NEVILLE TWP, Pa. — It wasn’t a perfect game for Robert Morris, but it was the game they needed as the Colonials erased a late to earn a in a hard-fought 3-1 victory over RIT at 84 Lumber Arena.
Kyle Horsman’s goal at 13:20 of the final frame turned out to be the game winner, and freshman sensation Francis Marotte returned to the net and turned away 25 of 26 shots in the win.
“We were outstanding,” Robert Morris head coach Derek Schooley said. “We got pucks in deep and played hard. It would have been really easy to get frustrated and quit when we got down 1-0 after playing so well, but we stuck with it and got the goals we needed late in the game. I can’t say one negative thing about our game tonight. Our guys worked, they didn’t let adversity affect them, they competed and they just kept playing through things. We’ve got some great leadership and our guys wouldn’t accept anything less than winning this game tonight.”
Just like Friday night, the Colonials had the better of the play in the opening 20 minutes but could not find a way to get a puck behind RIT goaltender Mike Rotolo despite putting up 18 shots. However, unlike Friday night, the Colonials stayed the course and stayed away from frustration as they got pucks deep behind the Tigers’ defense and put rubber on Rotolo. At the same time, they limited RIT’s scoring chances with heads up play from their defensive corps, who managed to keep the action in front of them for the majority of 60 minutes.
But despite the more-focused play from Robert Morris, it was again the Tigers that struck first when forward Abbot Girduckis knocked in a rebound at 6:21 of the third period. The goal could have been a fatal blow for a team that had been outplaying their opponent with nothing to show for it, but the Colonials had answers and never flinched despite being down in the final frame.
Timmy Moore’s shot from the right circle on the power play beat Rotolo to tie the game at 9:10, and gave the Colonials new life.
“There was a battle down in the corner and there were two guys on Alex Tonge and he out muscled both of them and got the puck up to Ferguson and he got it back to Tonge who hit me in the slot and luckily it went in,” Moore said. “We went down 1-0 there and there was nothing but positivity on the bench. We knew we were playing our game and it was just a matter of time before one bounced in and it did and then it just kept going in. It’s a huge win.”
Having given themselves an opportunity to perhaps take two points, the Colonials took full advantage, and it was an unusual suspect that put Robert Morris in the drivers seat for good as Horsman was able to finish a pass from Robert Powers at 13:20 to help seize the momentum. Horsman was part of a fourth line with Kevin Lavoie and Alex Dagnal that played inspired hockey and came up with scoring chances while proving to be hard to play against as a unit.
“Dagnal and Lavoie were battling down low and I think it was Dagnal who got the puck to Powers at the point and as soon as I saw that I just went to the net and luckily it just hit my stick.” Horsman said. “We played a full 60 out there tonight and I think all the boys were confident, so we just kept pressing.”
The Colonials then needed one final penalty kill in the waning minutes and not only did they get it, Brady Ferguson added a shorthanded an empty net goal.
COLONIALS NOTES
Lavoie drew a roster spot at the expense of freshman Luke Lynch, who was scratched. … The a victory that saw Robert Morris remain in third place in the standings with the season winding down. The Colonials host the Bentley Falcons next weekend in another critical weekend series.
