PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's hockey team is set to ring in the new year with a trio of Atlantic Hockey matchups this weekend as they travel to Niagara for a New Years Eve showdown with the Purple Eagles before returning home to Clearview Arena for a two-game series against RIT on Saturday and Sunday.
ROBERT MORRIS (5-3-0, 3-1-0 AHA) vs. NIAGARA (1-4-2, 0-3-2 AHA)
Thursday, December 31st at 2:05 PM in Lewiston, N.Y.
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ROBERT MORRIS (5-3-0, 3-1-0 AHA) vs. RIT (4-2-2-0, 2-0-1-0-1 AHA)
Saturday, January 2nd at 7:35 PM in Moon Township, Pa.
Sunday, January 3rd at 4:05 PM in Moon Township, Pa.
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LAST TIME OUT
Robert Morris is coming off of a 2-1 loss on the road to No. 7 Bowling Green on Tuesday in what was their first game in over three weeks following the Holiday break.
Despite controlling play at even-strength for much of the game, too many penalties once again proved fatal for RMU. Although RMU took a 1-0 lead and 20-15 advantage in shots on goal into the third period, BGSU took advantage of a 5-on-3 power play to start the third frame, cashing in on the second penalty to tie it up before scoring the eventual game-winner three minutes later.
Junior Grant Hebert scored the lone goal for RMU, his team-leading tenth point of the year. Freshman goalie Noah West stopped 33 of 35 shots in goal for the Colonials.
KNOW BOBBY MO
- Junior Grant Hebert is RMU's leading scorer through eight games with 10 points (3G, 7A), while Justin Addamo ranks second at nine. Jordan Timmons leads Robert Morris is goal scoring with six in eight games.
- The Colonials received 45 votes in the latest USCHO Division I poll, putting them just outside the Top-20 at #21 overall. RMU is currently the second-highest-ranked member of Atlantic Hockey behind #20 AIC, and 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 six points including three goals, two of which have been game-winners.
- Noah West has now started three consecutive games in goal for Robert Morris, the first RMU goalie to do so this season. The rookie sits at 2-2 on the season and has posted an excellent .931 SV% and 2.27 GAA average in four games,
- After a 4-7 weekend on the power-play against Air Force, the Colonials man advantage struggled to get going against Bowling Green, going 0-5 on the night and dropping their overall conversion rate this season to 8-35 (22.9%).
- Jordan Timmons is RMU's leading goal scorer following his natural hat trick against Air Force with six in eight games, which currently ties him for second overall in the goal scoring lead in NCAA . AIC's Tobias Fladeby is the only member of Atlantic Hockey with more goals than Timmons so far this season.
- RMU boasts a Top-15 offense in college hockey through December with 28 total goals scored, just two shy of the Top-10 overall. Junior Grant Hebert is currently tied for sixth overall in the country in scoring with 10 points in eight games.
- Junior pivot Aidan Spellacy has been RMU's most consistent performer in the dot so far this year, having gone 80-144 (55.6%) on face-offs through seven games. Sophomore Santeri Hartikainen has also been excellent at 64-123 (52%).
- Robert Morris has been racking up the AHA hardware so far this season. Jordan Timmons was named AHA Player of the Week following his hat trick against AF, joining Nick Prkusic who also received the honor earlier this year. Additionally, Kyler Head was named Rookie of the Week opening weekend while both Nick Jenny and Nolan Schaeffer have been given Defensive Player of the Week honors. Prkusic and Hernandez were also named Best Player and Rookie for the month of November.
- The Colonials will play a slightly truncated schedule in 2020-21 consisting of 28 games, including 24 AHA matchups. Non-conference competition concluded this week following the conclusion of RMU's home-and-home with the Bowling Green Falcons.
- 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
Robert Morris gets a double-helping of Atlantic Hockey action this weekend, traveling to Lewiston, N.Y. for a one-off against Niagara on Thursday afternoon before they host RIT for a pair at Clearview on Saturday and Sunday.
RMU has lost three straight against the Purple Eagles including a two-game sweep in Lewiston last year, 5-0 and 5-2.
RIT has proved to be a tough matchup for the Colonials in recent years as well, with three of the previous five meetings between the two schools going into overtime.
While Nick Prkusic's OT winner gave them the extra point in their last matchup on 2/8 of last year, RMU has not earned a regulation win against the Tigers since a 3-0 shutout at home in October of 2018.
SCOUTING THE PURPLE EAGLES
Selected to finish fourth overall in the AHA pre-season coaches poll, Niagara has had an up-and-down season so far in 2020.
While the Purple Eagles put together a great performance in a 4-1 win over No. 7 Clarkson back on December 9, victories have been hard to come by for head coach Jason Lammers' squad for much of the season so far. A pair of shootout losses to RIT and Mercyhurst have been the only points they've picked up in the AHA standings, and their 30 goals against is the fifth-most of any program in NCAA.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Following a rocky fall that saw the program cancel its season only to reverse the decision weeks later, RIT currently sits at 4-2-2-0 overall and received eight votes in the latest USCHO poll.
After earning a split with Clarkson to start the season, RIT has faced off against Niagara three times, earning a shootout win on December 5 as well as 5-1 and 5-4 victories in regulation.
They're coming off of a 4-4 tie against Colgate on Tuesday, and boast one of the most prolific offenses in the country with 34 goals scored through eight games.
Junior forward Will Calverly leads the Tigers in goals and is currently the top scorer in Atlantic Hockey with 14 points in eight 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 264-268-68 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 gets reacquainted with Niagara in a major way next week, facing off in Lewiston again on Thursday, January 7 before a home-and-home two days later on Saturday and Sunday.
