Moon Township, Pa. - On Wednesday, head coach Derek Schooley of the Robert Morris University men's ice hockey team announced the details of RMU's 2009-10 schedule.  The campaign will feature two 2009 NCAA Frozen Four Championship opponents as the Colonials will take on the Miami Red Hawks and Bemidji State Beavers.

 

“We are very excited about this year's schedule,” said Schooley.  “We play some very high caliber teams that certainly will challenge our still very young team that includes 18 sophomores and juniors. The experience we gained last year will be very important on the road at the Brice Goal Rush Tournament, and when we travel to Colorado College and Ferris State. Once again, we have an excellent opponent at the Pittsburgh College Hockey Showcase as we face national runner-up, Miami University. Also, playing for the final time at Mellon Arena should be an exciting experience for our players, fans and University.”

 

Robert Morris will get ready for the season by hosting Queens University for two exhibition games on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9-10, which will be followed by four road games.

 

The Colonials will open the regular season on the road in Fairbanks, Alaska, at the Brice Alaska Gold Rush Tournament on Oct. 16-17.  The four-team tournament will feature Renesselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and the University of Alaska-Anchorage.  This tournament marks the first meeting between the Colonials and UA-Fairbanks and UA-Anchorage.

 

Robert Morris then travels to Ferris State Oct. 23-24 to face the Bulldogs after an exciting home series in 2008.  Finally, the Colonials open regular season home play on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30-31, as they match up against the Quinnipiac Bobcats of ECAC Hockey.

 

However, the RMU home stand will be a short one as the squad begins the final year of College Hockey America (CHA) action at defending CHA champion and Frozen Four finalists, Bemidji State on Nov. 6-7. Conference play continues against Niagara with a new format of home-and-home action in the first of three series with the Purple Eagles. On Friday, Nov. 13 the two teams will square off in Niagara, N.Y., and will return to the RMU Island Sports Center for the second contest on Saturday night.

 

The following weekend, the Colonials will head west to meet three-time Frozen Four finalists, Colorado College.  The Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20-21, games will be the first meetings between the two squads.

 

Robert Morris will close out the month of November with a final home game on Wednesday, Nov. 25, against Niagara.

 

After Thanksgiving break, RMU continues conference play as the Chargers of Alabama-Huntsville visit Pittsburgh for a pair on Dec. 4-5.  The Colonials then head back to Niagara on Dec. 11 and conclude the first half of the season with a single game at Canisius on Tuesday, Dec. 15.

 

The new year will open at home on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 2-3, 2010, when three-time national champion Lake Superior State, comes to town after the Colonials and Lakers split the 2008 series in Michigan.

 

On Friday, Jan. 8, the Colonials will host the 2009 national runner-up, Miami University, in the Fourth Annual Pittsburgh College Hockey Showcase. This year's event will feature three games as the Robert Morris women's team meets the University of Connecticut while the RMU Club Team hosts Penn State.

 

Two days later, the Colonials will travel to Oxford, Ohio, to face Miami at the Goggin Ice Center in a Sunday afternoon match up.

 

RMU then returns home on Friday and Saturday, Jan 15-16, for another series against Alabama-Huntsville before a two-week road trip to Colgate on Jan 22-23 and Bemidji State on Jan 29-30.

 

The Colonials will see one week of rest after returning from Minnesota before picking up again with the BSU Beavers when they visit RMU on Feb. 12-13. Finally, Robert Morris will close out a quiet February when they head to Huntsville for two games against the CHA's Chargers on Feb. 20-21.

 

In the final two games of the 2009-10 season, the Colonials and Purple Eagles will play a final home-and-home series with RMU hosting the Friday contest and Niagara enjoying home ice on Saturday night.

 

The following week, the 2010 CHA Tournament will take place in Niagara, N.Y., as the Beavers, Chargers, Colonials and Purple Eagles battle for the final CHA Championship at Dwyer Arena on March 12-13.