Veteran sportswriter, member of the WDVE Morning Show and hockey aficionado Mike Prisuta has been covering the Pittsburgh sports scene for over 20 years. He has covered Pittsburgh sports as a reporter for the Beaver County Timesand as a columnist for thePittsburgh Tribune-Review and has had his pulse on the happenings of each of the professional organizations and college programs in the area. A graduate of Michigan State University, Prisuta got his start in the profession covering the Spartan hockey program and possesses knowledge of the college hockey world unmatched in the region.
Throughout the 2012-13 season, Prisuta will serve up weekly stories surrounding Colonial hockey as well as the latest notes and news around college hockey.
Prisuta on Pucks: Wait 'Til Next Year
As the NCAA Tournament determined its Frozen Four last weekend Robert Morris was left to contemplate what might have been.
That's not what the Colonials wanted.
But for a ninth-year Division I program that for the first time was in the NCAA discussion and under NCAA consideration after being eliminated from its conference tournament that was still a significant step forward.
RMU ended No. 17 in the PairWise rankings used to determine at-large bids for the 16-team NCAA field.
As of March 22, almost a week after Robert Morris had been knocked out of the Atlantic Hockey Association quarterfinals by Connecticut, the Colonials were still alive and hoping for the right combination of results in the other conference tourneys that would allow them to climb in the PairWise and land an at-large bid.
Not enough of those other results RMU was seeking ultimately materialized.
But the 2012-13 Colonials still managed to take their NCAA aspirations further than any of their predecessors.
“It says a lot about our season that we were No. 17 in PairWise and that close,” head coach Derek Schooley said.
It was a record-setting season at the Island Sports Center, individually and collectively.
From the program-record 20 victories (20-14-4) and the program-record and NCAA-leading nine short-handed goals, to the all-time RMU records goaltender Eric Levine authored in goals-against average (2.69), save percentage (.925) and shutouts (five), it was a season of achievement unlike any other.
Robert Morris went 5-1-1 in non-conference play in 2012-13 and 6-3 against teams that ultimately qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
The challenge next season will be to do a little bit more.
The Colonials will have to do so without Levine, who played 2,068:55 of the 2,301:53 Robert Morris spent deploying a goaltender this season.
Terry Shafer posted a 1-2 record that included a shutout of Canisius as a freshman and will compete to pick up where Levine left off.
Robert Morris will also have to forge on without Levine's fellow seniors, forward Adam Brace, defensemen Tyler Hinds and Brendan Jamison and forward Zach Hervato, the winningest senior class in program history.
New faces will be infused by incoming recruits.
And a familiar face will rejoin the team as an anticipated impact player.
Tyson Wilson's sophomore season was limited to just four games because of a hip injury.
In 2013-14 RMU will look forward to Wilson's much-anticipated return.
“He was arguably our top defenseman,” Schooley said.
The others returning will be out to build upon this season's individual and collective growth and continue developing a team chemistry Schooley often cited as a critical Robert Morris component.
They'll do so knowing that in 2012-13 the AHA for the first time sent two teams to the NCAA Tournament (regular-season champion Niagara and tournament champ Canisius).
And that in 2013-14 the at-large path will be a legitimate option toward securing that first-ever NCAA Tournament bid the program is still stalking.
“The seniors did a great job welcoming the younger guys and the younger guys provided a physicality and energy we hadn't had before,” Schooley said. “The experience we had this year of being so close will propel guys in the future.
“If you can do a tremendous job in conference play you're setting yourself up for a potential at-large bid as well as the AHA tournament.”
Next season's non-conference schedule will include two games at Lake Superior, a home-and-home series against Ohio State, a home game against Penn State and the second annual Three Rivers Classic at CONSOL Energy Center (Boston College, Bowling Green, RMU and Penn State).
In light of all of that, “wait 'til next year” has never sounded so promising at Robert Morris.
“That's always the mantra after a good year,” Schooley said. “Only one team can be happy after the final game.
“We can be excited and proud but we have to work on getting even better for next year.”
