ERIE — The Robert Morris Colonials started out strong but couldn’t hold the Mercyhurst Lakers at bay, dropping the series finale 6-0 at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Colonials opened with a complete 180 from the previous evening by jumping all over Mercyhurst early, but like last night were subjected to another bounce the Lakers way early as Mary Kromer was able to find a puck and tip it past Maggie Hatch at 7:46 to make it 1-0 Mercyhurst. Robert Morris continued to pressure the Lakers the remainder of the period, but were unable to capitalize.
The second opened with much of the same, but Mercyhurst found a way to break through the Colonials attack and a shot from the point was deflected by Sydney Pedersen to extend the lead to 2 at 11:40. Vanessa Upson found a corner at 13:58 before Regina Metzler’s goal chased Hatch at 15:05. Pedersen was called for a contact to the head major and game misconduct at 19:40 and the Colonials finished the frame with a carry over power-play.
Vanessa Upson added goals at 8:48 & 10:46 of the third to close out the scoring for the Lakers.
Hatch stopped 18-of-22 shots she faced while Lucy Phillips stopped 10-of-12 in relief. Jorden Mattison stopped all 20 shots she faced for her fifth shutout of the season.
A LOT OF GOOD IN HIDING
What exactly could a lot of good mean in a 6-0 loss? Well, for a team that historically fares well in conference play it means that there’s a lot to unpack from the on-ice effort, as the Colonials looked competitive throughout the contest but could not stop the push back from the second best team in Atlantic Hockey America – something that will need to be looked at closely throughout the upcoming week.
The first goal was met with a great response by Robert Morris, ending the period with a great effort and the praise of many, including Logan Bittle.
“I thought the first period was one of the best periods we played all year,” Logan explained.
Up until Sydney Pederson’s redirect of a Megan McKay shot halfway through the second frame the Colonials seemed to have the Lakers on their toes.
What happened next was a repeat of the previous evening- even if it was for a five minute stretch. Upson and Metzler found the cage as a series of unmarked forwards and a Colonials defensive frenzy met in a confusing run that followed to Upson’s second goal along the post and third as she skated in from the top of the circle. During that time several opportunities by the Colonials were met with unlucky bounces, a few ‘friendly fire’ collisions between players, missed contact on passes and shots that ended up on the sticks of the Lakers forwards – all signs of a team trying too hard to dig themselves out of what was a smaller hole.
This is all good though as with a team that is in year two of a forced rebuild, missing their top forward due to injury and are seeing significant improvements made by the first recruiting underclass are seemingly starting to come together in the system. The defense proper, as they are listed, are anchored by a graduate student who is the last remaining of the first itineration of the team and the others are sophomores and first years who have really shown promise in what has been a pressure cooker of a season. The younger forwards are starting to buy into a system that the transfer classes have already established as a solid system and if the first period of the game was any indication, one that is starting to show as Colonials Hockey. Maggie Hatch is as good, if not better than any of the other net minders in Atlantic Hockey when you look on tape or watch in person.
“We have to learn to stop the bleeding. We let off for two minutes in the second period, and what good teams do is they take advantage of those two minutes and put in three goals. There’s a lot to like about the response but we have to figure out how to stop the bleeding and get on the attack as well.”
If the litmus test is that as a young team you lose some tough games against some really good teams but are competitive where it comes down to bounces and a few lapses in team defense, these Colonials are going to be fine.
UP NEXT
The Colonials head back to Neville Island to close out the season with six consecutive home contests starting with the Penn State Nittany Lions. Face-off is scheduled for 3:00pm at the Island Sports Center on Friday, January 31.
