PITTSBURGH — Robert Morris has won back-to-back Confluence Cups as the Colonials skated to a decisive 5-2 victory over the No. 14 Quinnipiac Bobcats in the final of the Three Rivers Classic at PPG Paints Arena Friday night.
The field for this year’s tournament, which also included No. 6 Boston College and Ferris State, was one of the most difficult put together yet, but the Colonials cruised to their second straight title and third overall in the five-year history of the event.
“I’m really excited for our program to be able to come and beat two quality hockey teams,” said head coach Derek Schooley. “I’m very appreciative of Boston College, Quinnipiac and Ferris State coming to the tournament this year. If we keep winning, we’re going to have nobody to come. They’re not going to want to come play anymore.”
Freshman goaltender Francis Marotte was named the tournament MVP. He stopped 42 of 43 shots in the final and 32 of 32 while recording his first career shutout in the team’s semifinal.
The Colonials went down a goal early in the first period, but didn’t Marotte didn’t allow another goal until the final minute, despite the Bobcats outshooting RMU in every period and 45-28 overall.
“I thought our first period, we stood around a little bit and watched,” Schooley said. “I thought we had a couple bounce-back shifts toward the end of the first period that really propelled us into the second.”
The second period turned the tide, as Robert Morris got a goal from Alex Tonge on the power play and then another from defenseman Rob Mann in the final minute of the frame to give the Colonials the lead for good.
The team attributed a fierier-than-usual intermission address from Schooley after the first for their inspired play in the second.
“After the we talked in the room in the first intermission, we came out and knew we had to play our game and started taking it to them,” Mann said. “Once we tied it up, we had it 1-1 and started to believe. You could see the energy.”
UNEXPECTED CONTRIBUTORS
The Colonials have relied heavily on the first line of Tonge, Brandy Ferguson and Daniel Leavens all season, but after Tonge’s goal got things started, the rest of the team took over the scoring from there.
Mann’s goal was just his second of the season and fifth of his four-year career, so suffice to say, he was an unexpected goal-scorer. Mann also assisted on Timmy Moore’s first goal, as the second-line right-winger chipped in with a pair.
“Obviously, it helps when you get a few goals from some different people,” Schooley said.
While winning the tournament is certainly a big accomplishment all by itself, getting some secondary scoring might have even more impact for the team as they enter the second half of the season and start looking toward the playoffs.
“In Atlantic Hockey, it all comes down to who gets hottest down the stretch,” Mann said. “The [finals and semifinals] up in Rochester are one-game elimination, so it seems like the last couple years, whoever has been on a roll has been champions, so for us to come back after the break and start off like this is awesome.”
DORO POWERED
It didn’t end there with the goals from unexpected places, although maybe the fact that Spencer Dorowicz scored a big goal shouldn’t be all that unexpected. The junior center scored just his 13th career goal with a wicked backhander early in the third period that gave RMU at 3-1 lead and turned out to be the game-winning goal.
While Dorowicz doesn’t put up gaudy numbers, most of his markers have come in big situations. Four of his goals have come against ranked opponents, two have come in the Three Rivers Classic, one in the playoffs and three against RMU’s arch rival, RIT.
It’s been a bit of a tough season for Dorowicz, who was expected to shoulder more of an offensive load, but ended up watching from the press box early in the season as a healthy scratch. While the total output hasn’t been where he’d like it to be, he’s certainly regained the knack for scoring at big times.
“Goals haven’t been coming easy this year for me, but any time I can get a chance to chip in, it’s definitely a bonus,” he said. “I’m hoping I can keep it up, but I like to work from the defensive zone out, but when I can chip in like that, especially in big-time games, it’s a good feeling. For whatever reason, it seems like I can step up a little bit in these bigger games against bigger opponents. It’s a good trend to have, I guess, and hopefully, I can keep that going into the new year.”
KILLING TIME
With the Colonials already down, 1-0, they took an ill-advised string of penalties, forcing the penalty kill unit into action four times in the first 22 minutes of the game. The shorthanded unit responded, going 6 of 7 on the night and also adding a shorthanded goal.
“That was definitely huge for us,” Dorowicz said. “If it wasn’t for that, it could have gone the other way tonight. That was huge for us. The PK has been good as of late.”
After starting the season with an abysmal performance at RIT, the RMU penalty killers have a been a bright spot since and now sit at respectable 82 percent on the season.
The penalty kill was especially important against the Bobcats, which rely on their power play unit for a significant portion of their offense. On the year, 25 of Quinnipiac’s 62 goals have come from the man advantage, and they took advantage of Boston College Thursday night, using a pair of power play goals to wrest a 3-1 win away from the Eagles.
“I thought we had some really good chances on our power plays, we just weren’t finishing,” said Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold.
NOTES
Marotte and junior defenseman Robert Powers both recorded their first career assists. … Brady Ferguson’s assist extended his point streak to 14 games and he tied for third in the NCAA in scoring. … Boston College defeated Ferris State in a shootout in the third-place game after the teams tied, 1-1.
