LEWISTON, N.Y. - The Robert Morris University men's hockey team fell 5-0 on the road Friday evening in Lewiston, dropping one to AHA foe Niagara in the first game of their final regular season series.

The loss moves RMU to 11-17-5 (11-11-5-1 AHA) on the year.

The Colonials established their forecheck early Friday night in Lewsiton, enjoying some good jump off the opening face-off to help  generate a few good looks early on and put Niagara keeper Chad Veltri on his heels.

Some extended zone time produced good looks from RMU, as Michael Coyne and Nick Lalonde each tested Veltri on successive chances from the slot, however the man between the pipes for NU proved up to the task.

Minutes later, it was Mantenuto who nearly put the Colonials ahead again, however Veltri somehow managed to slide across and get a toe on the seniors shot to keep it from crossing the goal line.

Veltri continued to produce dramatic stops on the Colonials every time it looked as though they had the rookie dead to rights, stuffing Justin Addamo on a shot one shift after Mantenuto nearly put RMU up.

Another point-blank stop on Luke Lynch capped off what was a fantastic first period for the Niagara keeper, denying the senior on the doorstep after some active penalty killing produced a great look short-handed chance for Robert Morris.

Cooper was sharp as well on the other end for RMU, rising to the occasion to stop 12 first-period shots, including a great look from Eric Cooley on the power play.

The second period brought more of the same for the Colonials, as RMU continued to enjoy an advantage in possession and generate quality looks but could not crack Veltri.  Another dramatic stop on Prkusic two minutes into the middle frame had the Colonials looking skyward as they searched desperately for a way to crack the Purple Eagles netminder.

However, it was Niagara who would open the scoring, beating Cooper twice within a five minute span to take a commanding 2-0 hold of the game after outlasting a few good pushes from RMU.

First, a breakaway sprung Jack Billings all alone behind the defense, as the forward calmly waited out Cooper on the backhand before sliding one low under his pad to make it 1-0.

Less than three minutes later, Robert Morris suddenly found themselves down 2-0 after Cook finished off an incredible individual effort, fending off multiple RMU defenders as he circled with the puck around the zone before cutting into the slot and ripping a hard shot low-blocker past Cooper for the goal.

Suddenly it was the Purple Eagles tilting the ice in the second, bolstered by the pair of quick goals as they began to assert themselves over the Colonials.

After a power-play chance for RMU failed to produce a goal, the Purple Eagles would extend their lead to 3-0 after Jon Hill buried his second of the year, banging home a loose rebound in the crease after a follow up on an initial shot from the slot.

Niagara would make it 4-0 before the Colonials could finally escape the period to catch their breath in the locker rooms following the Niagara outburst.

Despite posting 25 shots on goal on the evening, the Colonials could not manage a goal Friday night against Niagara, getting shutout for the fifth time this season.  While the RMU PK unit killed off both Niagara chances, the man advantage again failed to produce a goal, going 0-3 on the evening.  

RMU wraps up the regular season tomorrow evening when they face Niagara in the rubber match at 7 p.m.