CRANBERRY Twp, PA — The Slippery Rock Pride entered their final weekend before the mid-season break just four points behind both Duquesne and IUP. They faced off against IUP on Friday night at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, falling 4-0, their first time being shut out all season. On Saturday, they redeemed themselves against Robert Morris at the Island Sports Center, coming away with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Colonials. With two victories, they would have pulled into a three-way tie with Duquesne and IUP, and would have held the tiebreaker over both teams for first place in the College Hockey Mid America conference. Instead, the IUP victory Friday night guaranteed the Hawks would be celebrating the holidays with sole possession of the conference lead.
Friday night’s game began with some potential history. Sophomore Slippery Rock forward Jamie Mauro needed a single goal to take break the team record for career goals scored for the Pride. Unfortunately, he was not able to find the back of the net over the weekend and will have to wait until the new year to have another chance.
The game was evenly matched through most of the first period, with several chances at either end of the ice. Finally, with just under two minutes to play, Hawk’s forward Michael Longhitano broke the scoreless tie to give IUP the 1-0 lead.
The second period was a carbon copy of the first. The Hawks flipped a switch on the physical play, unleashing several brutal hits early on in an attempt to keep the Pride off balance. With just five seconds left in the period, IUP freshman Dominck Glavach added some insurance. Glavach sits with 17 points on the season (11 goals and 6 assists), third on the team behind Longhitano (23) and Tyler Speis (20).
If the second period was a copy of the first, then the third period was a mirror image of the second. Just 33 seconds in, Speis assisted on a goal by Brendan George and Nick Benvenuti added the fourth goal five minutes later. The Hawks easily cruised the rest of the way to the 4-0 victory.
MAJOR FOCUS: Slippery Rock stunned by IUP (FULL GALLERY)
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Weekend scores from around the CHMA:
Friday:
BUFFALO 2, Mercyhurst 1
JOHN CARROLL 6, Kent State 4
Pitt 5, ROBERT MORRIS 3
IUP 4, SLIPPERY ROCK 0
Saturday:
BUFFALO 2, Mercyhurst 1
Penn State (D2) 7, IUP 2
KENT STATE 9, John Carroll 0
Slippery Rock 3, ROBERT MORRIS 2 (OT)
CHMA STANDINGS
Although the standings did not change in terms of order, the IUP Hawks took sole possession of first place with their 4-0 victory over Slippery Rock on Friday night. The Pitt Panthers, winners of 6 of their last 7 and 4 of their last 5 conference games, have rebounded nicely from their early-season seven game losing streak. Their win over Robert Morris on Friday night tied them with the Colonials at 9 points but gives the Panthers the tiebreaker they need to take fourth place in the standings.
| Team | W | L | OTL | Points | Games Played (Out of 14) | Max Points Available |
| Indiana (PA) | 8 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 10 | 24 |
| Duquesne | 7 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 22 |
| Slippery Rock | 6 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 24 |
| Pittsburgh | 4 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 23 |
| Robert Morris (PA) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 19 |
| Mercyhurst | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 18 |
| John Carroll | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 18 |
| West Virginia | 0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
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