Pittsburgh, Pa. – The nation’s top-ranked power-play unit proved it on Saturday night as Robert Morris tallied four power-play goals in a 6-0 win over the Canisius College hockey team. The loss drops the Griffs to 4-11-1 on the season and 4-6-1 against Atlantic Hockey foes, while the first-place Colonials improved to 9-3-3 overall and 8-2-3 in league play.
Robert Morris scored its four power-play goals in just six opportunities on the night, while killing all five Canisius power plays in the victory.
The Colonials grabbed the early advantage in the game by connecting on their first power-play chance of the night. Matt Cope’s shot from the point made its way through a screen and into the net for the 1-0 advantage with 11:49 remaining in the first.
The Griffs then had a great chance to square the game but couldn’t convert when they had the extra man. Late in the first frame, Canisius earned two different 5-on-3 opportunities but weren’t able to capitalize as the schools headed into the intermission with the Colonials ahead, 1-0.
Robert Morris then seized control of the game with two extra-man tallies early in the second frame. Greg Gibson split the Canisius defense on a rush and finished for the 2-0 lead with 15:13 left in the period. Zac Lynch then scored a power-play tally with 12:53 remaining in the second for a 3-0 lead – all thanks to special teams.
The Colonials then added three tallies in the third frame en route to the 6-0 victory. David Friedmann redirected a shot in from the slot just 1:41 into the period before Daniel Leavens and Alex Dagnal added goals just 26 seconds apart at the 12:14 and 11:48 marks, respectively. Leavens’ tally marked Robert Morris’ fourth extra-man goal of the night as the Colonials special teams dominated in the winning effort.
Robert Morris finished the game with a 46-34 advantage in shots. Sophomore Reilly Turner (Temiscaming, Quebec) recorded 40 shots between the pipes for Canisius, while Terry Shafer stopped all 34 shots to earn the win for the Colonials.
The schools wrap up the two-game series tomorrow night in Buffalo. First faceoff at HARBORCENTER is scheduled for 7:35 p.m.
Game Notes: Canisius allowed four power-play goals in a game for the first time since Oct. 15, 2011 against Quinnipiac and the first time in Atlantic Hockey play since allowing five against Bentley on Jan. 9, 2009 … Robert Morris entered the game ranked first nationally with a 32.7 percent power-play unit … The six-goal loss is the largest for Canisius since a 6-0 defeat to RIT on Feb. 13, 2011 … The home team is now 12-2-1 in the series since Robert Morris joined Atlantic Hockey … Turner made 40 saves in back-to-back games after a career-best 42 last Saturday in a 4-2 win at Air Force.
