Mt. Pleasant, PA- RMU Roller Hockey game out strong to start the spring semester leg of their schedule. The ECRHA event in Mt. Pleasant presented RMU with 3 opponents for the weekend. It began with Penn State, who the Colonials easily handled 9-1. Then RMU faced Western Michigan, and in a tight game the Colonials found themselves on the wrong end of a 5-4 result. Finally, the Colonials played division rival RIT and won a thrilling 7-6 OT game.

Game 1: RMU wins 9-1 over Penn State

RMU took control of this game early and never let it go. Forward Zach Bolotsky opened the scoring for the Colonials less than 4 minutes into the first period. RMU then went to work on a powerplay following a Nittany Lion penalty for too many men. Cameron Zahn buried it with the man advantage to make it a 2-0 Colonial lead. 

The second period is when RMU began scoring at will. They outshot Penn State 15-5 in the 2nd period, and outscored them 6-1 in that span. It started with Cameron Zahn getting his 2nd of the game 15 seconds into the period. After a quick answer by PSU to make it 3-1, Robert Morris took control. Bolotsky got his second of the game, and become one of three Colonials to record multiple goals in the game. The third was the captain, Jesse Zahn. He followed up Bolotsky's second with 2 goals of his own, one on the powerplay. 

Some defensemen got in on the goal scoring action as well. Michael Tapolci got his 3rd of the season to make it a 7-1 game. Connor McCabe added a goal of his own make it a 8-1 game entering the final period of play. 

In the third, RMU focused more on their defensive effort since they had a strong lead in hand. Goalie Tyler Cerminara stopped all 12 shots he faced in the third period, and 22 of 23 overall in the victory. Zach Bolotsky added one more goal on the day to seal the 9-1 victory. 

Game 2: RMU loses 5-4 to Western Michigan

RMU played one of their few out of conference games this season against Western Michigan. RMU got the early advantage on the Mustangs thanks to a Connor McCabe blast. The Colonials took the 1-0 lead to the intermission. Robert Morris doubled up on their lead when Jesse Zahn tallied his third of the weekend to expand the lead to 2-0.

RMU struggled defensively following that. The Mustangs got 4 straight goals during a lengthy stretch from the middle of the 2nd to the middle of the 3rd period. Despite the score being 4-2, it did not keep the Colonial down for the rest of the game.

Sean Lawrence scored to cut the deficit in half midway through the final period. Western Michigan scored again to make it 5-3, but RMU's Jack Clendaniel netted a powerplay goal to make it 5-4 with a minute to go. Unfortunely, there's where the comeback attempt would end. Goalie TJ Caton made 24 saves in the loss.

Game 3: RMU wins 7-6 (OT) over Rochester Institute of Technology

RMU ended the weekend with an offensive shootout against RIT. Defenseman Vince Passante opened the scoring less than a minute in, but the lead didn't hold for long. RIT scored three goals over the course of a 3 minute stretch over the middle of the first. A late powerplay rocket from Cameron Zahn made the game 3-2 RIT entering the intermission.

The Colonials used the momentum from the Zahn goal to tie it up in the 2nd period. Zach Bolotsky scored for the Colonials to make it a tie game once again. When RIT scored to retake the lead 4-3 late in the 2nd, it appeared that would be the score entering the final period of play. But a Jesse Zahn goal with less than a minute to go tied it up 4-4 before the break.

Both of the Zahn brothers added another goal for the RMU cause in the 3rd period, but two RIT goals including the final goal of regulation forced the game to overtime with the score 6-6. Overtime took a while to decide as well. Goaltender TJ Caton stood strong during OT, and finished with 24 saves. Vince Passante put a fitting bookmark to the end of the weekend, opening and closing the scoring of the game. His OT winner helped propel RMU to a 2-1 weekend split and a 9-3 record overall this season.

Alexander Gagnon '21
Club Sport Information Director