Robert Morris got two second-period goals from Aaron Clarke and a 28-save performance from Christian Boucher to topple Bemidji State, 2-1, in a College Hockey America contest tonight.
The teams skated to a scoreless first period, and BSU committed two penalties in the final minute to send Robert Morris into the second with a five-on-three power-play opportunity. Juna Keinänen (Lempääla, Finland) was called for hooking at 19:17 of the first and Matt Pope was called for hooking at 19:36, leaving the Beavers two men down for the first 1:17 of the second period.
Clarke needed 45 seconds of the second period to take advantage with his second goal of the season to break a scoreless deadlock and put Robert Morris on top, 1-0. He picked up his second goal less than six minutes later, with assists from Sean Berkstresser and Chris Margott to give the Colonials a 2-0 advantage.
The 2-0 lead held into the third period. The Beavers picked up their only goal of the contest when Rob Sirianni (Edmonton, Alberta) scored his ninth goal of the season, tied for the team lead, 4:51 into the third period.
The goal was the 30th of Sirianni’s career.
BSU killed off two Robert Morris power-play opportunities to remain down a goal, and the Beavers played the game’s final 45 seconds with an empty net but could not even the scoreboard.
Boucher out-duelled BSU netminder Layne Sedevie, who allowed Clarke’s two second-period markers against 21 saves. He took the hard-luck loss and fell to 6-3-1. Sedevie is 0-3-1 in his last four starts after a 6-0-0 start.
Boucher picked up 28 saves, giving him 76 in the two-game weekend series, and improved to 5-11-1.
BSU may have set the tone for the contest from the opening faceoff. The Beavers played the first two minutes of the contest a man short after being issued an protocol violation minor during pre-game warmups for failing to clear the ice on time.
BSU was called for five minor penalties for 10 minutes, with the Colonials going 1-for-5 on the power play. Robert Morris committed three minor penalties for six minutes, with the Beavers finishing 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
The Beavers fell to 5-1-0 all-time against Robert Morris, 3-1-0 in road games.
BSU saw its season record fall to 10-8-2 with the loss, and the Beavers fell to 5-3-0 in College Hockey America play. Robert Morris improved to 5-12-1 and 2-4-0 in CHA play. BSU is back in action next weekend with a two-game home CHA series against Wayne State.
