Exhibition games are used to determine what type of team you will have for the upcoming season. Sunday night, the Robert Morris University NCAA men’s hockey team put their skills on display against Wilfrid Laurier University.
The Colonials defeated the Golden Hawks by the score of 10-4 with goals from seven different players including three goals from senior forward, Zach Hervato and two from sophomore forward, Scott Jacklin.
“It felt pretty good, after a slow start I thought we turned it on pretty well,” said Jacklin.
For Hervato, scoring those three goals was definitely confidence builder after what he considered to be a disappointing season on the stats sheet in 2011-2012.
“It felt great, it’s only exhibition games, but it felt good to get those goals under my belt,” said Hervato. “Last season was tough for me, but hopefully I’ll have a lot more to come this year.”
While the Colonials are happy with their 10-4, victory they know that there are things they need to improve on before the start of the regular season.
“A big positive is that we scored scored ten goals,” said Jacklin. “The biggest negative is that we gave up four goals so we need to work on not letting up as many.”
Hervato also agreed that the team cannot continue to give up four goals once the regular season starts.
“When we’re playing real NCAA teams we need to cut that four down to a one or a two every game,” said Hervato. “We need to work on our defensive play a little bit more, but we’re a young team so other than that I think we played really well.
The Colonials not only put their scoring abilities on display, but they also proved that they are a tough team.
They also showed that they are a smart team. Wilfrid Laurier saw three players get ejected from the game for various acts from fighting to spearing.
“It was a really chippy game, lots of slashing and elbowing into the head,” said Jacklin. “They kind of took liberties.”
Tonight the Colonials had 12 new players in the lineup from freshmen to transfers and call-ups from the D1 Club team.
“They did a great job. They did great in every situation. Coach Schooley had them on power plays, penalty kill, special teams, they stepped up and played really well,” said Hervato. “They enjoyed themselves out there, and didn’t make any mistakes. It was good for them to get out there and get their feet under them and get some confidence for next weekend.”
The Colonials will begin their regular season play when they travel to Hamden Connecticut to face the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Saturday, October 13 at 4:00pm and Sunday, October 14 at noon.
