Men's Hockey | 1/10/2019 2:14:00 PM

PITTSBURGH -- The Robert Morris University men's hockey team will play their only home series of January this Friday and Saturday when they host Atlantic Hockey rival Bentley at the RMU Island Sports Center.

Coming off a showdown with No. 1 St. Cloud State in the Three Rivers Classic third-place game, RMU will play 14 consecutive league games to close the regular season. The Colonials have gone 5-3 in their past eight AHA games to rise to fourth place in the standings, four points behind first-place American International.

Bentley, meanwhile, hasn't played an AHA opponent since Dec. 1. Following the Falcons' holiday break, they've taken on a pair of non-conference foes, dropping a one-goal decision at New Hampshire and tying with Dartmouth at home. 

COLONIAL HOCKEY PREVIEW
ROBERT MORRIS (8-11-1, 7-6-1 AHA)
vs. BENTLEY (5-11-2, 4-7-1 AHA)

Friday, Jan. 11 at 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 12 at 4:05 p.m.
@ RMU Island Sports Center

AUDIO via ESPN Pittsburgh
VIDEO via Stretch Internet ($) 
LIVE STATS via Sidearm
TICKETS via Ticketmaster

PROMOTION
Saturday will include our second and final Skate with the Colonials postgame event of the season! Skate rentals at the RMU Island Sports Center are $3 per person; the event is free otherwise. Take a spin on Colonials Arena ice!

LAST TIME OUT
The Colonials wrapped up the seventh Three Rivers Classic with a tightly-contested 5-2 loss to No. 1 St. Cloud State in Saturday's third-place game at PPG Paints Arena. RMU played 41 of the 60 minutes on level terms with the Huskies, who pulled away with three goals in the third period.

Sophomore Nick Prkusic had a two-point night with a goal and an assist, while freshmen Nick Lalonde (goal), Aidan Spellacy (assist) and Grant Hebert (assist) also recorded points. Starting with a hat trick last Friday against Brown, Hebert had five total points (3g, 2a) in the two-day tournament, earning a spot on the all-Three Rivers Classic team.

HISTORY LESSON
The Colonials and Falcons played seven times last season, splitting the results down the middle at 3-3-1. Last March, RMU played its second postseason series against Bentley in three seasons, prevailing in three tight games to advance to the AHA second round. Then-junior Brandon Watt had three points in the series, capped by two assists in the clincher.

The all-time series between these two league foes is dead even, 13-13-4, dating back to October 2004, RMU's first month of existence in Division I. The Colonials have generally gotten the better of the Falcons on Neville Island, where they hold an 11-6-3 edge. Bobby Mo is 2-0 in the AHA playoffs against Bentley, with both series going three games.
 
OPPOSITION RESEARCH
Following a three-game win streak in late November that included road victories at Boston College and Holy Cross, Bentley has gone winless in five (0-4-1) to fall to 10th in the 11-team AHA. Their 3-3 tie with Dartmouth last Saturday could provide some optimism, though, as the Falcons rallied from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits. Junior Jonathan Desbiens scored the last-minute equalizer to finish a three-point performance.

Bentley has sponsored a varsity program since the late 1970s, but the team spent the first two decades in Division III. This is the program's 21st Division I season, with 16 of those spent in Atlantic Hockey. Head coach Ryan Soderquist is in his 17th year behind the bench, following a playing career that saw him rack up a team-record 173 points.















KNOW BOBBY MO
• Although the Colonials have been known for offense this decade, they've been downright stingy in Atlantic Hockey play this season. With 14 of the 28 conference games complete, RMU has allowed 25 total goals for a league-leading 1.78 goals-against average. They've allowed one goal or fewer in exactly half of their league games, highlighted by home shutouts of R.I.T. and Holy Cross.

• Twenty of RMU's 51 goals have been scored by underclassmen, with 15 of those scored by freshmen. Six of the Colonials' 10 freshmen skaters -- Justin Addamo, Geoff Lawson, Nick Lalonde, Aidan Spellacy, Grant Hebert and Kip Hoffmann -- have scored their first NCAA goals, while eight of 10 have at least a point. Also, Hebert and sophomore Nick Prkusic have five goals each, tying them for third on the team.

• Senior defenseman Eric Israel continues to be among the most dangerous blue-line playmakers in the nation. With 77 points in his career, Israel ranks eighth among active Division I defenders. The Michigander is also eighth among his blueline peers in career assists (60) and ranks 15th in career goals (17). Also, his 11 power-play goals at Robert Morris place him seventh among nationwide D-men.

• Starting with a home-and-home split with No. 20 Bowling Green, the Colonials have collected at least one win in seven of 10 weekend series so far. However, they've only been able to sweep one opponent in a two-game set, that being Mercyhurst on Nov. 23-24. All told, they've split six of nine weekend series, not counting the Three Rivers Classic.

• Junior goalie Francis Marotte has made quite the impact in two-plus years at Robert Morris. Entering the weekend, the reigning AHA Goalie of the Month has the Colonials' all-time best goals-against average (2.49), along with the third-best save percentage (.919), second-most shutouts (7) and second-most wins (42). He's one win from tying Terry Shafer '16 for the most in RMU history and one shutout from matching Shafer's mark.

• Senior winger Alex Tonge is the 11th Colonial to reach 100 points for his NCAA career. Tonge, who has 118 points entering the weekend, has risen to sixth place on RMU's all-time scoring list. Tonge has passed Greg Gibson '16, Denny Urban '11, David Friedmann '16, Scott Jacklin '15 and Daniel Leavens '17 this season. Tonge is currently the No. 8 active scorer in NCAA Division I.

• After going their first nine games without a shorthanded goal, the Colonials have scored four in their past 11. Lynch has two of those, giving him five for his career; that's the third-most among active Division I players. Daniel Mantenuto netted his first career shorty Nov. 23 at Mercyhurst; Moon Township's Jacob Coleman added one Dec. 29 at American International.

THEY SAID IT
"Our future is very bright. We knew we would have to be patient with our freshmen. They have found their way in the college game and have worked hard to get where they're at." - Head coach Derek Schooley

 

"The Atlantic Hockey standings are really tight, so every game's going to matter. We have two big games coming up at home, and we don't have many home games remaining." - Freshman winger Lalonde

  

SCHOOLEY FILE
The only head coach in program history, Schooley returns for his 15th season behind the RMU bench. Under his guidance, the Colonials carry an overall record of 239-236-62 and a 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.

FIFTEEN YEARS OF HOCKEY
We celebrate our 15th season of Division I pucks with regular throwbacks to our 15 greatest moments. This week, we remember the inaugural Three Rivers Classic, which featured a heroic goaltending performance, a massive crowd and another indelible upset win:



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 RMU Island Sports Center. 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 UP
RMU will play nine of its next 11 games on the road, starting with a two-game set in Buffalo, N.Y., against AHA opponent Canisius. Faceoffs are set for 7:35 p.m. next Friday and 4:35 p.m. next Saturday.