PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Grant Hebert posted four points and Randy Hernandez scored the go-ahead goal with 1:31 left in the third period Saturday night to edge the Robert Morris men's hockey team 5-4 over Canisius at Clearview Arena.
The Colonials move to 3-1 on the season and 1-1 in Atlantic Hockey play.
Making life tough on Canisius keeper Jacob Barczewski was a priority for the Colonials from the opening puck drop Saturday afternoon.Â
Nick Lalonde and Aidan Spellacy were all over the Griffins crease, forechecking hard to keep cycles alive while just barely being denied on chances in close.Â
Jordan Timmons took advantage of the pressure and put RMU ahead 1-0 minutes later, circling the back of the net with the puck before curling around the top of the left circle and firing a perfectly placed shot just under the crossbar.Â
Justin Addamo made it 2-0 with under five to play in the opening frame, picking up a lead pass from Grant Hebert before flying through the neutral zone and wiring one in stride over Barczewski's shoulder.Â
The second gave way to lots of end to end action before penalty trouble put the Colonials in a tough spot.Â
Already in the process of killing a five-on-three, Brendon Michaelian was whistled for high-sticking near the left hash, keeping RMU down two for over a minute before Canisius finally cashed in to make it 2-1.Â
The Colonials managed a quick response courtesy of Hebert's tipped point shot, however Mitchell Martran's second of the game made it a one-goal game again heading into the final frame.Â
Despite a great chance for RMU to make it 4-2 on an early power play, Canisius evened it up after a nice effort from Simon Gravel short-handed.Â
The Colonials dug in and soon found themselves back on top after a beautiful end to end rush from Addamo restored the RMU lead with his second of the game, however yet another quick response from Canisius evened things at four with seven minutes to play.Â
Hernandez would provide the heroics with 1:31 remaining, slamming home a goal after a beautiful cross-crease pass from Santeri Hartikainen to seal things for the Colonials.Â
SCORING PLAYS
Timmons, 6:48 1st - Assists: Schaeffer, Hebert
Addamo, 15:24 1st - Assists: Hebert, Schaeffer
Virtanen, 11:39 2nd - Assists: Meyer
Hebert, 15:38 2nd - Assists: Schaeffer, Hernandez
Martan, 16:09 2nd - UnassistedÂ
Gravel, 2:47 3rd (SH) - UnassistedÂ
Addamo, 8:05 3rd - UnassistedÂ
Meyer, 13:00 3rd - Assists: Hamlin
Hernandez, 18:29 3rd - Assists: Hartikainen, PrkusicÂ
QUOTABLES
"We found a way to persevere. We battled a lot of adversity in this game, whether it was self-inflicted or not, we just battled a lot. We've got to find a way to lock a game down with a 3-1 lead, but it's hard to win. I've said that before but we found a way to get the job done." - Head Coach Derek SchooleyÂ
QUICK HITS
Matt Guerra made his NCAA debut, firing one shot on goal…Justin Addamo scored his first two goals of the season…Geoff Lawson and Nolan Schaeffer (2) each recorded their first point on the season…Grant Hebert finished with a team-high four points…Dyllan Lubbesmeyer earned his second win of the year in goal…Jordan Timmons now leads RMU with three goals.
UP NEXT
The Colonials are in action three times next week, hosting Bowling Green for a non-conference matchup Tuesday night at Clearview before heading to Colorado for their first road trip of the year to take on Air Force Friday and Saturday night.Â