Men's Hockey | 10/25/2018 12:29:00 PM

PITTSBURGH -- The Robert Morris University men's hockey team continues its season-long six-game homestand with a pair against longtime Atlantic Hockey Association rival R.I.T. this weekend at the RMU Island Sports Center. Faceoff is set for 7:05 on both Friday and Saturday.

The Colonials are seeking their first league win after going 0-1-1 in a home series against Army last weekend. The visiting Tigers have won two in a row but have yet to take on an AHA foe.

Fans who attend Saturday's game are encouraged to wear their finest Halloween costumes. The winner of a second-intermission costume contest will receive RMU Island Sports Center pro shop credit, courtesy of the RMU Band.

Robert Morris (1-2-1, 0-1-1 AHA) vs. [RV] R.I.T. (2-1-0, 0-0-0)
Friday, Oct. 26 & Saturday, Oct. 27 (both 7:05 p.m.)
Colonials Arena - RMU Island Sports Center
AUDIO | VIDEO ($) | STATS | TICKETS

LAST TIME OUT
The Colonials jumped on top of Army, 2-1, after one period of play last Saturday, but allowed the final four goals in a 5-2 loss, their first defeat in AHA play. Freshman Justin Addamo and sophomore Nick Prkusic each netted their second goals of the young season, while senior Alex Tonge recorded a point for the third time in four games. Addamo's goal came on the power play, giving RMU four PPGs in four games, all of which have either tied the game or given the Colonials the lead.

HISTORY LESSON
RMU has a winning record at home all-time against R.I.T., going 7-6-1 vs. the Tigers on the Island, dating back to 2005. However, the boys in orange have gone 3-1 in their last two series in Pittsburgh, including a two-game sweep back in February. The Colonials will look to turn the tables after last season's four-game series, in which R.I.T. ran the table with four wins.
 
OPPOSITION RESEARCH
Playing before 10,000-plus in their Bricktown Homecoming game, the Tigers took out Colgate 6-1 on Saturday night. Co-captain Erik Brown recorded his third career hat trick, tying the program's all-time Division I goals lead. Abbott Girduckis, the older brother of RMU's Aidan, distributed a career-best four assists. AHA goalie of the week Logan Drackett made 41 saves.

After losing 2-1 at UMass Lowell on their opening night, the Tigers have scored 11 goals in their past two games and received votes in the latest USCHO.com national poll, getting coach Wayne Wilson's 20th season in charge off to a positive start.

In the wake of back-to-back NCAA tournament trips in 2015 and '16, the Tigers have suffered consecutive losing seasons and haven't advanced past the AHA first round since. However, R.I.T. is the only AHA program to have made the NCAA Frozen Four, achieving the feat in 2010.

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 232-227-62 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.

THEY SAID IT
"I think practice has to be just as hard, if not harder, than the games. You can't expect to go through the motions in practice and expect, when it goes full tilt, to be competitive like that. We have to play hard in practice, finish hits, take it like it's a game." - Senior winger Michael Louria



"We made a couple minor tweaks on the power play, working on some things this week. I'll be interested to see how it works for the game. Hopefully that can help us get even more. Our power play has been very timely." - Coach Schooley



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 scored 44 points as a junior to rank second on the team. The Ontario native is now hunting a spot in the program's all-time top 10, sitting just one point behind David Friedmann '16 (103 points).

• 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.

• 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.

• Freshman winger Addamo is 6-foot-6, but he stands out in other ways. The first Colonial to be born and raised overseas, the Frenchman has scored two goals in his first four NCAA games. Addamo, who played the past two years in the North American Hockey League, has represented France in World Championships at the U-18 and U-20 levels.

• 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.

NEXT WEEK
The Colonials finish their six-game homestand with a pair against AHA rival Niagara on Friday, Nov. 2 and Saturday, Nov. 3. For tickets, click here.