Men's Hockey | 11/8/2018 12:46:00 PM

PITTSBURGH -- For the second consecutive season, Robert Morris will challenge Penn State in a two-game home-and-home series. Game 1 is set for Friday in State College, Pa., with the return matchup taking place at the RMU Island Sports Center on Saturday. Both games will start at 7:05 p.m.

Having just completed a season-long six-game homestand, all against Atlantic Hockey Association foes, RMU takes to the road for the first time in nearly a month when they make their second trip in as many years to Pegula Ice Arena. The Colonials are unbeaten on Fridays this year, boasting a 3-0-1 record, although all of those were on home ice.

ROBERT MORRIS (3-4-1, 2-3-1 AHA)
vs. No. 8 PENN STATE (6-1-0, 0-0-0 Big Ten)

Friday, Nov. 9 @ Pegula Ice Arena in State College, Pa. (7:05 p.m.)
AUDIO | VIDEO | STATS

Saturday, Nov. 10 @ RMU Island Sports Center (7:05 p.m.)
AUDIO | VIDEO ($) | STATS | TICKETS

PROMOTIONS
Saturday's game will feature a post-game Skate with the Colonials event! Bring your own skates or rent a pair ($3) from the Island Sports Center and take the ice after our game with Penn State. Saturday will also feature a raffle for an authentic jersey for students who arrive at the Island by 6:30 to be part of the Colonial Crazies' new student section.

LAST TIME OUT
Freshman winger Nick Lalonde scored two goals, but RMU dropped the rematch with AHA rival Niagara by a 4-2 score last Saturday, splitting the home series. The Colonials had advantages in shots on goal and total attempts, but couldn't climb out of a 2-0 second-period deficit. RMU is 3-3-1 at the Island Sports Center after playing seven of its first eight there, an unprecedented opening stretch in team history.

HISTORY LESSON
The Colonials have gone 4-4 in their all-time series vs. Penn State, including a 3-1 mark against the Lions in the Three Rivers Classic. RMU has played twice in State College, winning 3-2 at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion back in 2012. Last December, the Colonials fell 7-4 in a back-and-forth battle at Pegula; senior winger Michael Louria had three points (1g, 2a), but RMU couldn't prevent the Lions' home-and-home sweep. PSU won 5-2 at PPG Paints Arena the night before.
 
OPPOSITION RESEARCH
Penn State closes a series of nine straight games against non-conference opponents this weekend. The eighth-ranked Nittany Lions have done well in the build-up to Big Ten play, living up to their reputation as a high-scoring, high-volume offensive unit. They lead Division I in goals (4.86) and shots (42.6) per game. Under eighth-year coach Guy Gadowsky, PSU has qualified for the NCAA tournament in back-to-back seasons, including an at-large bid last spring.

Last weekend, the Lions split with independent Arizona State in State College. PSU suffered its first loss of the season Saturday, 4-3 in overtime. The Sun Devils led 3-1 before Penn State rallied with two in the third to force sudden death, but ASU's Johnny Walker buried his nation-leading 11th goal to finish the upset. Each team scored nine goals in a wild weekend, with PSU coming back late to win 6-5 on Friday.

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 234-229-62 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
"The young guys are getting more comfortable game by game. They're coming into pretty good roles. It's just communication. They're doing a tremendous job out there. It's good to see." - Junior defenseman Alex Robert on the four freshmen who've seen action this season on the blue line

Full interview with Matt Gajtka:



"You've got to be really good away from the puck. You know they're going to put pucks to the net. You have to make sure you don't give them any space, because they're looking for rebounds. You've got to be ready for an onslaught of shots. I'm sure the goalies love it." - Schooley on preparing for Penn State 

Full interview:


 
KNOW BOBBY MO
• Robert Morris has been highly effective on faceoffs as a team, ranking in the top 10 of Division I with a 55 percent success rate. Junior Daniel Mantenuto paces the team individually, boasting a 62 percent rate, but freshman Grant Hebert isn't far behind at 60 percent. Junior Luke Lynch has also been a winner at the circle (55 percent).

• Exactly half of RMU's 16 goals so far this season have been scored by underclassmen. Freshman Lalonde leads the way with three goals, with fellow Class of 2022 member Justin Addamo chipping in two. Sophomore Nick Prkusic also has netted a pair, with freshman defenseman Geoff Lawson adding one. On the assist side of the ledger, first-year winger Kip Hoffmann is second on the club with three helpers.

• 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.

• Senior winger Alex Tonge became the 11th Colonial to reach 100 points for his career, scoring a goal and an assist in a win over Bowling Green. Tonge, who has 105 points entering the weekend, has staked out a spot in RMU's top 10 scorers, surpassing David Friedmann '16. Next on the list are Scott Jacklin '15 (107) and Daniel Leavens '17 (108).

• RMU's opening-night defeat of No. 20 Bowling Green marked the program's 22nd victory against ranked opponents in 53 tries. The 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 a shutout win at No. 10 Michigan early in the 2015-16 season. The Colonials have gone 2-2 against ranked Penn State teams, with both wins coming at the Three Rivers Classic.

15 YEARS OF HOCKEY
We celebrate our 15th season of Division I pucks with weekly throwbacks to our 15 greatest wins. Appropriate for this week is a landmark victory over Penn State on a big stage.



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.

NEXT WEEK
The Colonials will enjoy their first weekend off from games before facing off with another in-state rival in Mercyhurst. RMU will host the Lakers on Friday, Nov. 23 before traveling to Erie for the rematch on Saturday, Nov. 24.