After dropping Thursday’s game by two goals to Niagara, the RMU men’s hockey team was able to rally this time around, defeating the Purple Eagles 5-0.

But the final score might seem unusual when looking at the shots since Niagara outshot the Colonials, 44-23.

“At the end of the day, we scored goals. We capitalized on our chances. I don’t think it was the prettiest win,” said head coach Derek Schooley. “You don’t ask for style points this time of year, you ask for results. We did what we had to do at this time of year, and that’s get a win.”

Two minutes into the opening period, junior Scott Jacklin posted the first goal of the evening with a swift shot from the slot, thanks to an assist from assistant captain Cody Wydo.

“Our line didn’t play our best game on Thursday, so it was good to get out of the gate right away,” said Jacklin of his goal. “It was nice to get the power going for sure.”

Late in the first period, RMU tackled a penalty kill with the usual unit, minus one. Top special teams contributor Cody Wydo spent two minutes watching from the box for a high sticking call instead of in his usual spot on the ice.

However, the Colonials successfully killed off the penalty just as they did the penalty before. The penalty kill trend would continue throughout the night, as the team managed to knock off six Niagara power play opportunities.

The middle period proved productive for Colonials. Zach Lynch struck at the 8:04 mark with another assist from Wydo. Later, at 16:24, Colin South struck for the third goal with an assist from Chase Golightly.

A mere minute into the final frame, Brandon Denham, unassisted, struck from the right side to bring the score to 4-0. To finish off the game at the 4:32 mark, David Friedmann deflected a shot from Jay Llewlyn.

Wydo would see his final minutes on the ice of the game halfway through the third period. After an awkward fall, the junior pushed his way back to the bench.

“Him [Wydo] not playing was more precautionary. I think it was more minor than anything.  We’ll find out more on Monday if there’s swelling,” said head coach Derek Schooley of the incident.

Tonight’s game would also mark yet another shutout for goaltender Terry Schafer, which is his second of the year and third of his career.

“I thought Terry Schafer was outstanding. He made every save look easy. He’s the reason why our penalty kill was 0-6,” said Schooley.

With just two weekends left in the regular season, Schafer has a distinct picture of what his team will look like in those final games.

“A hard working, determined team,” he said. “We’re to the point in the season where every point matters and this is really crunch time for us. And we feel like we’ve got a real good team right now and we’re hungry. We’re ready.”