PITTSBURGH — The Providence Friars brought an unmatched sense of urgency to the first period of the championship game in the annual Three Rivers Classic versus the Robert Morris Colonials at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday night and held off their opponents in a 2-1 victory. A fast start saw the Friars take an early 1-0 lead courtesy of a Scott Conway goal at 13:23 of the first period. Colonials forward Ryley Risling then tied the game with a shot from the slot at 3:52 of the second.
The Colonials were not able to capitalize on any of their six power-play chances thanks to strong efforts from the Providence penalty kill, ranked fifth in the nation entering the weekend, and goaltender Hayden Hawkey, who stopped 25 of 26 Colonials shots in the victory. Kaspar Bjorkvist put the game-winning goal in the back of the net with just under three minutes to go in the second period.
