Robert Morris (12-9-2 / 7-8-1) vs Sacred Heart (0-22-2 / 0-15-2)
Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, at 7:05 p.m. / 84 Lumber Arena (1,200) - Pittsburgh, Pa.
Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013, at 7:05 p.m. / 84 Lumber Arena (1,200) - Pittsburgh, Pa.
About Robert Morris - Robert Morris’ overall record of 12-9-2 shadows the team’s conference record as the Colonials are currently sitting in tenth place in the AHA standings with 15 points and a record of 7-8-1. Robert Morris is averaging 2.8 goals per game while the team has allowed an average of 2.5 goals per game to their opponent. Senior Eric Levine is first all-time on the school’s career save percentage (.928) and goals-against average (2.64) lists. His four career shutouts also rank number one in program history. His career-best 11 victories this season are third all-time for a single season at the school, while his 35.40 saves per game are the most in a season at Robert Morris. Senior Adam Brace leads the team this season with 13 assists and 22 points. Sophomore Cody Wydo leads the team with 10 goals. The Colonials are 2-3-1 at home this season with wins against Bentley and Connecticut as well as a tie with Ohio State. Robert Morris is 8-6-1 on the road so far this season with wins against No. 18 Quinnipiac, RIT, Canisius, Holy Cross, Ohio State, Penn State, Army, and American International. The only tie on the road for the Colonials came against Holy Cross. Two of the program’s biggest wins this season came in the inaugural Three Rivers Classic held at the CONSOL Energy Center as the Colonials shut out Penn State and No. 5 Miami to capture the first Confluence Cup. Senior Brendan Jamison was named one of the nominees for the Senior CLASS Award this season after becoming the first Pittsburgh-born captain in Robert Morris history. Three seniors - Adam Brace, Zach Hervato, and Eric Levine - were nominated for the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s best player. The Robert Morris hockey team has partnered with the Bakersfield Condors and the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL to raise awareness of men’s cancer and the battle that former captain Chris Kushneriuk is currently in with the disease. Together, the teams that Kushneriuk has played for have raised over $20,000 for the cause.
Scouting Sacred Heart - The Sacred Heart Pioneers are 0-22-2 in the 2012-2013 season with a 0-15-2 record against Atlantic Hockey opponents. The only points for the Pioneers this season have come with ties against Army and most recently, American International. Sacred Heart is averaging 2.12 goals per game while allowing their opponents to score an average of 5.17 goals per game. The Pioneers have scored on 10 of their 99 power plays (10.1 percent) while they have successfully killed 73 of their 102 penalties (29 goals allowed, 71.6 success rate). Sophomore Brian Sheehan leads the team with 20 points and 10 goals. Senior Eric Delong leads Sacred Heart with 11 assists this season. Three goaltenders have started for the Pioneers this season. Seeing the majority of the action has been senior Steven Legatto, who has started 14 games including their most recent contest against Princeton. Legatto holds a record of 0-13-1 with a 5.02 goals-against average and a .877 save percentage, a team best. Also seeing action for Sacred Heart has been sophomore Andrew Bodnarchuk (8 starts) and freshman Fredrik Melander (2 starts). Bodnarchuk’s 4.98 goals-against average is the lowest on the team.
Series vs. the Pioneers - Robert Morris will meet Sacred Heart for the only time this season as the Colonials host the Pioneers this weekend. All-time, the Colonials are 4-0-1 against the Pioneers. Since joining Atlantic Hockey, Robert Morris has gone 3-0-1 against Sacred Heart with the only tie coming in the first game of 2010-2011 series before the Colonials won the second game at home by a score of 5-1. Last season, the Colonials won both contests at Sacred Heart with 5-2 and 10-4 victories. The first-ever matchup of the two teams came in the first year of RMU’s program during the 2004-2005 season when the Colonials beat the Pioneers in the third-place game of the Rensselaer Holiday Hockey Tournament.
Road Woes - Robert Morris is just below .500 on the road since the team joined the Atlantic Hockey Association with a record of 21-24-6 as the squad plays in its third season as a member of the AHA. The Colonials have never had a winning record on the road, but this season RMU is currently 8-6-1 with three road contests remaining before the start of the Atlantic Hockey Association playoffs in March. The most prolific of the seven road victories this season came in the opening weekend of play as the Colonials shut out a nationally ranked Quinnipiac team. The Colonials also picked up their first ever win at RIT and the first win on the road against Canisius since the 2006-2007 season. Robert Morris then continued by downing a pair of future Big Ten members in Ohio State and Penn State. RMU skated in to Columbus, Ohio and took down the Ohio State Buckeyes by a score of 3-2 on Dec. 7. and then went to Penn State and defeated the Nittany Lions by a score of 3-2 as well. However, in 2013 the Colonials are 2-4-0 having split series with Army and American International before being losing both games at Air Force.
