Men's Hockey | 12/4/2019 5:25:00 PM
PITTSBURGH – The
Robert Morris University men's hockey team announces that Moon Township native Tyler Love will enroll at RMU for the spring semester and join the team this month.
Love, a 19-year-old defenseman, will be first eligible to play for the Colonials on Sunday, Dec. 15, for the second game of a two-game series against Army West Point at the RMU Island Sports Center.
"We are excited to add a local player that grew up around Robert Morris hockey," said head coach
Derek Schooley. "He has tremendous upside that will help our team immediately."
A right-handed shooter, Love was in the midst of his second full season of junior hockey with the Corpus Christi (Texas) IceRays of the North American Hockey League. Love has 20 points (6g, 14a) in 87 NAHL regular-season games and competed in two Robertson Cup postseasons for the team.
Prior to that, Love honed his talents with the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite AAA amateur hockey organization, playing for the under-15, under-16 and under-18 teams. He is also an alumnus of the Arctic Foxes Hockey Association, which is based at the Island Sports Center, where he started his playing days in the in-house league.
Love's addition makes five Pittsburgh-trained players on the current roster, along with seniors
Luke Lynch and
Jacob Coleman, sophomore
Aiden Beck and freshman
Roman Kraemer.
"It's very special to me to have the opportunity to play Division I hockey for RMU in my hometown," Love said. "I have so many great memories of playing in their home rink for most of my youth hockey. I have always been a fan of RMU hockey and I'm excited for a top-notch education as well."
At 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, Love's strengths include his agility and athleticism, in addition to a knack for starting the transition game. He will wear No. 4 in RMU colors.
"(Love) is a good defender that makes good first passes," Schooley said. "He is currently a captain and will fit in well with the Colonial Hockey Family."
The Colonials' coaching staff is well-versed on Love's attributes, since first-year assistant
Ryan Cruthers was Corpus Christi's head coach last season. Plus, future Colonial Tyler Orban also plays defense for the IceRays.
Locked in a first-place Atlantic Hockey tie with Sacred Heart and Army, the Colonials (7-5-2, 7-2-2 AHA) will challenge both of those teams before the winter break.
That stretch starts with a two-game set at Sacred Heart this weekend, with faceoffs scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday. RMU will conclude the December schedule when Army pays a visit for a pair Dec. 14-15 on the program's first Hockey Fights Cancer Weekend.
