Robert Morris worked some new faces into the lineup Saturday on the second night of a back-to-back against the Canisius Golden Griffins, but took a 4-1 loss to leave Buffalo with a split.
Senior goaltender Andrew Pikul got the start for the first time this season and made 27 saves, but the Colonials were outshout, 31-24 on the night.
Offensively, freshman forward Nick Prkusic, an Alberta native, made his NCAA debut, skating on the left wing of the fourth line, but he, like most of the rest of the RMU offense was held off the scoresheet.
Redshirt junior winger Michael Louria provided the only offensive output, scoring an unassisted goal to even the score at 1-1 near the midway point of the first period.
But a pair of Matt Hutchison power play goals provided more than enough margin for the Golden Griffins. The Colonials penalty kill fell to 13 for 17 (76.5 percent) on the season, eighth in the 11-team Atlantic Hockey conference. The Colonials killed 84.4 percent of their penalties a year ago.
The RMU power play has also been off to a slow start. They were blanked against Canisius on Saturday and are now 4 of 24 (16.7 percent) on the season, down from 22.2 percent in 2016-17.
Senior forward Brady Ferguson was held off the board for the first time this season. He remains the conference’s leader with five points. Canisius forward Dylan McLaughlin is one of two players tied in second with four points.
THE ROAD AHEAD
It remains early in the season, but the schedule-makers for the AHC didn’t do Robert Morris any favors. The Colonials start the season with five straight conference games before a home-and-home non-conference series with Ohio State Oct. 27 and 28. Next weekend, the Colonials will host Army West Point for two games, with the RMU home opener taking place on Friday night. That game will face off at 7:05 p.m.
