#21 Stallions Split with #15 Robert Morris

The Stallions entered the weekend on a 6 game winning streak and were focused on moving up the ACHA Rankings against a good Robert Morris team. The Stallions had never beaten the Eagles in their 10 previous meetings, but were looking to change their luck.

FRIDAY, Feb 15 WMU 3, RMU 2 SO

The Stallions started strong against the Eagles on Friday night with physical play and good defense. That defense led to the first goal for the Stallions when an Eagle defender fumbled the puck and Wyatt Ford jumped on the loose puck and went on the attack. Ford weaved through three Eagle defenders before firing a tricky backhander on net which eluded the Eagle goaltender and put the Stallions up 1-0.

Robert Morris tied the game in the second, but the Stallions pulled ahead 2-1 with a powerplay goal seven minutes later. Corey Siwula moved the puck from the half boards out to Michael Altobelli at the point. Altobelli then made a nice pass to Zachary Roberts for a one-timer which he put perfectly in the top right corner of the net for the goal!

The Stallions were working hard and playing well and looked to take a lead into the second intermission when a bad line change caught them up ice. The Eagles grabbed a poor dump in and threw it up ice, catching all of the Stallion skaters out of positon. The Eagles broke into the zone on a 3-0 breakaway. The Eagle forward faced Hufford down, then passed the puck to the far forward who shot it into the open net.

The third period featured more back and forth hockey with good saves by both goalies. Robert Morris was starting to build an edge in shots on goal, but they couldn’t get one past Stallion goalie Alex Hufford.
The third period ended tied at 2 and five more minutes of 4 of 4 and 3 on 3 hockey did not produce another goal, so the game went to a shootout.

After three rounds of the shootout, neither team had scored, so the shootout moved to a round by round sudden death The fourth and fifth rounds passed without a goal as well as Hufford continued to make save after save. After Hufford stoned an Eagle shot to start the 6th round of the shootout, Wyatt Radakovitz took the puck at center ice and started to snake his way down the ice , eventually approaching the goalie from his stick side. Radakovitz faked his shot, dropping the goalie to the ice, then stepped to the right and fired the puck over his glove and into the net!

With the goal, the players poured over the boards to celebrate a thrilling victory with Radakovitz and Hufford! This was the first win by the Stallions over Robert Morris University in program history.

Hufford ended the game with 38 saves on 40 shots in 65 minutes plus 6 shootout saves for his 20th win of the season.  The Stallions put 30 shots on the RMU goaltender.

Saturday, WMU 1 – RMU 5

The start of the game Saturday looked very similar to Friday. The teams played a tight, back and forth game with chances on both sides and some physical play. That lasted for about 10 minutes into the first period and then the penalties started. The teams combined for 34 penalties and 150 minutes in infractions, with two-thirds of those belonging to the Stallions.

Robert Morris capitalized on their power play chances to score two goals in the first period. The Stallions could not respond as RMU scored 2 more goals in the second period and one more in the third as the parade to the penalty box continued.

The Stallions finally got on the board with a power play goal of their own when Corey Siwula passed the puck over to Levi Rowan at the point and he threw a shot on net that missed everyone, including the goalie on its way to the back of the net.

The Stallions were only able to muster 26 shots on goal. Hufford made 33 saves on 38 shots.

UP NEXT:

The Stallions play a home and home series with GLCHL rival, Oakland University, this weekend.

Friday’s game starts at 8:45pm at the ONYX Rochester Ice Arena.

The Stallions play in Kalamazoo Saturday night at 8:30pm at Wings West. The Stallions will honor their Seniors before the game.