Robert Morris forward David Friedmann has been named the Atlantic Hockey Conference’s offensive player of the week. It is the second time this season Friedmann has won the award.
Friedmann, a junior from Toronto, Ontario, scored 23 points in 2013-14, and it was hoped he would be one of the supplemental scorers that would help Cody Wydo, the top returning scorer in the nation, lead the Colonial’s offense in 2014-15.
Unfortunately, through the team’s first eight games, Friedmann had only one goal, an empty netter, and two assists.
On November 14 against Air Force, Friedmann scored his second goal of the season. His third goal of the season and second goal of the game came just nine seconds after the Falcons had taken a commanding 3-1 lead in the second period. The Colonials were later able to tie the game.
“It was a little bit of a slow start,” he said after the Air Force game. “Offensively, I haven’t really been producing as much as I wanted to, but … the little things are starting to come. I’ve been doing all the little things, chipping the puck in, blocking shots, and the bounces are starting to come.”
The bounces sure did come for Friedmann. In his last six games, he has seven goals and three assists, many of them coming at crucial moments for the Colonials.
On November 22 at American International, Friedmann completed a hat trick just after the midway point of the second period as Robert Morris rolled over the Yellow Jackets, 6-0. That performance earned him his first player of the week honor.
He scored five points last weekend in two games against Sacred Heart, including a two-goal and two-assist night on Saturday in which he assisted on the game-winning goal. In total, he has eight goals and six assists in 14 games this season.
“A lot of us are here for secondary scoring, obviously Wydo is a big scorer, but we all know a few of us can score some goals,” he said. “Usually if we score three or four goals, we’re going to win.”
Robert Morris swept the weekend series with Sacred Heart, winning 5-4 on Saturday night and 8-4 and Sunday at the 84 Lumber Arena on Neville Island.
The Colonials record is now 10-1-3 overall, with an 8-1-3 record in the Atlantic Hockey Conference, which puts them in first place. They are ranked 17th in the USCHO.com Division-I Men’s Poll.
The Colonials will travel to Erie, Pennsylvania to take on the Mercyhurst Lakers on Friday at 7:05 and again on Saturday at 4:05. Mercyhurst is 7-4-2 this season with a 5-2-2 record against conference opponents.
Leading the Lakers in scoring is freshman forward Jonathan Charbonneau. The Quebec native has three goals and nine assists in 13 games. Senior netminder Jimmy Sargent has a .914 save percentage and one shutout in ten games.
After the Mercyhurst series, the Colonials will be off until the host the Three Rivers Classic at Consol Energy Center on December 29 and 30. Robert Morris will play Penn State one of the semifinal games. The other game will feature Western Michigan and 14th-ranked Colgate.
Photo credit: College Hockey, Inc.
