Head Coach Derek Schooley joined Junker and Laird.
Fresh off a perfect 4-0 road swing, the first-place Robert Morris University Colonials carry a program-best six-game winning streak into a home showdown with second-place Canisius. RMU leads the Golden Griffins by eight points for the AHC’s top spot with four weeks to go in the regular season.
PROMOTIONS
A free shuttle will run from the Moon Township campus to the Island Sports Center on Friday from 6-10 p.m. Saturday is Boy Scout Night, with the first 750 fans through the gate receiving a replica 2014 Atlantic Hockey championship ring, courtesy of Dick’s Sporting Goods. Also, Saturday is the final Skate with the Colonials event of the season; bring your own skates for the post-game session or rent them for $2.50 per person.
ABOUT ROBERT MORRIS
– The Colonials continued their recent scoring binge last weekend by netting 10 goals in a sweep at Air Force. The twin victories broke a seven-game losing streak for RMU at the Academy, a drought that dated back to 2006.
– RMU’s top line of Cody Wydo, Scott Jacklin and Zac Lynch kept clicking, combining for 14 points (5g, 9a) at Air Force. That trio remains the second-highest scoring line in Division I hockey, with 99 points on the season.
– Lynch stretched his scoring streak to six games, putting up six points for the second time in three weekends. The Pittsburgh native earned his first-ever AHC Player of the Week honor Tuesday, then collected the league’s Player of the Month prize Wednesday for piling up 17 points (8g, 9a) in 10 January games.
– Last Friday marked the first time this season RMU had won when trailing after two periods (1-3-3). Junior defenseman Tyson Wilson’s two late goals keyed the 5-4 overtime victory, as the Colonials rebounded from a pair of two-goal deficits to stun Air Force.
– Junior goalie Terry Shafer wrapped up an impressive January with 26 saves Saturday. He went 3-1-1 in the month with a .937 save percentage and 1.97 goals-against average.
– FUN FACT: The Colonials are only one win shy of matching the program record for victories in a season. RMU won 20 games in 2012-13 and followed that up with 19 last year.
SCOUTING CANISIUS
– Canisius is the only team in the nation with a longer unbeaten streak than Robert Morris, as the Golden Griffins are 6-0-1 in their past seven to climb the conference standings and made strides toward securing a first-round bye in the upcoming AHC playoffs.
– This is the first meeting between these two teams since last year’s Atlantic Hockey championship game. In that winner-take-all battle, RMU scored five third-period goals to prevail 7-4, clinching its first conference title and NCAA Tournament berth.
– Canisius features nine seniors among the returners from last year’s team, led by defenseman and captain Doug Jessey. The Griffins are coached by 10th-year head man Dave Smith, who has pushed Canisius to back-to-back AHC championship games.
– While RMU has Wydo (1st – 38 points) and Lynch (3rd – 34) amongst the top AHC scorers, the Canisius duo of junior Ralph Cuddemi and sophomore Shane Conacher aren’t far behind with 29 points apiece. Cuddemi has 16 goals to lead the Griffins, while Conacher’s 22 assists are the most in the conference.
– Canisius netminder Keegan Asmundson joined Lynch on the AHC monthly honor roll. The junior went 5-1-1 with a .941 save percentage in January, boosting his season stats to 7-5-4 and .920 with a 2.32 goals-against average.
