After dropping their Friday contest against the UConn Huskies, the Robert Morris University NCAA men’s hockey team defeated the Huskies, 4-3.
For the second time in as many games, the Colonials found themselves down early in the game when Billy Latta scored a 5-on-3 goal for the Huskies.
RMU answered with a power play of its own, as Greg Gibson scored his third goal of the season, tying the game 1-1.
Unfortunately for the Colonials, they found themselves down a player after senior forward Zach Hervato was assessed a two minute penalty for charging, as well as a 10-minute misconduct and a game misconduct penalty.
UConn would take the lead again at 13:36 of the first, and at the end of the first period it was 2-1 Huskies. “You just have to stay focused, you can’t let it beat you up,” said sophomore forward, Cody Wydo. “You have to fight through it and not really think about it and just put it behind you.”
Just 57 seconds into the second, Wydo once again tied the game for RMU with his ninth goal of the season.
Adam Brace would score his eighth goal of the season and put the Colonials ahead 3-2 at 14:32 of the second.
“I thought Adam Brace and Cody Wydo were outstanding this weekend, it was tough with a short bench and only using eleven forwards,” said head coach Derek Schooley. “Our guys responded, we had guys playing in different roles. We had a lot of guys step up in key situations and it was great for their confidence and for our hockey team.”
UConn would answer back and tie the game at 3 when Jordan Sims scored his second of the game with just 50 seconds left in the second period.
Freshman forward David Friedmann scored the game-winning goal for the Colonials at the 13:21mark of the third period.
“I haven’t scored in five games, and today I had four or five chances prior to the goal,” said Friedmann. “Just little things weren’t going my way, so it’s good to contribute and get the win tonight.”
“We had a little fire ignited. It was the first adversity we’ve faced all year,” said Schooley. “ We had a choice, either throw gas on the fire, which Zach Hervato did, and that was frustration, or we could put the fire out. I think our team responded and we did a great job in the second and third period.”
For the second night in a row, the Colonials also played in front of a large crowd of fans.
“It feels good to play in front of so many fans especially when you make good plays and nice hits and goals,” said Wydo. “They get nice and loud for us, so it brings a lot of energy to the team.”
“I was pretty surprised since everyone isn’t back at school yet, so we were kind of worried that we wouldn’t have a lot of people here, so we were impressed. It was awesome to play in front of such a loud crowd. It obviously fuels us when it’s such a loud barn so that was awesome.”
Up next, the Colonials will travel to Springfield, Massachusetts to face American International College with Friday’s game set to start at 7:05 p.m. and Saturday’s at 3:05 p.m.
