Robert Morris dominated the shot chart and the scoreboard as it opened its third season with a 4-2 win at Canisius Saturday afternoon. Despite having to face 15 power-play chances, the Colonials outshot the host Griffins, 42-18, in a game that was highlighted by 24 power plays, 32 penalties and 80 penalty minutes.
Junior forward Sean Berkstresser earned first star honors by scoring a goal and an assist. Senior forward Aaron Clarke tacked on two assists as the Colonials evened the all-time series with the Griffins at two games apiece. RMU defeated Canisius, 3-1, in their first-ever game and are now 2-0 at the Buffalo State Sports Arena.
The Colonials dominated the opening period of play, outshooting the hosts, 16-4, but neither team could find the net. Robert Morris finally cracked the board 8:56 into the second period on Berkstresser’s power-play goal with assists from sophomore Chris Margott and junior captain Chris Kaufman. Sophomore Jason Towsley stretched the margin to 2-0 at 12:24 when he made good on assists from Berkstresser and junior Andrew Bonello.
Canisius got on the board courtesy of Carl Hudson and one of their 15 power plays on the night. Hudson scored with help from Chris Forsman and Jason Week with 2:35 left in the middle stanza.
The Colonials responded 2:42 into the third period on Jake Obermeyer’s first goal in a RMU uniform, which came via the power play. His goal came off of assists from Clarke and junior blueliner Jeff Gilbert. Ten minutes later, junior Joel Gasper stretched the margin to 4-2 on Clarke’s second assist and junior Ryan Cruther’s first assist as a Colonial.
Hudson’s second goal of the night capped the scoring at 4-2. His power-play goal, the second of the night for Canisius, came at 14:19 on assists by Josh Hedinger and Michael Cohen.
RMU junior netminder Christian Boucher turned away 16 shots for the win while Bryce Luker took the loss despite making 38 saves, including 29 over the first two periods of play.
The host Griffins enjoyed 15 power plays, scoring twice, while the Colonials went 2-for-9 on the man advantage. Robert Morris was called for penalties totaling 46 minutes and Canisius had 13 infractions for 34 minutes.
