Men's Hockey | 11/1/2018 1:38:00 PM

PITTSBURGH -- Concluding its season-long six-game homestand, the Robert Morris University men's hockey team welcomes longtime Atlantic Hockey Association foe Niagara this weekend at the RMU Island Sports Center. Faceoff is set for 7:05 on both Friday and Saturday.

The Colonials have split two of their first three weekend series of the season, most recently collecting a win and an overtime loss against R.I.T. at the Island. They have not yet recorded the same result in back-to-back games.

PLEASE NOTE: We will be collecting money for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh at our Saturday game vs. Niagara. Proceeds will go directly to the newly-created Victims of Terror Fund, established after last Saturday's tragedy at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood.

ROBERT MORRIS (2-3-1, 1-2-1 AHA)
vs. NIAGARA (2-4-0, 2-2-0)
Friday, Nov. 2 & Saturday, Nov. 3 (both 7:05 p.m.)
Colonials Arena - RMU Island Sports Center
AUDIO | VIDEO ($) | STATS | TICKETS

LAST TIME OUT
The Colonials fought back from an early deficit last Saturday before falling in overtime to R.I.T., 2-1. Freshman wing Nick Lalonde netted his first NCAA goal during a third-period power play, while junior goalie Francis Marotte made 28 saves to cap a weekend in which he denied 53 of 55 shots, including a Friday shutout. First-year players Lalonde, Kip Hoffmann and Geoff Lawson each recorded their first college points last weekend, joining Nolan Schaeffer and Justin Addamo on that list.

HISTORY LESSON
RMU and Niagara have been in the same league for 15 seasons, first in the now-defunct College Hockey America and -- since 2010-11 -- in the AHA. The Purple Eagles still hold a 30-23-10 advantage in the all-time series, but the Colonials have gone 11-2-1 in their past 14 meetings. Niagara hasn't won on the Island since January 2012, an eight-game streak in which it's gone 0-7-1.
 
OPPOSITION RESEARCH
Niagara concludes a six-game road swing with its only two scheduled games against RMU this season. After losing two games at No. 10 Penn State by a combined score of 12-3, the Purple Eagles rebounded with a split at defending AHA postseason champ Air Force.

The highlight of Niagara's weekend in Colorado Springs was a 5-0 win last Friday, as nine Purple Eagles earned at least a point and AHA goalie of the week Brian Wilson made 39 saves. Niagara suffered its second AHA loss last Saturday, though, falling 2-1 even as Justin Kendall stretched his point streak to three by scoring the lone goal.

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 233-228-62 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
"There's definitely a lot of physical play. With that comes a lot of skill, and there's a lot of depth as well. There's not a big gap between first line and fourth line." - Freshman defenseman Nolan Schaeffer on his early impressions of Atlantic Hockey

Full interview with Matt Gajtka:
 
"We came out and we competed and battled for a 120 minutes. We did a lot of very good things. It was a weekend to build on. We set the bar of how you have to play. Now, that's expected." - Schooley on the weekend against R.I.T.

Full interview:
 
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.
 
KNOW BOBBY MO
• In an opening-night win over Bowling Green, senior winger Alex Tonge became the latest Colonial to reach 100 points for his career, netting a goal and an assist. Tonge has now staked out a spot in RMU's top 10 all-time scorers, surpassing David Friedmann '16, who finished his career with 103 points. Next on the list are Scott Jacklin '15 (107 points) and Daniel Leavens '17 (108).

• 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.

• 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 scored two goals in his first four NCAA games and ranks second on the team in points, one behind Tonge. 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 will take to the road for the first time in a month, traveling to challenge nationally-ranked Penn State on Friday, Nov. 9. The next night, the Nittany Lions will make their first appearance on the Island since 2013 for a 7:05 p.m. faceoff. For tickets to the Saturday game, click here.