PITTSBURGH – The Robert Morris University men's hockey team heads out to the Grand Canyon State this weekend when they visit the host Sun Devils of Arizona State University for a pair of games on Friday, January 31 and Saturday February 1 at 10:05 p.m. EST.
ROBERT MORRIS (9-12-3, 9-8-3 AHA / 5th)
vs. ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY (16-9-3)
Saturday Jan. 31 at 10:05 p.m.
Saturday, February 1 at 10:05 p.m.
TEMPE, ARIZONA | OCEANSIDE ICE ARENA
STATS via RMUColonials.com
VIDEO via FloHockey ($)
CATCHING UP
The Colonials dropped a pair of home games last weekend to the visiting Yellow Jackets of American International College by scores of 4-3 and 4-1 on Friday and Saturday evening at Colonials Arena in Pittsburgh.
Despite out-scoring AIC at even strength over the course of the two-game stretch, some struggling special teams contributed to RMU getting swept at home. The RMU power-play went 0-9 on the weekend, including a five-minute major in the waning moments of game two that could have gotten the Colonials back in the game.
The normally rock solid Colonials penalty kill unit also struggled against AIC, giving up five goals in two games including a pair on a five-minute major in game one that broke the game open and made it 4-1 in the second.
HISTORY LESSON
This weekend will present a unique challenge to the Colonials, as RMU and Arizona State have never faced off before in the history of their respective programs.
It will be the second time this season Robert Morris squares off against an opponent for the first time ever. The Colonials opened the season with their first ever games against Michigan Tech back on October 5 and 6 of this season, dropping both games at home.
OPPOSITION RESEARCH
The No. 12 Sun Devils are an anomaly in men's Division I college hockey, currently the only program in NCAA unaffiliated with a specific conference, and only one of two Div. I programs in the Sun Belt, the other being Alabama-Huntsville.
Since moving up to the NCAA full-time in 2015-16, ASU made the NCAA tournament for the first time ever last year and has played opponents from all across the college hockey landscape. This season, they have taken on schools from Atlantic Hockey, Hockey East, The Big Ten, and the NCHC, amongst others. They also opened up the season in Beijing at the Fu Xing Cup that featured a pair of bouts against Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
ASU has played fellow AHA squads Mercyhurst, Air Force, and RIT so far the season, and is also scheduled to take on both Holy Cross and Bentley later this year.
They are led by junior forward Johnny Walker who currently leads them in goals (15) and is tied for the lead in points with James Sanchez (30). The Sun Devils boast four players that have already cracked the 20-point threshold so far this season, and have a penalty-kill (84.2%) that currently ranks 17th in the nation.
ASU also currently ranks fifth overall in NCAA in total goals scored with 89 in 28 games.
KNOW BOBBY MO
• Despite a tough weekend, the Colonials' penalty kill has been a bright spot for much of this season, currently ranking 18th of 60 Division I teams with an 84.1 percent success rate. RMU has blanked the opposing power play in 13 of its 22 games to date, including a stretch of three consecutive goose eggs from Nov. 22-30. Among Atlantic Hockey teams, only Army and American International have better PK rates than RMU.
• Senior transfer Kapelmaster has been a revelation in his first 19 RMU games, boasting a .933 save percentage that ranks eighth among Division I starting goalies. Formerly of Ferris State University, Kapelmaster has played 70 NCAA games, with a career .920 SV% that's 14th among actives.
• RMU started its Atlantic Hockey schedule with seven regulation wins in its first 11 games, the third time the program accomplished that feat. The only teams in Colonials hockey history to begin with better 11-game league records than this year's 7-2-2 start were the 2014-15 and 2015-16 editions, both of which started 7-1-3 en route to regular-season championships.
• Junior co-captain Nick Prkusic leads the Colonials in goals (seven) and total points (16) and is over halfway to last year's total of 25. Sophomore Justin Addamo is next with 13 points, while senior Jacob Coleman has 12. Grant Hebert is next with 11, recently setting a new career high for a season.
• The Colonials return 19 players from last year's squad, 10 of those sophomores. The leading returning scorer is Pittsburgh native Luke Lynch, whose 97 career points rank 13th in program history. Lynch shares the captaincy with fellow senior Daniel Mantenuto and junior Prkusic, marking the first time in more than a decade that three Colonials have worn the 'C.'
• Six freshmen join from across the hockey world, from western Canadians Garrett Clegg (Alberta) and Bradley Stonnell (British Columbia), to Ontario-born Darcy Walsh and Cameron Hebert, to Finnish forward Santeri Hartikainen, to Pittsburgh's own Roman Kraemer. Five of the six has played in at least 12 games and all have at least one point; Hartikainen leads the way with five (2g, 3a).
• RMU sports 16 underclassmen on the roster, the fifth-most in D-I. Winger Nick Lalonde led all freshman scorers last year with 16 total points, while Addamo paced the class with eight goals. 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) got plenty of experience.
• Led by seniors Lynch and Jacob Coleman (Moon Township), the Colonials continue to showcase local talent. Sophomore Aiden Beck (Coraopolis) returns, joined by freshman Kraemer, who played for Serra Catholic before developing his talent at the Predators and Penguins Elite club programs. Kraemer co-starred with Cam Hebert in Johnstown, Pa., with the NAHL's Tomahawks.
• In addition to the 28-game AHA slate, the Colonials' six non-league games will be highlighted by another home-and-home against Penn State, with RMU hosting the 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.
• According to a preseason coaches' poll, the Colonials were picked to finish seventh in the 11-team AHA. RMU has finished fifth or better six times in nine previous AHA seasons, headlined by back-to-back banner years in 2014-15 and 2015-16. The top five teams at the end of the season receive first-round playoff byes.
• Familiar faces return behind the bench, led by Derek Schooley, the only head coach the program has known. Michael Gershon is back for his fourth as an assistant, while former RMU leading scorer Ryan Cruthers '08 re-joins the team as an assistant following head coaching stints in America's top two junior leagues. Cruthers' 1.26 points per game remains the best mark in RMU history.
• The Colonials have added two-time U.S. Olympian and former RMU star Brianne McLaughlin-Bittle to the staff as a volunteer assistant. A Cleveland native, McLaughlin-Bittle runs her goaltending school and camps out of the RMU Island Sports Center and has been coaching at USA Hockey camps for multiple years. She is believed to be the first woman to coach an NCAA men's hockey team, regardless of division.
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 into the season, plus a record of championship 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.
HONOR ROLL
The following players have been honored by Atlantic Hockey for their performance this season ...
Justin Kapelmaster - Goaltender of the Week (Oct. 15)
Brendon Michaelian – Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 12)
Sean Giles - Defensive Player of the Week (Jan. 21)
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 return home after their western road swing to host a pair of games against RIT on February 7 and 8 at Colonials Arena in Pittsburgh at 7:05 p.m. both nights.
