PITTSBURGH, Pa.-The American International College hockey team started off strong but a wild third period saw the Robert Morris Colonials earn a 9-4 win and a weekend sweep.
AIC falls to 3-16-6 on the year and 3-10-5 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the first-place Colonials are now 15-5-4 and 12-3-3 in the league.
The Yellow Jackets came out with a fire in their bellies, putting the first five shots on goal of the game at junior Terry Shafer (Penfield, N.Y.) within the first 2:30 of play.
The pace of the game continued at a high rate, and just past the ten minute mark RMU got their first grade-A scoring chance on a tip in front by senior right wing Jeff Jones (Revelstoke, B.C.), but freshman Alex Murray (Burlington, Ont.) was able to stab it with the glove.
AIC nearly potted one of their own thirteen and a half minutes in, as Shafer left a rebound in front that sophomore defenseman Wade Schools (Enfield, Conn.) tossed back at the net, but Shafer got a piece of it with his leg to keep the game scoreless.
Then, with RMU on the power play, sophomore left wing Austin Orszulak (Springfield, Mass.) came in on a breakaway, but Shafer was able to get the blocker on it.
In the second, the scoreless deadlock was broken by the Jackets, as senior right wing Jason Popek (Hamilton, Ont.) sprung senior center Matt Cassidy (London, Ont.) and junior left wing David Gandara (Canyon Lake, Calif.) on a two-on-one; Cassidy made a saucer pass to Gandara from the right side of the ice to the left, and Gandara fired it back into the top right corner at 2:11 for his fourth of the year.
However, Robert Morris struck back on the power play a bit over five minutes later when junior right wing Zac Lynch (Pittsburgh, Pa.) put back a rebound at 7:25 for his tenth of the year.
The Jackets came right back to regain the lead as Orszulak and senior center Alex MacMillan (Calgary, Alb.) came in on a two-on-one, and MacMillan ripped a shot five hole at 9:44 for his twelfth of the year and twenty-fifth point of the season.
Robert Morris responded again, with a slapshot from the slot by junior center Greg Gibson (Burlington, Ont.) eluding Murray and tying the game at 15:52. It was Gibson's fifth of the season.
They then took the lead on the power play, as Lynch scored again at 17:54 to make it 3-2 with his eleventh tally of the season.
Senior left wing Cody Wydo (Southgate, Mich.) expanded RMU's lead to 4-2 at 5:44 with his twelfth of the season as the Colonials took advantage of a turnover at center ice, and then on the next shift, senior center Scott Jacklin (Kimberley, B.C.) potted his tenth of the season on a one-timer in front.
The teams then traded goals as a shot fired deliberately wide by junior defenseman Derek Henderson (Smithfield, R.I.) bounced out the other side from behind and right to a wide open Popek, who then simply deflected it back home for his fifth of the season at 7:56; however, junior right wing Brandon Denham (Milton, Ont.) restored RMU's lead just thirty-seven seconds later with his seventh of the year on a rebound.
On a mid-period power play, AIC brought it back to 6-4, as MacMillan set up Orszulak in front for a shot that deflected off a defenseman in front and into the net at 10:55. The goal was his sixteenth of the season, tying the single-season record set by Adam Pleskach '13.
However, the next three goals all belonged to RMU in rapid succession, as Gibson scored his second of the night and sixth of the year at 13:03 and then Wydo put two home, at 13:41 and 15:02, for the hat trick, his twelfth and thirteenth of the season, breaking RMU's points record as he scored his 139th point on the hat trick goal to close out the scoring.
In goal, Murray stopped 36 of 45 shots in the loss to fall to 2-11-4 on the year, while Shafer had 27 saves on 31 shots in the win to improve to 7-2-3 on the season.
AIC returns to action and the Olympia Ice Center Friday, January 23 at 7:05 p.m. when they open a six-game homestand against Atlantic Hockey foe Air Force.