No Place Like Home - Robert Morris was 11-6-2 at home during the 2011-2012 season. Since the Colonials have joined Atlantic Hockey, Robert Morris is 22-11-6 on home ice. The Colonials have had only two seasons in which they have been under .500 at home, the 2004-2005 season and the 2009-2010 season. So far this season, RMU has gone 2-3-1 with 8 more home games remaining before the AHA playoffs begin in March.
Hobey Baker Nominees - Three seniors from the Robert Morris men’s ice hockey team are among the candidates for the Hobey Baker Award as the fan voting portion of college hockey’s most prestigious award has begun. Forwards Adam Brace and Zach Hervato join goaltender Eric Levine on the ballot as the representitives from the Colonials. Fans can log on to hobeybakeraward.com and make a selection from the list of 77 candidates as voting is open until March 10. A second round of fan voting will begin on March 22 as the ten finalists will be announced prior to the winner being announced at the Frozen Four.
Weekly Honors - Six different Colonials have received weekly honors from the Atlantic Hockey Association during the 2012-2013 season. Most recently, on Dec. 31, a pair of Colonials received honors for their performance in the Three Rivers Classic. senior goaltender Eric Levine was named Player and Goaltender of the Week after his two-day, 99-save performance. The Goaltender of the Week Award was Levine’s third of the season. Freshman Brandon Denham was named Co-Rookie of the Week after earning his first career goal in the 1-0 championship victory over nationally ranked Miami University. Eric Levine was named Goaltender of the Week for the second time this season on Dec. 10. Levine turned in a 79-save weekend performance as a win and a tie against Ohio State extended the Colonials’ unbeaten streak to four games. Levine’s award marked the second consecutive week that a Robert Morris student-athlete earned a weekly accolade from Atlantic Hockey. Prior to Levine’s honor, freshman forward David Friedmann was named the Rookie of the Week on Dec. 3 after his two-point performance against Holy Cross in which he returned to game action for the first time since Nov. 2. Friedmann was the second RMU freshman to earn Rookie of the Week honors as goaltender Terry Shafer earned the honor on Nov. 12 after he picked up his first career win and shutout as the Colonials picked up their first victory at Canisius since 2006. Line mates Zach Hervato and Jeff Jones earned Co-Players of the Week on Oct. 29 after their performances led Robert Morris to its first victory at RIT in program history. Hervato would contribute one goal and three assists while Jones would add a goal and two assists in the victory over the Tigers. The first Colonial to earn a weekly honor was Levine when he was named Goaltender of the Week on Oct. 15 after his 48-save shutout of #18 ranked Quinnipiac.
Classy Defenseman - Senior defenseman Brendan Jamison was one of twenty student-athletes named as a nominee for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award. The award recognizes achievements on and off the ice. A native of Pittsburgh, Jamison is a nominee field that will be cut down to ten finalists midway through the regular season. The winner will be chosen through a nationwide vote by media, coaches, and fans. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on student-athletes that use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact in their communities. As the team captain for the 2012-13 season, Jamison boasts a cumulative grade-point average of 3.70 and has been named to the Atlantic Hockey All-Academic Team in the two seasons that Robert Morris has been a member while majoring in both finance and accounting. In the community, Jamison and the entire Robert Morris team work with multiple youth programs in the area.
Men of the Century - Robert Morris has three players who have competed in at least 100 games during their NCAA career. Both Adam Brace and Brendan Jamison have each played in 120 contests during their careers. Brace played in 33 of those game during his freshman season with Canisius before transferring to Robert Morris. The most recent Colonial to surpass the century mark was Zach Hervato as he played in game 100 against Niagara on Nov. 17. With a minimum of 13 games remaining in the season for the Colonials, two more student-athletes could join the century club. Junior forward Colin South and senior assistant captain Tyler Hinds have both played in 87 career contests.
Levine Surpasses 1,500 Saves - Senior goaltender Eric Levine became the third goaltender in school history to reach the 1,500-saves as he reached the milestone during the game against Army on January 4, 2013. Averaging 30.54 saves per game over his career, could have a shot to reach 2,000 saves by the end of the season. The Colonials have 11 regular-season games remaining and at his current pace Levine would finish with 2,076 saves. Before Levine reached 1,500 saves, the most recent goaltender to reach the mark was Brooks Ostergard as he finished his career with 2,776 saves, the second most in program history. Levine currently ranks third on the career saves list. Christian Boucher holds the career saves record with 3,244 saves over his four-year career that started with Robert Morris’ first year of hockey in 2004.
