BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Sweeping a team is tough. Sweeping a team on the road is even tougher. Sweeping a team when starting five freshman in a weekend series that spans two different buildings after a six-hour bus ride? That’s the sign of a pretty good hockey team.
That’s what the Robert Morris Colonials did this weekend, beating Sacred Heart 4-1 on Sunday afternoon to complete a weekend sweep of the Pioneers.
The Colonials didn’t play their best hockey Sunday, getting outshout, 30-16, and they gave up seven power-play opportunities to the Pioneers, but were still able to come away with a win, and that’s all that matters to head coach Derek Schooley.
“We found a way to get a win and teams that get wins when they don’t have their ‘A’ game is a good quality to have,” Schooley said. “We were opportunistic. When was the last time we had under 20 shots and had four goals? It’s a tough place to play. It’s a big building with not a lot of people here. We kind of fell into a sleepy game a little bit. Hats off to our guys. I learned a long time ago that I would rather win and not play our best than lose and play our best.”
Senior captain Rob Mann has been on some of the best teams Robert Morris has ever fielded and not all of them were able to always take care of business on the road in the emphatic fashion that the Colonials did against Sacred Heart.
“I think it shows a lot about us,” Mann said. “We have a pretty resilient group, obviously. It was our first long road trip of the year. It’s not easy to get your legs under you even though we had a day of practice and rest here. You still feel the effects of the bus. So for us to come and grind out two wins like that, it shows a lot about our group. Even though we are young, we’re taking steps every weekend in the right direction.”
PK RISING
The penalty kill was the biggest factor in RMU’s win. They allowed just one power-play goal in the Pioneers’ seven opportunities, including a five-minute major that was called on defenseman Elias Ghantous for charging. Ghantous had lined up Pioneers forward Justin Danforth for what appeared to be a clean hit just inside the Colonials’ blue line.
“Live, I thought he left his feet, which is a charge,” Schooley said. I didn’t think he made contact with the head, which [the referees also] determined, or he would have been ejected. On video, I’m not sure. The problem with hockey nowadays — no matter what level — if you hit somebody hard, odds are you’re going to get a penalty. Live, I thought it was a penalty. With video, which I have the ability to watch, I’m not sure.”
With Ghantous in the box, not only did the Colonials keep the Pioneers off the board, Mann, Daniel Leavens and Brady Ferguson took off on an odd-man rush that Leavens finished for what would become the game-winning goal.
It’s been a bumpy ride for the RMU penalty kill unit this season. After being shredded the first three games of the season, they’ve stepped up to kill 20 of their last 22, including two majors. In fact, in that span, they’ve scored three shorthanded goals, so the penalty kill has been a net positive.
“We tried to instill at the beginning of the year some different traits in our penalty kill — being aggressive,” Schooley said. “I don’t think that we got it. We didn’t figure out exactly what we were doing. We had to do a little bit better job of teaching it. We had to do a little bit better job with video and we had to break some habits that we were accustomed to in the past. I think we’re starting to get it. Obviously, we’ve done a very good job with it the last couple of weeks. That’s a credit to our guys for buying in, seeing that it didn’t work and finishing the job.”
PILING ON
For the second straight evening, the Colonials were able to turn a 2-1 lead into a more significant advantage by adding on a goal in the second half of the third period. Saturday, it was Tonge, who finished a 2-on-1 with Ferguson for his seventh goal of the season.
“I though that we had our best couple shifts [in the third period,]” Schooley said. “I thought Ferguson, Leavens and Tonge, who were invisible most of the night, really did a good job of pinning them in the zone. They created some chances, they tried to dump the puck and the next thing you know, we got a bounce into the 2-on-1 and did a good job of converting there.”
The biggest benefactor of the insurance goals is the team’s defense. Instead of having to sweat out a one-goal finish on the road, the Colonials were able to add on and then keep adding on with an empty-netter, this time courtesy of Alex Bontje.
“It’s awesome,” Mann said. “It’s all about doing the little things right and keeping it simple. Everyone’s working together. No one’s being too selfish out there. Guys have really bought into that and good things happened when you do that. To get two goals after the 2-1 lead both nights is pretty awesome.”
UNEXPECTED CONTRIUBTORS
Bontje’s goal was just his third in his three-year career at Robert Morris. The game’s first goal was scored by Alex Dagnal, who is in his second season with the team, but scored the fourth goal of his career. Dagnal, a Pittsburgh native, is a former walk-on and had played in just one game this year coming into the weekend.
But when a loose puck took an awkward carom straight to the tape of his stick in the first period, he made it count to give his team a 1-0 lead.
“It took a weird bounce and ended up on my stick,” Dagnal said. “I just sorta shoveled it towards the net. … I think when everyone contributes, it’s a good thing. We can take some pressure off that top line and just kind of gets everyone in the mix.”
