Pittsburgh, Pa. - Off to its best start in 11 years of existence, the
Robert Morris University men's hockey team has improved its standing in the national polls for the fourth consecutive week.
The unbeaten Colonials were ranked one point shy of the final spot in the latest
United States College Hockey Online (USCHO) top 20, which was released Monday. Since the USCHO.com preseason poll, when RMU was an unofficial 26th, Pittsburgh's College Hockey Team has been bumped up to 24th in Week 2, 22nd in Week 3, and now 21st after receiving 79 points.
Notre Dame holds the 20th position with 80 points, while Nebraska-Omaha lurks three points behind Robert Morris in 22nd. Two fellow Atlantic Hockey Conference schools joined the Colonials in receiving votes: Mercyhurst (two points) and Bentley (one).
(For the more mathematically-inclined, RMU is
ninth in college hockey's Ratings Percentage Index, which factors in raw winning percentage, strength of opponents, quality wins and home-road ratio. RPI is one of the tools used by the NCAA to determine who earns at-large bids to the postseason tournament.)
RMU held steady in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine top 15, racking up 13 points to remain in the 20th position. No other league rivals were recognized in the poll.The Colonials rose to 5-0-1 after earning a 3-0 win and a 3-3 tie over the weekend in West Point, N.Y. After sophomore goalie
Dalton Izyk captured his second shutout of the season with 37 saves Friday, senior wing
Cody Wydo netted three goals Saturday, the fourth collegiate hat trick for the active goal-scoring leader in Division I. Wydo has six goals and 10 total points in six games, following up his 31-goal, 54-point junior season.
The Colonials return to 84 Lumber Arena this Friday and Saturday to host Atlantic Hockey foe RIT, with faceoff scheduled for 7:05 p.m. both nights. Coach
Derek Schooley's squad is 24-6-4 since Jan. 4, a burst that includes three separate five-game winning streaks.
Among D-I teams that have played more than four games this season, RMU is the only one that's undefeated. The Colonials are three games shy of the longest unbeaten streak in program history (7-0-2), which was set last season.
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