PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's hockey team returns to the ice this Tuesday, December 1 when they host nationally-ranked No. 18 Bowling Green University in the first half of a home-and-home at 7:00 p.m. at Clearview Arena. 

ROBERT MORRIS (3-1-0) vs. BOWLING GREEN (2-0-0)

Tuesday, December 1st at 7:05 PM

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LAST TIME OUT

Robert Morris kicked off conference play over the weekend, earning a split with the Canisius Golden Griffins at Clearview to start the Atlantic Hockey season. 

The Colonials bounced back from their first loss of the season Friday night with a resilient effort Saturday, taking down the Griffins 5-4 to come away three points in the AHA standings. Junior Grant Hebert tied a career-high with a four-point performance while freshman Randy Hernandez scored the game-winner with just 1:31 remaining in regulation. 

KNOW BOBBY MO

• Senior Nick Prkusic is the Colonials' leading scorer so far in 2020 with six points (1G, 5A) in four games, trailed closely by Grant Hebert and Justin Addamo with five each.  Junior Jordan Timmons leads them in goals (3), while Senior Nick Jenny leads all defenseman in scoring with three points. 
• The Colonials are still receiving votes in both the USCHO.com as well as the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine National Polls following their split against Canisius.  RMU received two votes in the USCHO preseason poll as an honorable mention, and with 24 votes has them as one of only four AHA schools to be mentioned (AIC, RIT, Sacred Heart). They also received votes in the most recent USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll, which is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association.
• Seven true freshman have seen action so far for Robert Morris in this still new season, with Kyler Head, Randy Hernandez, Gavin Gulash, David Lafrance, Brian Kramer, Noah West and Matthew Guerra all drawing into the lineup. Head and Hernandez have each recorded three points, while Hernandez paces all RMU rookies with two goals.
• The Colonials have used all three of their goaltenders through four games so far this year, with Dyllan Lubbesmeyer (2-0) the first to make multiple starts after his win Saturday night. Reid Cooper picked up a win in his start last weekend against Huntsville, and while rookie Noah West did not get a W in his NCAA debut on Friday, the Indiana native turned aside 41 shots in an impressive effort between the pipes. 
• While it did not convert a goal Saturday, the Robert Morris power play is still rolling along at a healthy 26.7% (4-15) in the early stages of the new season, and though they managed a solid 6-7 effort in two games against Canisius on the penalty kill, improving on the teams' current overall mark of 69.2% will go a long way in helping RMU secure wins as the season grows longer.
• Due to restrictions of the COVID-19 virus, Atlantic Hockey will be split into two pods for the 2021 campaign. Robert Morris will play in the newly-formed western pod, along with Canisius, Mercyhurst, and Niagara, playing five games a piece against each opponent as well as a two-game series against geographic outlier Air Force. RMU was undefeated a season ago against the Griffins and posted a winning record against Mercyhurst. 
• Junior Grant Hebert exploded for four points (1G, 3A) Saturday against Canisius, tying a career best mark for the center.  It was one of four multi-point performances in the win for RMU with fellow juniors Justin Addamo (2G) and Nolan Schaeffer (2A) as well as Hernandez (1G, 1A) all getting in on the action. Defenseman Brendon Michaelian and Geoff Lawson also picked up their first points of the year in the victory. 
• The Colonials will play a slightly truncated schedule in 2020-21 consisting of 28 games, including 24 AHA matchups.  Non-conference competition already saw them face the UAH Chargers for the first time in nearly a decade, and they will also square off in two games against WCHA foe Bowling Green, who RMU last defeated in 2018.
• Kramer (Wexford) and Timmons (Bridgeville) add to RMU's long legacy of recruiting and training players from Western Pennsylvania.  Both are alumni of the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite program and join Tyler Love and Roman Kraemer in playing their college hockey in their own backyard. 
• Head Coach Derek Schooley returns behind the bench for his 17th season as head coach flanked by a pair of new faces in assistants Mike Corbett and Ryan Durocher.  Durocher joins Robert Morris after two seasons as an assistant with the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League, while Corbett brings nearly two decades of college coaching experience  with him having spent seven seasons as the head coach of the University of Alabama-Huntsville Chargers as well as another ten as an assistant at Air Force. 

SERIES HISTORY

Tuesday marks the first meeting between the Colonials and Falcons since October 14 of 2018 when Bowling Green dropped a resounding 6-0 win on the Colonials at Slater Family Ice Arena. 

The victory for BGSU followed their first ever loss to the Colonials two days prior when Robert Morris gutted out a 3-2 victory in Moon Township thanks in part to a two-point night from Justin Addamo. 

Robert Morris is 1-3-1 all time against Bowling Green in a rivalry that dates back to 2013. 

SCOUTING THE FALCONS

Nationally ranked Bowling Green is 2-0 to start the year following a pair of wins over Adrian College earlier this month, 6-2 and 5-0.  The No.18 Falcons moved up one spot in the USCHO poll in consecutive weeks following the wins and are one of three WCHA teams ranked in this week's poll along with Minnesota State at No. 6 and Bemidji State at No. 19. 

BGSU was picked to finish third overall in the WCHA pre-season coaches poll, while senior forward Brandon Kruse was a named a Co-Preseason Player of the Year. 

After posting two points in both games against Adrian, the Vegas Golden Knights 5th-rounder (2018) is steering an offense that also features a bevy of talented upperclassmen in senior Max Johnson and Connor Ford as well as junior Alex Barber. The Falcons led the NCAA in power-play goals a year ago with 45 in 38 games. 

THE SCHOOLEY FILE

One of the longest-tenured coaches at RMU, Schooley is entering his 17th season at the Robert Morris helm in 2020-21, carrying an overall record of 262-266-68 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 eight-season span from 2012-20, Schooley's Colonials have averaged nearly 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 75 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 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.

ON THE HORIZON

After wrapping up a five-game home stand, the Colonials head west for their first road trip of the season this weekend when they travel to Colorado Springs for two games against Air Force Friday and Saturday night.