PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's hockey team hits the road for the first time this season when they head to Colorado Springs this weekend for a pair against Atlantic Hockey rival Air Force.

ROBERT MORRIS (3-2-0, 1-1-0 AHA) vs. Air Force (0-2-0, 0-2-0 AHA)

Friday, December 4th at 9:05 PM EST

Saturday, December 5th at 6:05 PM EST

FOLLOW: LIVE STATS | WATCH: FLOHOCKEY.TV ($)

LAST TIME OUT

The Colonials closed out a five game home stand to start the season with a 6-3 loss to No. 18 Bowling Green Tuesday Night at Clearview Arena. 

Despite scoring two goals in the first 3:39 of the opening period the Colonials could not stay out of the box, spotting a talented Falcons man-advantage eight power plays on the night.  Bowling Green converted three of those chances while RMU went 0-8 themselves in the eventual loss. 

KNOW BOBBY MO

• Senior Nick Prkusic and juniors Grant Hebert and Justin Addamo are all tied for the RMU scoring lead with six points in five games. Addamo scored his third goal in two games Tuesday night against Bowling Green on a beautiful pass through the slot from Jordan Timmons.
• The Colonials are still receiving votes in both the USCHO.com as well as the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine National Polls this week. 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. Hernandez currently leads the pack of rookies in overall scoring with four points including three goals, two of which have been game-winners. 
• The Colonials have used all three of their goaltenders through five games so far this year, with Dyllan Lubbesmeyer (2-1) having started each of the last two. Reid Cooper picked up a win in his start opening weekend against Huntsville, and while rookie Noah West did not get a W in his NCAA debut against Canisius, the Indiana native turned aside 41 shots in an impressive effort between the pipes. 
• After a hot start against Huntsville, the Robert Morris power play has cooled off significantly. The Colonials went 0-8 Tuesday against Bowling Green and have converted just one of their last 13 chances on the man-advantage. Combined with a penalty-killing unit that is currently 14-21 (66.7%), RMU's special teams represent perhaps the biggest area for improvement in the still new 2021 campaign. 
• 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 pivot Aidan Spellacy has been RMU's most consistent performer in the dot so far this year, having gone 52-90 (57.8%) on face-offs through five games. Sophomore Santeri Hartikainen has also been excellent at 54-98 (55.1%).
• 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 has already defeated RMU once this season, 6-3.
• 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 

Air Force has proved to be a tough matchup for the Colonials in recent seasons.

RMU is 0-6-2 in their last eight matchups against the Falcons, a winless streak that dates back to January 21, 2017. While they did not make the trip to Colorado last season, the Colonials took just one point away from a home matchup against them in November, dropping game one in a 2-0 shutout before losing in overtime in game two. 

Robert Morris' last win in Colorado was February 19, 2016, a wild 7-4 affair that featured a hat trick from Daniel Leavens. 

SCOUTING THE FALCONS

The Falcons are 0-2 to start the season after being swept by American International College in Springfield last weekend. 

RMU and Air Force both tied for sixth overall in the 2021 Atlantic Hockey Pre-Season Coaches Poll with 49 points each, and the Falcons will no doubt look to the experience of their senior class as they play out the 2021 campaign. 

Air Force's four senior captains are all veterans of their 2018 Atlantic Hockey Championship and run to the NCAA Elite Eight. Defenseman Jake Levin, Zach Mirageas, and Alex Mehnert, as well as forward Shawn Knowlton will be key figures for the Falcons if they end up making another run at the title. 

They return three of their top four scorers from a year ago as well in Mirageas, sophomore Brandon Koch and senior Marshall Bowery. 

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 262-267-68 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

RMU returns home the following weekend for a Friday night clash against Niagara at Clearview Arena before heading to upstate New York for the second half of the home-and-home on Saturday.