Men's Hockey | 10/10/2019 12:52:00 PM

PITTSBURGH -- The Robert Morris University men's hockey team jumps into Atlantic Hockey Association competition this weekend, beginning its 10th year in the league with a two-game set against playoff rival Bentley at the RMU Island Sports Center.

ROBERT MORRIS (0-2-0)
vs. BENTLEY (0-0-0)
Saturday, Oct. 11 at 7:05 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 12 at 5:05 p.m.
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CATCHING UP
Robert Morris began its 16th Division I season last weekend at home, dropping a pair to first-time foe Michigan Tech. The Colonials went down to the wire in the first game, getting 29 saves from senior transfer goalie Justin Kapelmaster in his RMU debut, plus a third-period goal by sophomore Justin Addamo, before falling in overtime, 2-1.

The visiting Huskies, who have made three of the past five NCAA tournaments, prevailed 7-0 in the second game behind a five-goal first period. That dropped RMU to 0-2 for just the second time in program history; among the previous 15 Colonials squads, only the 2013-14 team lost its first two games, although that edition rebounded to win the program's first AHA championship and make the NCAA tournament.

KNOW BOBBY MO
• The Colonials return 19 players from last year's squad, including seven seniors and 10 sophomores. The leading returning scorer is Pittsburgh native Luke Lynch, whose 87 career points rank 14th in program history and 10th among active D-I players. Lynch shares the captaincy with fellow senior Daniel Mantenuto (48 points in three years) and junior Nick Prkusic (23 points as a sophomore), marking the first time in more than a decade that RMU has given the 'C' to at least three players.

• The presence of 17 underclassmen on the roster -- the fifth-most in the nation -- belies the experience gained by the 10-man freshman class last season. Five of the 11 first-years played in at least 30 games, with four more dressing for at least 20. Winger Nick Lalonde led all freshman scorers with nine assists and 16 total points, while French-born Justin Addamo surged late for a class-high eight goals. Aidan Spellacy (11 points) and Grant Hebert (10) also chimed in up front, while defenders Nolan Schaeffer (37 games), Brendon Michaelian (28) and Geoff Lawson (23) were no strangers to game action.

• Goaltender will be a position of interest, with senior transfer Justin Kapelmaster joining junior Dyllan Lubbesmeyer and sophomore Reid Cooper. After spending the past three seasons at Ferris State University in Michigan, Kapelmaster has 48 games of NCAA experience under his belt, with a career save percentage of .916 that ranks 27th among active D-I goalies. Lubbesmeyer (five games) and Cooper (four) played exclusively in relief last season.

• According to a preseason coaches poll, the Colonials were picked to finish seventh in the 11-team AHA, with defending regular-season champion American International receiving 10 of 11 first-place votes. Entering their 10th season in the league, RMU has finished fifth or better six times, headlined by back-to-back banner years in 2014-15 and 2015-16. Fifth place is significant because the top five teams at the end of the year receive first-round playoff byes.

• Once again, RMU will take on a 28-game AHA slate, starting Oct. 11-12 against Bentley at home. The Colonials' six non-league games will be highlighted by a third consecutive home-and-home against Penn State, with RMU hosting the Big Ten's Nittany Lions at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday, Jan. 11. Also, Robert Morris will travel to the Valley of the Sun to face Arizona State's fifth-year program on Jan. 31-Feb. 1. Both Penn State and Arizona State made the NCAA tournament last spring.

• The Colonials welcome seven newcomers to the squad, headed by transfer Kapelmaster. Six freshmen highlight the team's developing recruiting base, from western Canadians Garrett Clegg (Alberta) and Bradley Stonnell (British Columbia), to Ontario-born Darcy Walsh and Cameron Hebert, to Finnish power forward Santeri Hartikainen, to Pittsburgh's own Roman Kraemer. Of note, Hartikainen is the second European-trained player to wear RMU colors, joining sophomore Addamo.

• Led by seniors Lynch and Jacob Coleman (Moon Township), the Colonials will maintain their tradition of icing western Pennsylvania-trained players. Sophomore Aiden Beck (Coraopolis) returns for a second season on the Island, joined by freshman Kraemer, who played for Serra Catholic in McKeesport before developing his talent at the Pittsburgh Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins Elite club programs. He then co-starred with Cameron Hebert in nearby Johnstown with the North American Hockey League's Tomahawks.

