Pittsburgh, Pa. - Robert Morris University men's hockey will open the 2017-28 season with a quartet of new student-athletes on the roster, along with the NCAA's leading career scorer and a talented crop of returners. The Colonials welcome three freshman -- forwards Nick Prkusic and Ryley Risling, and goaltender Dyllan Lubbesmeyer -- and a graduate transfer, defenseman Brett Beauvais.

2017-18 MEN'S HOCKEY ROSTER

Beauvais laced up the skates for three seasons at Bemidji State University. The 5'11 defenseman appeared in 28 regular season games for the Beavers last season, recording two goals and six assists with 29 blocked shots. A native of Summerside, PEI, Beauvais played in a total of 101 games at Bemidji State, posting four goals and 16 assists along with 117 blocked shots.

Before his three years at BSU, Beauvais played the 2013-14 season with the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). In 57 games, Beauvais posted 13 goals and 45 assists for 58 points and was the top scoring defender for the Vees, the second leading scorer on the team. The defenseman was named a BCHL First-Team All-Star and led all BCHL defenders in assists and points, winning the BCHL's top defenceman award.

Prkusic is a 6'3 forward who played in 175 games in three seasons for the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). Prkusic tallied 151 points on 67 goals and 84 assists in those three seasons, scoring 76 points in 56 games in the 2016-17 regular and postseason.

Prkusic served as the team's captain in the 2016-17 season, leading the Bandits to the RBC Cup tournament final after winning the AJHL league championship, helping the team repeat as AJHL champs. Prkusic racked up more than 30 points in three postseasons for Brooks.

Risling is a 6'2 forward who skated for the Penticton Vees in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) in the 2016-17 season. In his first season with the Vees, Risling scored 16 goals and 14 assists for 30 points through 64 regular season and playoff games.

Risling played for three seasons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) for the Canmore Eagles, and had a brief stint in the USHL prior to spending this season in Penticton. Risling scored 74 points in 122 games in the AJHL. The left-shooting winger played for the Team Canada West U19's at the World Junior A Challenge in the 2014-15 season.

Lubbesmeyer is a 6'0 goaltender who played for the North American Hockey League (NAHL) Shreveport Mudbugs during the 2016-17 season. Lubbesmeyer recorded a 2.29 goals against average and .923 save percentage in 30 games played, ranking in the top ten in the league. Lubbesmeyer's record was 18-6-3-1 in the regular season with the fourth-fewest regulation losses in the NAHL. The Burnsville, Minnesota native played in the 2017 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament for the South Division team.

Lubbesmeyer was a dominant goalie for Burnsville High School before making the move to junior hockey in the NAHL and was presented with the prestigious Frank Brimsek Award as the Senior Goaltender of the Year in Minnesota high school hockey in 2014-15.

In addition to these four newcomers, two players that skated with the Colonials in practice last season will officially begin their first full seasons with Robert Morris.

Forward Michael Louria, a transfer from UMass Lowell prior to last season, begins his first active season with the Colonials after scoring 10 goals and 14 assists in his 51 games played in two seasons with the River Hawks.

Louria, a native of Gibraltar, Michigan, played one season of junior hockey prior to the NCAA, as a point-per-game performer for the NAHL's Janesville Jets and Minot Minotauros, scoring 26 goals and adding 26 assists. Prior to juniors, Louria skated locally with the Pittsburgh Hornets U18's and the prestigious Shattuck St. Mary's program as a U16.

Defenseman Nick Jenny joined the Colonials mid-season last year but did not play in a game and will officially begin his freshman year in the 2017-18 season. Jenny played in 27 games in the fall of 2016 for the Aberdeen Wings in the NAHL, posting 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points.

A native of Strongsville, Ohio, Jenny played in 57 games for the Omaha Lancers in the United States Hockey League (USHL) in the 2015-16 season, scoring 2 goals and 10 assists for 12 points. From 2013-2015, Jenny played for the Ohio Blue Jackets U18 program, serving as alternate captain for 2014-15. Jenny had 8 goals and 29 assists for 37 points in two seasons.

Twenty-one players who helped the Colonials to a 22-12-4 mark last season return for the 2017-18 campaign. RMU posted its fourth 20-plus win season, each coming in the last five years. The Colonials finished as Atlantic Hockey conference runners-up after a hard-fought 2-1 loss in the tournament championship game, the school's third appearance in the title game in the last four seasons.

Senior forward Brady Ferguson is the NCAA's leading active career scorer with 118 points and had the highest scoring season in 2016-17 of any returning NCAA men's hockey player with an RMU single-season record 58 points. Ferguson was a unanimous all-conference first team selection last season while taking home the 2016-17 Atlantic Hockey scoring trophy.

Robert Morris returns nearly 80-percent of its offense. Ferguson's linemate, junior Alex Tonge (44 points), and fellow senior forwards Timmy Moore (25) and Spencer Dorowicz (16) are among the double-digit scoring returners, along with sophomore forwards Luke Lynch (20), Daniel Mantenuto (14) and Matthew Graham (10).

Defenseman Eric Israel racked up 30 points as a major contributor on the power play. The sophomore was the conference's leading scoring defenseman and earned AHC third team honors as well. 2017-18 Israel tallied the second-highest scoring season by an RMU defenseman, trailing only Denny Urban's 40-point senior campaign in 2010-2011. Captain Alex Bontje scored 10 points and blocked 61 shots, ranked ninth in Atlantic Hockey. Israel was 17th in the conference with 54 blocked shots and senior Elias Ghantous blocked 51 shots (19th).

In goal, the Colonials return senior Andrew Pikul and all-rookie team honoree Francis Marotte. The sophomore finished the season ranked fourth in the NCAA in save percentage with a .931 and eighth in goals against with a 2.08 average. Both of those marks earn Marotte a spot in the RMU record books with the best single-season performances in those categories. Marotte played in 29 games making 27 starts, recording an 17-8-3 mark with two shutouts.

The Colonials open the 2017-18 season with a home exhibition vs. Ottawa on Sept. 30, followed by a trio of Atlantic Hockey conference road games to start the regular season. Robert Morris returns to the RMU Island Sports Center for the home opener on October 20 hosting Army West Point for a two-game series. Tickets for home games are on sale at RMUtickets.com or by calling 412-397-4949. The Colonials complete schedule can be found here.

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