It wasn’t exactly a scare, but the Gophers men’s hockey team survived an encounter with upset-minded Robert Morris on Friday, overcoming an early deficit in a 4-2 win at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

The Colonials, who are in their first year back in the Division I hockey ranks after a two-year hiatus, scored first, but their lead was just 22 seconds long.

Jaxon Nelson, Brody Lamb, Oliver Moore and Bryce Brodzinski scored for the Gophers (11-6-4), who started freshman goalie Nathan Airey for the first time in a regular-season game. The rookie from Saskatchewan had 19 saves for his first collegiate win.

“Robert Morris got better as the game went. We had some great opportunities where we could’ve really stretched (the lead) and we didn’t,” Gophers coach Bob Motzko said. “It turned out to be a much closer game than we wanted it to be but that’s kind of how it went.”

Gabriel Lunn scored first for the Colonials (6-14-3), but Nelson answered on the next shift. Then Minnesota added Lamb’s power-play goal and never again relinquished the lead. Robert Morris goalie Francis Boisvert was tested throughout, finishing with 53 saves. Rylee St. Onge added a late power play goal for the visitors.

It was just the second start of the season for Boisvert, who is normally the backup to Chad Veltri.

“He was outstanding,” Colonials coach Derek Schooley said of his goalie. “I’m sure we all aren’t crazy about the second goal. He probably could’ve done a better job catching that one, but he more than made up for it. He gave us a chance.”

Lamb’s goal, on the first power play of the game, looked like a trick shot, as his slap shot bounced off Boisvert’s glove, then hit the crossbar, then bounced off the skate of Colonials defenseman Mitch Andres and slid over the goal line.

Motzko noted his team’s propensity for taking penalties and turning pucks over in the second period got them off their game a bit, and still they got the only goal of the frame.

The start by Airey was the culmination of an in-season comeback story for Airey, who came to school in the fall with a previously undetected injury and was not fully healthy and cleared to play until early December. He allowed a goal on a seeing-eye shot from the blue line early, then settled in and held off Robert Morris until a late power-play goal banked in off his shoulder.

“Those are ones you just have to forget about, when right away they score. Short memory and move on,” Airey said.

Defenseman Sam Rinzel had three assists for the Gophers.

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