• RMU lost five seniors to graduation, including one of the program's all-time top scorers in Alex Tonge and blue-line regular Eric Israel. Tonge, who went on to sign with the ECHL's Florida Everblades last spring, scored 138 points in his Colonials career, tying Nathan Longpre '11 for the fourth-most in team history. Israel finished his four years with 84 points, making him the No. 2 offensive defenseman in team history, behind only Denny Urban '11. Both Longpre and Urban are in the RMU Athletics Hall of Fame.

• Familiar faces return behind the bench, led by 16th-year bench boss Derek Schooley, the only head coach the program has known since its inception. Michael Gershon is back for his fifth season with the program -- his fourth as an assistant coach. Also, former RMU captain and leading scorer Ryan Cruthers '08 re-joins the team as an assistant following successful coaching stints in America's top two junior leagues. Cruthers' 1.26 points per game in an RMU sweater is easily the highest in team history.

• Two former Colonials have become high-level pro referees, with Brandon Blandina and Sewickley native Furman South both reaching the National Hockey League in recent seasons. South made his NHL officiating debut late in the 2016-17 season and has reached the 40-game plateau as of the start of 2019-20, while Blandina first stepped on NHL ice last spring. Both members of the Class of 2012 continue to referee American Hockey League games as well.

HISTORY LESSON
The Colonials have faced Bentley 33 times previously, winning 14, losing 15 and tying four. Bentley is 5-1-2 in the past eight regular-season matchups, but RMU has gotten the best of the all-time series in the biggest games, eliminating the Falcons from three of the past four Atlantic Hockey postseasons.

Last season was a little different, though, as the Colonials had to go on the road to face second-seeded Bentley in the best-of-three quarterfinal round. After the Falcons won Game 1 with a late goal, RMU responded with consecutive one-goal victories to take the series, capped by Addamo's sudden-death decider in winner-take-all Game 3. That clinched the team's record-tying sixth straight trip to the AHA final four.

OPPOSITION RESEARCH
Bentley hasn't taken the ice since last year's postseason series, as long-tenured head coach Ryan Soderquist prepares his 18th Falcons squad. Last year was Bentley's best-ever finish in the AHA, placing second with a league record of 15-9-4 and an overall mark of 17-15-5.

The Falcons return seven of their top 10 scorers, with junior Luke Santerno (25 assists, 36 points) and senior Jonathan Desbiens (15 goals) leading the way in the critical categories. Senior Aidan Pelino -- an All-AHA Second-Teamer last year -- is the most experienced goalie in the league, with 72 career starts.

FILM STUDY
"The top-to-bottom parity in the league is outstanding. You have to come ready every weekend, or you're not going to get any points." - Head coach Derek Schooley on how Atlantic Hockey has developed in RMU's 10 years of membership



"The biggest thing right now is to play like we did at the end of last year. Trust in each other and trust in our systems." - Senior forward Coleman on how to carry over last year's late 6-1-1 run in league play



THE SCHOOLEY FILE
One of the longest-tenured coaches at RMU, Schooley is entering his 16th season at the Robert Morris helm in 2019-20, carrying an overall record of 247-247-63 and a proud record of championship-level success in Division I men's hockey. The native of St. Louis 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 2014. In the seven-season span from 2012-19, Schooley's Colonials have averaged 20 wins per season and have consistently placed 20-plus student-athletes on the AHA All-Academic team.

Schooley has spent the past two decades coaching college players, starting with assistant roles at Cornell and the Air Force Academy. During his time at Robert Morris, Schooley has had 70 players go on to play professionally, from the AHL and ECHL to various leagues across Europe. Nine former Colonials have participated in NHL training camps, with the most recent being all-time top RMU scorer Brady Ferguson at the past two Toronto Maple Leafs camps. On top of that, 19 RMU alums have taken part in NHL development/rookie camps.

MARCH WITH THE COLONIALS
In addition to reports and videos on RMUColonials.com, check out Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for news and updates throughout the season.

NEXT UP
The Colonials take to the road for the first time, traveling to face Army in West Point for the first time in four years. Faceoffs from the U.S. Military Academy are set for Saturday, Oct. 19 and Sunday, Oct. 20.