Feasterville, PA- Robert Morris entered as the #1 seed for the ECRHA playoffs, and came out the other side champions! It was not an easy journey, but Robert Morris came up big in the end to win their first ever ECRHA championship against the defending champion UMass Minutemen. They will also now be eligible to head to Nationals held in Fort Myers, Florida on April 15th-19th.

This playoff format incorporated the use of a losers bracket to give teams a second chance if they lost a game. The loser's bracket would pay dividends for the Colonials championship run for without it they would not be champions. 

Playoffs Begin:

The team's journey began with receiving the first round bye and taking on Northeastern in the 2nd round of the playoff bracket. It was a convincing showing from the Colonials who looked tuned in during their 7-2 victory. Despite the 7 goal total, only 3 Colonials recorded a goal and all three had multi-goal outings. ECHRA Rookie of the Year Jack Clendaniel led RMU with a hat trick, and veterans Cameron Zayn and Sean Lawrence added 2 each in the win. 

With their win, they then advanced to the upper bracket finals against the University of Massachusetts, the #2 seed of the tournament. RMU entered the third period up 5-3, but the Minutemen scored 5 in the third and took the victory 8-6. Six different Colonials scored a goal in the game, a very different look from the prior game. In addition to the three players who scored against Northeastern, forward Jesse Zayn, defenseman Connor McCabe, and ECRHA Rookie of the Year Finalist Vince Passante added a tally in the goal column.

RMU found themselves in the loser bracket with an uphill battle to win a championship. Since they advanced to the upper bracket finals, RMU was automatically placed in the loser's bracket finals against West Chester. The winner would advance to take on UMass in the championship finals match. 

Robert Morris wouldn't let the opportunity go to waste. They kept their high-powered offense going in a strong 9-3 win over the Golden Rams. Cameron Zayn came up huge for the Colonials, recording 4 goals and 1 assist for a 5 point game. Jack Clendaniel (2 Goals, 3 Assists) and Sean Lawrence (2 Goals, 1 Assist) also recorded multi-point games. Alex Karol also added his first goal of the postseason in the victory.

Finals:

With that, RMU advanced to the finals for a rematch with UMass. One game would decide who's season would end and who could claim and ECRHA championship and advance to Nationals. From the opening puck drop, RMU attacked with precision and intensity. They scored 4 goals in the first, and did not allow UMass on the board as they took a 4-0 lead into the intermission.

The second period saw both teams trade a couple goals, with neither team particular dominating the period as goals were 2-2 and shots were 10-9 UMass. The Colonials had a 6-2 lead to enter the final frame, and just needed to preserve the lead.

UMass immediately started to make the Colonial fans sweat with 2 early goals in the third period to bring it to 6-4 with 8 minutes remaining. But the dominant playoff run from forward Cameron Zayn continued into the third period of the finals. He already had scored twice (1 in the first, 1 in the second), and he stepped up and added two more goals in the third period to keep RMU afloat. 

The Minutemen would score two more times before the end of the period, but ECRHA Goaltender of the Year TJ Caton stopped 9 shots in the third period and 25 in the game to preserve the win. The final buzzer sounded and the celebration was on for the first time champions. Cameron Zayn (4 goals), Jack Clendaniel (2 goals), Jesse Zayn (1 goal), and Alex Karol (1 goal) were the goalscorers for RMU.

RMU Roller Hockey twitter went into a frenzy to capture the scene, here's some of what went up.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY THE COLONIALS ARE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS!
— RMU Roller Hockey (@RMURollerHockey) March 8, 2020
 

ECRHA ?? pic.twitter.com/1KhfVGCdIK
— RMU Roller Hockey (@RMURollerHockey) March 8, 2020
 

Over the last few weeks our teammate Mike Tapolci's dad began his battle with Cancer. The blue ribbons we added to our helmets are part of our support of him. Not only did we beat the ECRHA but we're beating cancer too. This was our message for Mr. Jeff Tapolci after our big win. pic.twitter.com/EQBqz8Zx4I
— RMU Roller Hockey (@RMURollerHockey) March 8, 2020
 

Team has a month to prepare for Nationals at Fort Myers, FL. The Colonials have qualified for Nationals before, but this will be the first time in program history they do so as DII ECRHA champions. 

Alexander Gagnon '21
Club Sport Information Director