Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University men's hockey program hosted Simon Fraser for an exhibition match Saturday night, winning 3-1.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Off to a 2-3-2 overall record in the 2023-24 campaign, the Colonials welcomed the Red Leafs to Clearview Arena for their first and only exhibition match of the season.
With two more weeks until Atlantic Hockey action picks back up, RMU dressed 24 players, featuring 16 forwards, six defenseman and two goaltenders. Protecting the net on the night was graduate netminder
Francis Boisvert for all 60 minutes.
Based in British Columbia, Canada, the Red Leafs took a trip to the western Pennsylvania this weekend, taking on the University of Pittsburgh ACHA Club hockey team and the Colonials.
After beating Pitt's squad by a score of 5-1, Simon Fraser looked to continue their momentum at Clearview Arena.
Off to a strong start, just three minutes in, the Colonials struck first. Getting on the board early was freshman
Cameron Garvey off an assist by
Logan Ganie and
Jackson Reineke.
Right before the opening period ended, the away side received their first power play opportunity of the night which turned into a 5 on 3 as RMU took two consecutive penalties. With under a minute left, Simon Fraser tied the game up against an RMU 3-man penalty kill unit.
After allowing a goal shorthanded, the Colonials returned the favor in the second period.
On the ice for the power play unit was
Gavin Gulash,
Jackson Reineke,
Tanner Klimpke,
Cade Townend and
Luke Johnson. Gulash ended up with the game-winning goal off a feed from both blue liners, Townend and Johnson.
Heading into the final frame, RMU stayed disciplined defensively, not allowing any comeback from the visitors.
Simon Fraser fell back into penalty trouble, heading to the box three more times. RMU posted six more shots with the man-advantage. Through the power plays, RMU did not convert another tally up a player but achieved more offensive zone time and registered 15 shots on goal across the final frame.
Closing out the game, the Red Leafs pulled their goalie near the end of the night, fighting to bring the score level. The Colonials sealed the day as
Cameron Garvey slotted the biscuit into the empty net, as RMU won, 3-1.
MATCH STATS
Although exhibition results and stats don't count towards official records, head coach
Derek Schooley and his staff were able to reset and try out new things, build on their play style and give depth players ice time. On the night, three players produced a two-point effort.
Cameron Garvey scored the first and last goal of the night. The freshman out of Oakville, Ontario has found the back of the net on four of the last five goals for the Colonials. Graduate center
Logan Ganie continued his production, dishing out two helpers and freshman
Jackson Reineke did the same. In the blue crease, goaltender
Francis Boisvert played his first game for RMU, making 22 saves. He boasted a .913 save percentage and 1.00 G.A.A. Alternate captain
Dallas Tulik owned a 69.2%-win rate in the faceoff circle, winning nine of his 13 draws. Forwards
Matthew Boczar and
Lee Chiang both dressed for the first time in the campaign.
SCHOOLEY'S STATEMENTS
"We wanted to make sure we checked all the boxes and played a competitive hockey game. We earned a win and gave our young guys some experience. Some of them played better in the game than they did in practice so I thought they handled themselves well."
"We put some guys in new spots and wanted to get some extended looks in our lineup.
Gavin Gulash for instance was out there for the power play for the first time and he scored a goal."
UP NEXT
Next week, the Colonials will travel a long distance across the country to play at Alaska Anchorage for a two-game, non-conference series. The first tilt will be on Friday, November 10 at 11:00 p.m. ET and the second contest of the series will be on the following day at 8:00 p.m. ET.
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