Randy Hernandez nets first collegiate goal to lead Colonials to the series sweep against the Chargers

The+Colonials+ready+for+a+faceoff+against+Alabama-Huntsville+on+November+21%2C+2020+%0APhoto+credit-+Nathan+Breisinger

Nathan Breisinger

The Colonials ready for a faceoff against Alabama-Huntsville on November 21, 2020 Photo credit- Nathan Breisinger

Ethan Morrison

MOON TOWNSHIP- After a five-goal rout in the third period in Saturday night’s game against Alabama-Huntsville (0-2). The Robert Morris men’s hockey team (2-0) looked to ride that momentum into the Sunday afternoon’s matinee game to secure the series sweep.

In Coach Schooley’s post-game interview he said, “To gut it out with two power-play goals and then to tie it and go onto win it was good… We found a way to get the job done”

All afternoon the Colonials and Chargers traded goals until late in the third period.

Robert Morris picked up where they left off last night as not even 30 seconds into the game, as senior forward Nick Prkusic found the back of the net, beating UAH goaltender Derek Krall.

After the game, Schooley commented about the senior’s first goal of the campaign, “We tried to get the puck from low to high and that was something that we talked about before the game and that was something that we saw in that instance.”

Colonials were able to get a few chances off of some turnovers from Alabama-Huntsville but they were unable to capitalize on any of those chances.

Later in the first period, UAH was able to even up the score with some tic-tac-toe passing. Bauer Neudecker was able to find the back of the net with around eight and a half minutes remaining in the first period.

Towards the end of the period, the Colonials controlled possession getting shots up left and right; but in the end, there was nothing to show for on the scoreboard as they went to the locker room tied 1-1.

At the beginning of the second period, the penalties started to pile up as Nolan Schaeffer was called for boarding. The Chargers were able to capitalize with the man-advantage with a goal from Dayne Finnson, which gave Alabama-Huntsville a one-goal advantage 6:21 into the second period.

A few minutes later, UAH was sent back to the power-play as Nick Prkusic was called for goalie interference. As time expired for Alabama-Huntsville on their power-play, Aidan Spellacy had a two on one chance and was able to bury one past Krall on a nice wrister.

Shortly thereafter, the Chargers would then retake the lead when Tyr Thompson scored on a broken play.

But the Colonials kept battling as with less than a minute to go in the second period when RMU was sent out on the power play. They didn’t waste any time as Santeri Hartikainen scored on the powerplay with around 0:40 left in the period. Robert Morris would go into the break even at three which would set up an interesting finish.

The third period started off fast, as both teams were jockeying for possession. Freshman forward Randy Hernandez even rang one off the crossbar.

Then there was a battle in front of the Alabama-Huntsville net, as multiple Colonials were trying to knock the puck home. The one guy to do it was Randy Hernandez. Hernandez was one of the most talked-about freshmen in the 2020 recruiting class. He not only scored his first career NCAA goal but it also turned out to be the game-winning goal.

The Colonials had controlled the rest of the game from there on out, as Reid Cooper made some nice saves to keep the Colonials up by one goal.

The Chargers made one last-ditch effort by pulling the goalie, but it was all for naught, as the Colonials completed the series sweep with a 4-3 win.

“You talk about resiliency, you play back to back games on the weekend and just the appreciation of playing, let alone two wins was exciting,” Schooley said

“Wins are hard to come by. To go 2-0 on the weekend it is something special to start the year.”

The next time the Colonials will hit the ice will be on Friday, November 27 against Canisius College at Clearview Arena, for what will be their first taste of Atlantic Hockey action this season. Puck drop is at 5:05 PM.