Penn State Hockey Falls To Robert Morris 6-4

The Lions came ready to play in Pittsburgh for the first game of the Three Rivers Classic. After a first period which Penn State dominated but failed to score, Robert Morris took control of the game.

Scoring three consecutive goals following a tying goal by Penn State's Eric Scheid in the second period, the Colonials rode the momentum to a first-round tournament win.

Penn State will play Clarkson at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the consolation match of the Three Rivers Classic.

First Period

The Lions came out early firing shots on net but were unable to a quick goal to start the game. Penn State had 6 shots on goal before Robert Morris attempted its first.

Unfortunately for Penn State goalie Eamon McAdam, the first shot on goal for the Colonials found the back of the net. Daniel Leavens shot the puck off McAdam from behind the net and the shot ricocheted into the goal.

The teams battled evenly for the next ten minutes until the Colonials were called for a penalty and Penn State went on the power play. The Lions controlled the puck in the offensive zone for the first half of the penalty, peppering Robert Morris goalie Terry Shafer with shots but were unable to find the back of the net.

Soon after the Colonials killed the penalty, Penn State's Andrew Sturtz was called for hooking and RMU went on a power play of its own. It was a critical moment in the early going for Guy Gadowsky's squad, not wanting to give up a second goal to start the game. The penalty kill group was up to the task and with five minutes remaining in the period the teams were back to even strength.

With just over two minutes remaining in the period PSU had a chance to score but Shafer made a solid glove save. After the whistle there was a brief scuffle behind the net and the referees had to stand between several players. It was clear that each team was agitated. On the next possession Robert Morris challenged McAdam with several quick passes that led to quality shots but were unable to get one past the junior netminder.

With time running out in the period Kevin Kerr had a chance to score his first goal as a Nittany Lion. Following a shot and a rebound, Kerr had the puck on his stick with an opening over the blocker side of Shafer. Kerr missed the open net and a chance to tie the game up at one apiece late in the period.

After one period the only separation in the teams was a crafty goal that was scored off the back of the head of Penn State goalie Eamon McAdam.

END 1ST: RMU 1, #PennState 0. #NittanyLions trail despite dominating long stretches of play. Shots 21-7. #WeAre pic.twitter.com/JlWlLw8SwQ

— Penn State Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) December 29, 2015

Second Period

The Lions came out for the period with a lot of momentum. The first shift was very productive for PSU as Kenny Brooks and Curtis Loik each had quality shots. The puck was kept in the Colonial defensive zone for over a minute but no goals were scored. At the end of the shift Kenny Brooks took a penalty and RMU's highest-rated power play unit came onto the ice for the second time on the night.

Moments into the penalty kill Dylan Richard and Eric Schied worked a quick give and go play and Scheid scored a short-handed goal to tie the game 1-1.

The Lions had time remaining on the penalty yet to kill and with twenty seconds left with the man advantage the team made another mistake, taking a second penalty. The teams skated 5 on 3 with RMU controlling the action. It didn't take long for it to pay off when Tyson Wilson scored a power play goal to reclaim the lead 2-1.

A minute later Penn State went on the power play and the tempo on the ice continued to be intense. After two minutes the game remained 2-1 as Robert Morris held steady.

The Colonials followed the penalty kill with a hard-hitting shift that resulted in a pair of shots on Eamon McAdam that the goalie was not able to cover. The rebound off the second shot was put in the net by Spencer Dorowitz to take the lead to 3-1 in favor of RMU.

The Lions soon went on another power play but were unable to score with the man advantage for the third time in the game. Soon after the penalty kill the Colonials had a chance to score for the fourth time, but defenseman Luke Juha skated in behind the beaten McAdam to keep the puck out of the net. It was a huge play to keep Penn State within two goals with twelve minutes left in the second period.

With just under six minutes left to play there was a ferocious exchange of offense. After several scoring chances, Zach Saar had an open net but missed the chance to get the score to 3-2. On the miss Robert Morris took the puck the other way and scored on a breakaway by Brendan Denham to take the lead to 4-1. The goal took the wind out of the sails of the Nittany Lions momentarily.

With a minute left in the period Penn State had three shots on goal that Shafer was able to stop. The second frame ended with Robert Morris on top 4-1.

Third Period

The final period started with Robert Morris playing loose and the Lions forcing the issue, trailing by three goals.

Luke Juha scored a very important goal just a few minutes into the period to get the Lions back to within two goals. Juha took a pass and finished with a powerful one-time slap shot from the blue line.

Following the goal Penn State continued to put the heat on RMU. With a continuous barrage of scoring chances, PSU threatened to cut the lead to just one goal. For the next five minutes the ice was tilted in favor of the blue and white.

With 8:03 left in the game Curtis Loik took the puck from the corner behind Shafer, skated in front of the net with a wide angle, and finished with a hard wrist shot to cut the lead to one goal. Kenny Brooks and David Thompson assisted on the play.

Moments later Erik Autio turned the puck over in the PSU zone and Zac Lynch got the puck past McAdam off a rebound to extend the lead back to two goals at 5-3.

With over three minutes left in the game and down by two goals, Guy Gadowsky pulled McAdam in favor of an extra skater. The decision did not pay off as RMU put a puck in the empty net to extend the lead to 6-3 with under two minutes left in the game.

To Penn State's credit the team did not quit. scoring a late goal to make the final score 6-4. With eight seconds left in the game and down two, Vince Pedrie nearly scored to cut the lead to one goal. The effort was too late for the Lions as they fell to the hometown Colonials.

Penn State will play Clarkson in the consolation game of the Three Rivers Classic at 4:30 p.m.