ROCHESTER, N.Y. — In his first two seasons at Robert Morris, defenseman Elias Ghantous played just four games. In 2016-17, his junior season, Ghantous earned an opportunity for more playing time, and on Friday, he skated in his 36th game of the season.
Ghantous, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound Ottawa native, is a defensive defenseman. Paired with offensively oriented Eric Israel, Ghantous is a physical presence on the blue line that takes care of things in his own end first. Through 39 career games, he owned just four points.
Friday against Canisius in the Atlantic Hockey semifinal, the pairing of Ghantous and Israel was on the ice for five of the Colonials’ six goals, but it was Ghantous instead of Israel earning the offensive accolades. He had two assists and was a plus-four in the Colonials’ 6-2 win over the Golden Griffins.
His first came on the game’s first goal, as Ghantous made a fantastic diagonal pass to a streaking Brandon Watt to set up the play.
Spencer Dorowicz gets the Colonials on the board first! #ColonialPride pic.twitter.com/bdGPAb9V7w
— RMU Hockey (@RMUMHockey) March 17, 2017
“We knew going in that we wanted to have the first goal, but honestly, I was just making the right play,” Ghantous said. “I saw Brandon Watt wide open, he made a nice play to Spencer Dorowicz and he just got it in. When it comes to my play, it’s defense first. If I can make the right play and it leads to offensive points, it’s all good.”
That became important as the Colonials extended their lead and Canisius became desperate to avoid the end of it’s season. With the Golden Griffins swarming, Ghantous led the charge on the Robert Morris pushback, stepping up his physical play to meet the level of the hard-charging Griffins.
“That was very important,” Ghantous said. “We didn’t want to sit back. I was preaching on the bench for hard plays, whether it was with the puck or with the body. My physicality was very important on the ice. I needed to keep their top guys in check and let them know that we weren’t going to sit back and let them come back into it. We played physically and didn’t give them any life.”
The strong play of Ghantous on the big stage is a credit to both the player and Schooley for sticking with one another when things didn’t look like they were working out in Ghantous’ first two seasons.
“We had a whole bunch of seniors [graduate this year],” Schooley said. “He wanted an opportunity. He’s been given that opportunity and he’s taken advantage of it. … He’s a ham and egger. He’s a solid defender that plays well in his own end and competes hard.”
“After the game, I was quite emotional,” Ghantous said. “I was just struck by the whole experience and the whole journey. Sitting two years, not playing at all and then coming in, playing my first game in Rochester and getting two points, it’s a lot of emotion. I’m just here trying to play my role and my role only. If I can chip in on the offensive side, then that’s just bonus.”
