Men's Hockey | 10/18/2018 2:38:00 PM

PITTSBURGH -- The Robert Morris University men's hockey team begins its ninth season of Atlantic Hockey Association competition this weekend, when the Army Black Knights set up camp at the RMU Island Sports Center for a two-game set. The puck will drop at 7:05 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday.

The Colonials went 1-1 on opening weekend, splitting a home-and-home non-conference series against now-17th-ranked Bowling Green, winning at home and falling on the road. RMU will now play six consecutive league games, all on home ice.

Robert Morris (1-1-0, 0-0-0 AHA) vs. Army (1-2-0, 0-0-0 AHA)
Friday, Oct. 12 & Saturday, Oct. 13 (both 7:05 p.m.)
Colonials Arena - RMU Island Sports Center
AUDIO | VIDEO ($) | STATS | TICKETS

LAST TIME OUT
RMU fell short in its attempt to sweep Bowling Green, giving up two goals in each period of 6-0 loss Sunday at Slater Family Ice Arena on the BGSU campus. The Colonials allowed three power-play goals on seven Falcons opportunities while going 0 for 5 on the advantage themselves. The margin of defeat was Robert Morris' largest since Feburary 2013, a span of 210 games.

HISTORY LESSON
RMU is 12-6-4 all-time against Army, with a pair of significant playoff triumphs mixed in. In 2014, the Colonials overcame the Cadets in a three-game, first-round AHA series en route to the postseason title and NCAA tournament berth. Two years later, RMU edged Army in an AHA semifinal game, 2-1 in overtime at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y., to advance to its second AHA championship game.
 
OPPOSITION RESEARCH
Off to a 1-2 start to its 15th season under head coach Brian Riley, Army travels to Neville Island for the fourth consecutive season. Led by returning co-top scorer Michael Wilson and reigning AHA defensive player of the week Alex Wilkinson, the Black Knights earned their first win of the season last Saturday, hanging on for a 3-2 win over Hockey East foe Merrimack in West Point, N.Y.

Army has turned the corner in league play over the past three years, starting with a run to the AHA semifinals in 2016. Over the past two seasons, the Black Knights have gone 27-20-9 against league opponents, earning first-round playoff byes in both of those years.

SCHOOLEY FILE
The only head coach in program history, Derek Schooley returns for his 15th season behind the RMU bench. Under his guidance, the Colonials carry an overall record of 232-226-61 and a hard-earned reputation for championship-level success in Division I men's hockey.

Schooley led the Colonials to back-to-back Atlantic Hockey regular season titles in 2014-15 and 2015-16 and a postseason AHA title/NCAA tournament berth in 2013-14. Over the past six seasons, Schooley's Colonials have averaged 21 wins per year and have consistently placed 20-plus student-athletes on AHA all-academic teams.

ON THE AIR
For the sixth straight season, all Colonials home games will be broadcast locally on 970 ESPN, or online at espnpgh.com. Tim Benz (play-by-play) and Mike Prisuta (analysis) return as the broadcast duo at Colonials Arena. Additionally, Matt Gajtka will have an audio play-by-play call for select road games on Facebook Live, with the RMU men's hockey Facebook page hosting those.
 
MUSKET SHOTS
• In an opening-night win over No. 20 Bowling Green, senior winger Alex Tonge became the latest Colonial to reach 100 points for his career, netting a goal and an assist. Tonge, who scored 44 points as a junior to rank second on the team, carried 99 NCAA points into the 2018-19 season. The Ontario native is now hunting a spot in the program's all-time top 10, with David Friedmann '16 (103 points) currently holding down the No. 10 spot.

• RMU's season-starting defeat of Bowling Green marked the program's 22nd victory against ranked opponents in 53 all-time tries. The rousing 3-2 home win also ended a four-game losing streak versus ranked foes, making the Colonials 7-4-1 in those situations dating back to the 2015-16 season.

• Robert Morris welcomes 11 freshmen to the program for the 2018-19 season, the second-most in program history. Only the 2008-09 team had more, with 12. Just three of RMU's 15 seasons have featured 10 or more freshmen. The last time RMU reached double digits in newcomers, in 2012-13, that group went on to average 22 wins per season before graduating in 2016.

• With Brady Ferguson currently playing in the pros, once again Robert Morris will have to acclimate to life without their all-time leading scorer. Ferguson, a native Texan, contributed 167 points to the Colonials' cause from 2014-18, passing former teammates Cody Wydo '15 (150 points) and Zac Lynch '16 (156 points) in the process. Ferguson is also RMU's all-time best assist man, boasting 101 helpers. The nearest Colonial in that category is Nathan Longpre '11 (91 assists).

• The Colonials have ranked in the top half of the 60-team Division I in offense for six straight seasons, with an average ranking of 11th. Also, RMU has boasted five players who have finished in the top 20 of the D-I scoring race over that span: Ferguson '18 (twice), Wydo '15 (twice), Greg Gibson '16 (twice), Zac Lynch '16 and Adam Brace '13.

• Junior goalie Francis Marotte has made quite the impact in two years at Robert Morris, as he holds down lofty positions in the program's record books. Entering 2018-19, the Quebec native has the Colonials' all-time best goals-against average (2.35), their second-best save percentage (.923), the third-most shutouts (5) and the fourth-most wins (34). He was recently nominated to the watch list for the Mike Richter Award, which goes to the most outstanding Division I goalie.

• Robert Morris was once again well-represented in the preseason polls. Atlantic Hockey coaches predicted RMU would finish third of 11 teams, while league media settled on a fourth-place finish. Additionally, the Colonials placed three players on the preseason all-star teams: Marotte, Tonge and junior winger LUke Lynch each made the all-AHA second team.

• As has been the case every year since the start of the program in 2004-05, the Colonials will be showing off local hockey talent. Freshman forward Aiden Beck (Coraopolis) joins juniors Luke Lynch (Shaler Township) and Jacob Coleman (Moon Township) on the 'Burgh-born list.

• Freshman winger Justin Addamo is 6-foot-6, but that's not the only way he stands out. Addamo is the first Colonial ever who was born and raised overseas, as he grew up in France. Addamo, who played the past two seasons for the Lone Star Brahmas of the North American Hockey League, has represented France in World Championships at the U-18 and U-20 levels.

NEXT WEEK
The Colonials stay at home to challenge AHA rival R.I.T. on Friday, Oct. 26 and Saturday, Oct. 27. For tickets, click here.