Moon Township, Pa. – The RMU men's hockey team defeated the Purple Eagles in game one of the series, 4-1. The Colonials are now 3-11-3 overall and 2-9-2 in the AHA. Niagara now sits with a 6-9-1 overall record and are 5-6-1 in conference play.
 
1^st PERIOD

• Determined to earn a victory on home ice, the Colonials provided pressure early on in their opponent's defensive end. Testing Niagara's netminder Jarrett Fiske, RMU peppered five shot attempts within the first six minutes.
• Continuing to battle, RMU's fourth line grinded out the first goal of the game. Hitting Niagara hard on the forecheck, Cameron Hebert won possession behind the net, finding line mate Paul Maust down low. He found forward Gavin Gulash in front of the cage as his finish gave the Colonials a 1-0 lead.
• At the end of the first 20 minutes, both teams were tied in shots on goal with eight a piece, as RMU headed into the locker room ahead, 1-0.

2^nd PERIOD

• Entering the middle frame, RMU continued where they left off, as captain Rylee St. Onge scored his first goal in an RMU jersey off a great individual play.
• Three minutes into the period, freshman Walter Zacher picked up a loose puck and handed it off to St. Onge. From then on, it was all him as he skated to Niagara's end, weaving between three players and sniping the puck into the top corner.
• Niagara shortly after earned another power play opportunity, looking to bring the score within one. The Colonials handled the penalty kill with ease, not allowing a single shot attempt through the Purple Eagle's two minutes with an extra attacker.
• After the media timeout, the away side took a penalty, but RMU held onto possession. With goaltender Chad Veltri on the bench to give the Colonials the extra attacker, McKay Hayes carried the puck in front of the net, meeting a swarm of Purple Eagle players. The puck rebounded out to the right side, finding the stick of Jackson Reineke. Quickly moving behind the net, he scored a sneaky wraparound goal to give RMU a 3-0 lead.
• The Colonials after 40 minutes would stay in front, 3-0 and outshot the Purple Eagles 9-5 through the second period.

3^rd PERIOD

• Across the last 20 minutes of the night, the away side put forth all they had, registering 26 shots on goal, compared to RMU's three.
• Five minutes in, Niagara would end the shutout, as Luke Mylymok scored his fifth goal of the season on the power play.
• Although Niagara pushed back, peppering 26 shots on frame at Chad Veltri, the veteran goaltender stood tall to secure his team a victory, by stopping 25 of those 26 shots.
• After the Purple Eagles gave everything they had, Jarrett Fiske was pulled from his net to put on an extra skater, late in the final period.
• Winning a puck battle in the defensive zone, St. Onge found Gulash who dished it off to Reineke for his second tally of the night, giving RMU a 4-1 win.

COLONIAL FIRSTS
On the night, eight different RMU players chipped in on the scoresheet, tying the second most players to produce in one game through the 2023-24 campaign. In their 4-1 victory, graduate forward Paul Maust posted his first point at RMU, dishing out an assist on the team's first goal. A hometown product from Butler, Pa., Maust now owns 16 goals and 17 assists in 127 career games. Also, scoring his first goal in an RMU sweater, captain Rylee St. Onge would earn his first game-winning goal for the program. Adding an assist on the empty-net dagger, St. Onge produced his first multipoint effort in tonight's win. The Ontario native has been heating up lately on the scoresheet, tallying three points in his last three outings. St. Onge now owns 33 goals and 30 assists in 120 NCAA contests. Additionally, freshman Jackson Reineke went on to record his first multipoint game, scoring two goals against Niagara.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Leading the team in shots on goal with four was the two-goal scorer, Jackson Reineke. Seven players in tonight's lineup finished with a +2. Registering his eighth point of the campaign, center Dallas Tulik continued his dominance in the faceoff circle, winning 75% of his draws (12-16). Helping out on the defensive end throughout the night were blueliners Thomas Haynes and Mitch Andres. Both blocked a season-high five shots. Appearing in his 100^th career game tonight, Andres owns a team-high 36 blocks in 17 games. RMU blocked 24 shots, achieving their second-highest total of the season in that category.
 
VELTRI THE VETERAN
Facing his former team for the third time this season, goaltender Chad Veltri won his first game against Niagara, allowing just one goal. With tonight's win, Veltri now holds 44 wins in his career, moving into sole possession of 10^th place on the AHA career wins list. Boasting a 38-save performance, the hometown product also moved up to eighth place in the Atlantic Hockey conference's career saves list (3,087).
 
QUOTABLE
"We performed very well across the first two periods. In the third, Chad Veltri was outstanding. As a team we blocked a ton of shots and our penalty kill unit was really good. I thought overall we played a complete game and found a way to earn a much-needed win." – Head Coach Derek Schooley
 
"It was great to see Rylee finally get the monkey off his back and what a great game-winning goal that was. He's been really good for us, and is a leader in the locker room. He's led our team in scoring chances so it's finally nice to see him get rewarded." – Head Coach Derek Schooley
 
UP NEXT
RMU will now get Friday off before they travel out to Niagara's campus on Saturday, December 9 to complete the home-and-home series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Dwyer Arena.

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