An offensive surge and some timely goaltending sparked West Virginia to their first weekend sweep of the season. On Saturday night in Pittsburgh, West Virginia got goals JP Sawyer (2), Eric Keefe, Sebastian Thomas, Austin Crane, and Vince Fornes en route a solid 6-2 win over Robert Morris. With the game tied 1-1 heading into the secind period, the Mountaineers tallied three times in the middle frame, taking a 4-2 lead into the third. From there the team showed solid team defense and sound goaltending by Freshman Ben Zienty to repeatedly frustrate the highly skilled Colonials. 

With four regulars out of the lineup due to injuries, West Virginia got key contributions from freshmen Addison Collins, Thomas Meloy, and Alex Ventura. The forward line of Sawyer, Thomas, and Keefe put continous pressure on the RMU defenders, providing an offensive output that the team has been lacking for much of the season. The win over RMU revenged a 8-1 loss at the hands of the Colonials earlier in the year in Morgantown and highlighted the consistent improvement the young squad has made under second year Head Coach AJ Sturges. With the win, the Mountaineers moved to 5-6 in CHMA league play and in the thick of the playoff race with only 4 weeks remaining in the season. 

Friday January 20

Sebastian Thomas has two goals and Max Hedges and Eric Keefe had singles as West Virginia survived a late rally to outlast Rochester Institute of Technology 4-3 in Morgantown. Ryan Wickiser picked up the win in goal for the Mountaineers. The physical contest took its toll on the Mountaneers. 

Next Up: Virginia Tech

West Virginia will look to build off of this weekend's wins when it plays a two game series with VIrginia Tech January 28th and 29th. Saturdays contest with the Hokies will begin at 4:00 p.m. at the Morgantown Ice Arena. On Sunday, the Mountaneers travel to South Charleston, WV for the second game of the series. Puck drop at the South Charletson Ice Arena is 6:00 p.m.