PITTSBURGH — The Robert Morris Colonials put together their fourth solid effort in a row, and played a strong 60 minutes of hockey in their 5-0 victory over the Lake Superior State University Lakers on Friday night at PPG Paints Arena in opening round action of the annual Three Rivers Classic.
Leading the way were forwards Brady Ferguson and Timmy Moore who managed a goal and two assists each, all coming in a first period assault from the Colonials that ensued right after the first puck drop.
“That was a really complete performance,” Colonials coach Derek Schooley said. “Our effort level, our intensity was outstanding. We jumped on them and we stayed on them. Our work ethic and our shot blocking was still there when it was 5-0 and that was a 60-minute workmanlike effort.”
Meanwhile, sophomore goaltender Francis Marotte wasn’t tested often, but when he was, he came through with saves as he stopped 19 shots in his third shutout performance of the season. Marotte came through with a similar performance against Ferris State in the opening round a year ago and seems prepared to face yet another ranked opponent in Providence in the championship game on Saturday night.
“I’m just going to be ready just like I was today and I’m sure our team is going to show up and play hard like they did today,” Marotte said following his eighth win of the season
Moore opened the scoring for the Colonials at the 7:06 mark when he took a backhand pass from Ferguson while skating towards to slot and put it past starting Lakers goaltender Mareks Mitens.
It was the first of a three-goal onslaught that saw linemate Alex Tonge finish another near perfect pass from Ferguson, while Ferguson himself closed out the opening frame with a highlight reel goal just over two minutes left in the opening frame.
Before their recent four-game stretch, the Colonials had been guilty of not maintaining focus for 60 minutes, leading to several leads that they watched become losses, while not getting off to the type of start they’d like on other nights.
But since a rallying moment in a road game at Penn State several weeks ago, a game they lost but managed to find themselves as a team in, the Colonials have very much resembled the team that they’d been accustomed to being, playing fast, hard and physical, while staying focused defensively.
Schooley pointed out that belief in themselves as players and as a team has been the biggest factor in their turnaround.
“I asked a question in our meeting before that game and I said maybe we’re just not good enough,” Schooley said. “And the resounding answer I got from the team, and I knew the answer but I wanted them to say it, was that was completely not true, we just haven’t played to our potential. We’ve already had our launching pad, now it’s up to us to sustain it. We can’t let any negativity draw into that.”
As evidence of that belief, the Colonials stretched out the lead on a goal from freshman defenseman Nick Jenny, while Luke Lynch closed out the scoring with his 12th goal of the season on a power-play tally from close range. The Colonials never looked back the rest of the way, taking care of the details of winning hockey by blocking shots and keeping the Lakers out of the prime scoring areas en route to the win.
