Pittsburgh, Pa. - Although multiple freshmen have contributed significantly to the Robert Morris University men's hockey team through 26 games, a first-year Colonial had not yet won an Atlantic Hockey Conference weekly award entering this final week of January.

That changed Tuesday morning, when RMU freshman Alex Bontje was named the Travel Team USA Defensive Player of the Week by the AHC league office. Bontje, a native of Nobleton, Ontario, is the eighth Colonial to take home a weekly prize this season.

Bontje (pronounced BAWNT-jay) blocked a total of five shots and finished with a plus-2 rating last weekend as first-place RMU (17-5-4, 14-3-3 AHC) swept conference foe Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. On the season, the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder is tied with two others for the team lead in plus-minus (plus-16); he is also third on the Colonials in blocked shots (40).

A former member of the North American Hockey League's Wenatchee (Wash.) Wild, Bontje has established himself as a physical, reliable member of the RMU blueline just 25 games into his college career. In addition to his impressive defensive attributes, he has four assists and 15 shots on goal.

Bontje joins teammates Chase Golightly and Rob Mann as previous winners of the AHC Defensive Player of the Week honor this season. In all, the Colonials have claimed 14 weekly awards and three monthly prizes in 2014-15. 

Following a two-game series at Air Force this weekend, 20th-ranked Robert Morris returns home to 84 Lumber Arena on Feb. 6-7 for two games against second-place Canisius. For information on ticket availability and pricing, visit RMUColonials.com or call 412-397-4949.

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