PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's hockey team responded to a tough loss Friday evening in Erie with a resounding 5-1 win Saturday night at Colonials Arena against Mercyhurst University, pushing their record to 9-10-3 and 9-6-3 in Atlantic Hockey play.
RMU got three goals from defenseman as Sean Giles picked up his first goal of the year while Nick Prkusic (2), AND Brendon Michaelian (2), all recorded tallies on the evening for RMU. Justin Kapelmaster stopped 29 of 30 shots on goal to earn the victory.
"I thought we were pretty complete," head coach Derek Schooley said. "Really good first period with the shots, then I thought they had a pushback to start the second, and then I thought we had a really good push back the last ten minutes of the second. Finished the second off with authority and I thought we played a really good third too."
After a frustrating loss Friday night that saw the Colonials do a lot of things right but fail to take advantage of their chances when presented, RMU came out with a renewed focus and energy, throwing everything at Laker net minder Garrett Metcalf.
Follow up chances from Addamo and Alex Robert kept the pressure on Mercyhurst, hemming the Lakers in the defensive zone until the Colonials were finally able to cash in.
The first goal they'd been searching for for a few weeks finally came through courtesy of Sean Giles, who corralled a loose puck in the slot and flicked a quick wrister over the blocker of Metcalf to give the Colonials a momentum boost to go along with a 1-0 lead.
"We're trying to find the right combinations, and right now I think the Hebert-Prkusic-Coleman line is doing an outstanding job, and then you've got to find that next group and I think we took a step tonight with Spellacy-Mantenuto-Addamo, and Lynch's line with Kip Hoffmann was sneaky good as well," Schooley said.
That renewed energy was not limited to offense, either. Shortly after the Giles tally, Nolan Schaeffer saved what was a sure goal for Mercyhurst, picking up a loose puck that trickled through the legs of Kapelmaster and clearing it out of harm's way before it could squeak over the goal line.
Meryhurst threatened to steal back that hard-fought momentum minutes later after Prkusic was called for a cross-check, but once again the stingy Robert Morris PK unit did its job, allowing just one shot on goal after a few big blocks from Giles and Schaeffer.
As the game dragged on into the second, the scoring chances began to grow, as did the healthy disdain between two teams that comes from playing three times within the span of less than a week.
"You want to take their penalties or their chippiness, and the only way to really bounce back is to score goals," Schooley said.
An accidental collision in the crease knocked Metcalf out of the game with an injury. Several minutes later, it was Kapelmaster who was on the receiving end of a collision in his crease, however the senior goaltender managed to stay in the game.
Emotions only grew once Steven Ipri found the equalizer for Mercyhurst 2:57 into the second, however Schooley's team was able to channel their emotions in a positive way, coming up with a pair of huge answers for the Lakers.
First, Prkusic finished off a gorgeous passing play with Grant Hebert, capping off a 2-on-1 rush with a pretty deke and even prettier finish, backhand shelf over the glove of Colin DeAugustine to put RMU ahead 2-1.
Less than two minutes later, Michaelian wired one from the top of the circle that beat DeAugustine again to double the Colonials' lead to 3-1 and put RMU firmly in control.
"Brendon Michaelian scored with authority tonight, and we got three goals from defenseman as well. Prkusic scored on a really nice individual effort but then we had guys still going to the net. So you've got some really nice goals that we finished tonight."
A well executed third period for RMU saw the team commit to the defensive structure, allowing Mercyhurst few quality looks over the final frame. Robert put the capper on the night after his shot from the half wall trickled through the pads of DeAugustine to put the Colonials firmly in the drivers seat.
RMU will return to action next weekend when they host American International College for a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday evening at Colonials Arena.
"We've got a big challenge this week with the AIC Yellow Jackets our semi-final opponent from last year coming in, but we've gotten good goaltending, good play from our blueline, and that's what equals two wins in a week," Schooley said.Â
