A late rally fell short Friday as the Kent State hockey team was swept this weekend on the road at Robert Morris.

On Friday, the Eagles led with six unanswered goals from the first period through early in the second period against the Flashes (8-3). The final two goals of the run were on a power play while freshman defenseman Jeremy Melbye sat out for tripping.

Midway through the second period, the Flashes tallied their first goal with a shot by senior forward Ryan Thomas. Senior forward Mike Lepre scored an unassisted short-handed goal shortly after with 12:01 left in the period.

In the third period the Flashes continued to rally back with goals by sophomore defenseman Tim Hurst with 11:26 left, Logan Bannon with 6:07 left and Kevin Colleran with 0:33 left in the game.

The Flashes’ comeback fell short, however, with Robert Morris holding on for the 6-5 win.

Saturday’s game was more one-sided. Robert Morris scored twice in the first period and once early in the second period. Senior forward Logan Bannon tried to get Kent State back in the game with a goal in the final minute of second period, but the momentum never carried.

The third quarter remained scoreless until the two-minute mark when Robert Morris scored two goals in a row, once on an open net after Kent State pulled its goalie. Anthony Natali and Tyler Ross split the time in the goal, with Natali receiving 17 shots and allowing 3 goals and Ross receiving 28 shots and allowing one goal.

With the 5-1 win, Robert Morris finished the two-game sweep.

“We didn’t play together as a team,” Horschler said. “We had issues staying out of the penalty box.”

The Flashes visited the penalty box 15 times in the second period alone Saturday. Robert Morris was in it eight times that same period.

The Flashes will try to re-gather themselves next weekend at Lindenwood on Friday and Saturday at 7:00 pm.

Contact Joe Mueller at [email protected].