Veteran sportswriter, member of the WDVE Morning Show and hockey aficionado Mike Prisuta has been covering the Pittsburgh sports scene for over 20 years. He has covered Pittsburgh sports as a reporter for the Beaver County Timesand as a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and has had his pulse on the happenings of each of the professional organizations and college programs in the area. A graduate of Michigan State University, Prisuta got his start in the profession covering the Spartan hockey program and possesses knowledge of the college hockey world unmatched in the region.

Throughout the 2011-12 season, Prisuta will serve up weekly stories surrounding Colonial hockey as well as the latest notes and news around college hockey.

Prisuta on Pucks: Colonials Remain Confident 

The Colonials picked up right where they had left off upon returning to Atlantic Hockey Association play at Bentley.

The first game of last weekend's two-game series was won on a goal scored with nine seconds remaining in regulation (2-1, Bentley).

The second was tied with RMU goaltender Eric Levine pulled and just two seconds left in the third period (Cody Wydo's team-leading ninth goal of the season earned the Colonials a 2-2 tie).

“I've said all along the goalie is going to be pulled, either by us or against us,” head coach Derek Schooley said. “This is a good league. The coaches do a good job, the players do a good job and you're going to see a lot of battles down the stretch.”

RMU is anticipating two more such battles when Holy Cross visits the RMU Island Sports Center at 7:05 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

The one-point weekend at Bentley left RMU at 9-8-3 overall and in third place in the AHA at 7-3-3 for 17 points.

Holy Cross hits town at 9-9-1 overall and tied for fifth in the AHA at 7-4-1 for 15 points. The Crusaders tied Air Force, 3-3, and then defeated Air Force, 4-3, last weekend, knocking Air Force from first to second in the AHA in the process (Mercyhurst has 20 points, followed by Air Force with 18 and RMU).

The Colonials are suddenly riding a three-game winless streak (0-2-1) in the wake of their school-record eight game unbeaten streak (the 6-0-2 run was snapped with a 4-2 loss to Ohio State on Dec. 30 in the RMU Hockey Showcase).

But Schooley nonetheless emerged encouraged after RMU was able to battle back in the second game against Bentley.

“I credit our resilience,” he said. “I credit the guys for battling back in a potential sweep situation and coming back to get a point in a tough place to play.”

That response was significant given the circumstances.

The last-second loss to Bentley marked the first time all season Robert Morris wound up losing a game it had led after two periods (8-1-1) and the first time Robert Morris had fallen in a one-goal game (4-1-0).

Turning the last-second tables the following night completed a comeback from a 2-0 deficit entering the final 20 minutes.

RMU's 8-for-8 performance in penalty killing against Bentley helped restore the PK to No. 1 in the nation (76-for-81, 94.4 percent) and the goaltending was good enough, and has been, that both Brooks Ostergard and Levine rank among the nation's best in save percentage (Ostergard is No. 6 at .930 and Levine No. 12 at .925).

Wydo is No. 12 nationally in points per game among rookies (0.87, 9-4—13 in 15 games).

And defenseman Josh Jones is leading the AHA in plus/minus at plus 13.

RMU, thus, remains an upbeat hockey team as it readies for Holy Cross.

“There's no panic right now,” Schooley said. “We're in a good position; we just need to take care of what's ahead.

“We like our hockey team. We feel we can compete in the upper echelon of our league.”