Michaelian pounced on a Bentley turnover and set sail on a full-on breakaway from 80 feet. His backhand deke beat Aidan Pelino's glove to the top shelf, giving Michaelian five points in his past three games.
Michaelian made it six points in three games 5:23 into the third, when he got a secondary assist on Prkusic's second of the night. The left-shooting winger took a pass from
Alex Robert and powered a wrister through Pelino from the right circle during the Colonials' third power play of the night.
Kraemer scored a beauty of a first NCAA goal a couple minutes later, stealing the puck in the neutral zone and picking the top-right corner on a rush down the left flank, making it 5-1.
From there, things got hairy, with Bentley's Brendan Hamblet scoring short-handed (7:13) and at even strength (16:44), followed by Jakov Novak sticking a short-side wrister past Kapelmaster with 1:35 left and Bentley working a two-man advantage.
"There wasn't much going on in that game until late," Schooley said. "I keep saying it's better to have the big lead than not, but we need to get better dealing with prosperity."
But the Colonials survived the flurry and can sweep Bentley for the second time this season with another win Saturday evening. The puck drops at 5:05 p.m. as RMU will try to increase its three-point lead at the top of the AHA standings.
