College hockey connoisseur and Colonials radio analyst Mike Prisuta contributes regular commentary to RMUColonials.com.
Confronted by a scheduling quirk that included a month-long break between Atlantic Hockey Association games, head coach
Derek Schooley and the Colonials had to get creative.
The solution was Training Camp II.
"We've been working on our habits, working on passing, working on scoring and working on team-building," Schooley reported.
That's helped keep RMU occupied since a 2-1 shootout loss to Army on Dec. 15, the players' subsequent holiday break and the resumption of AHA play on Jan. 14 at Mercyhurst.
There was also last Saturday's 4-2 exhibition loss to Ontario Tech in a mid-season exhibition game staged at the Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown, Pa., the iconic venue that hosted the fictional Charlestown Chiefs in the 1977 cinematic classic 'Slap Shot.'
And No. 6 Penn State is looming this Saturday in a non-conference showdown at PPG Paints Arena, the home of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Johnstown trip was turned into a two-day affair that included activities such as a scavenger hunt (players were tasked with getting photos of some of the memorable local landmarks made famous in 'Slap Shot'), a ping pong tournament, an "air band" competition, and a visit to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa.
The Ontario Tech exhibition re-introduced the Colonials to competitive play -- everyone in uniform was used on the power play and on the penalty kill, and ice time was distributed as evenly as possible.
The Penn State game will provide a refresher course in what's necessary to compete at the upper echelon of the NCAA.
RMU will enter the weekend at 7-8-3 overall and tied for fourth in the AHA at 7-5-3. The Colonials won seven of their first eight AHA games but have gone 0-4-3 since.
Penn State is 15-6-0 overall and leads the Big Ten at 8-4-0.
The two teams initially resumed their rivalry on Oct. 25 at Penn State's Pegula Ice Arena. The Nittany Lions out-shot the Colonials, 36-22, and won the game, 2-1. Penn State has also beaten AHA members Sacred Heart (8-2, 5-4) and Niagara (3-2, 2-0).
"We proved we can play at that level and that pace," Schooley said. "We need to do a better job of capitalizing on chances.
"That's the story of our year right now, (not) finishing our chances around the net."
Trying to regain and maintain health has been another season-long saga.
The Colonials have been going of late without their top two centers, senior
Daniel Mantenuto and sophomore
Grant Hebert, their top defenseman, junior
Nick Jenny, and senior transfer goalie
Justin Kapelmaster due to injury, illness or both.
"We're getting healthier as far as our forwards go," Schooley reported. "We were healthy in goal going into the exhibition game.
"We took a couple hits in the exhibition game that did not help our defensive core. We'll work through it and try to get better."
When the Colonials were at their best this season, during a four-game winning that commenced with a 4-2 win over Canisius in the wake of the first Penn State game, RMU averaged 4.5 goals per game.
On the season, the Colonials are averaging 2.06 goals per contest, 51st among the NCAA's 60 Division I teams.
"We still have a lot to work on as far as our habits go," Schooley said. "We've done a great job off the ice of having fun, working together, bonding. A lot of the things that have happened are very good.
"We've gotta find a way to manufacture more offense, get more shots on goal, get some chemistry among our lines. We have to play wth desperation and we have to play with a high compete level. When we do that we're really good but we haven't done it consistently enough."
