PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The #17 Robert Morris University men's hockey team stays in action tomorrow night when they head back up to Erie for their second straight clash against the Mercyhurst Lakers. 

ROBERT MORRIS (11-4-0, 9-2-1 AHA) vs. MERCYHURST (5-5-1, 4-2-1-2 AHA)

Saturday, January 23 at 4:30 PM in Erie, Pa. 

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LAST TIME OUT

RMU and Mercyhurst squared off earlier this week in Erie as the Lakers dealt the Colonials their first conference loss of any kind since they opened up conference play against Canisius on 11/27. 

Despite Nick Lalonde tying it up late in the third with a power-play goal, Gueorgui Fedulov managed to sneak a quick shot through West in overtime to secure the extra point for the Lakers and hand RMU an AHA loss for the first time in nearly two months. 

KNOW BOBBY MO

• Despite their first loss AHA loss in months, RMU still leads the conference in total points . Their 26 points is the most of any school though AIC still leads in terms of points-percentage at .852 vs. .788 for RMU. 
• Junior Grant Hebert is RMU's current leading scorer with 17 points (5G, 12A) and has at least one point in ten of his last twelve games. Nick Prkusic and Randy Hernandez are both tied for second with 16 points each. 
• The Colonials ascended to the highest ranking in program history last week when they shot up to #17 overall in the USCHO Poll following the sweep of Niagara. It matches the previous program best ranking which RMU last enjoyed during the 2014-15 campaign. 
• Seven true freshman have seen action so far for Robert Morris this 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 16 points including six goals, three of which have been game-winners. 
• Noah West has been superb so far in his rookie season in Moon Township, having started each of the last six games in goal for RMU while posting a 7-3-0 record. The Pittsboro, IN native has been one of the best stoppers in the country this season and currently sits T-13th overall in NCAA in SV% (.930) amongst goalies who have played at least five games.
• Several Colonials are on pace for historic performances. Grant Hebert's current clip of 1.21 points per-game would rank 10th best in program history, while West's .930 SV% is just under the highest mark all time in a single season (minimum 100 saves). With 16 points through 15 games, Randy Hernandez has a chance of breaking Chris Margott's single-season freshman scoring record of 27 set during the 2005-06 season.
• RMU boasts one of the most potent offenses in college hockey this year with 57 total goals scored, trailing only Bowing Green with 68 for most in NCAA. Junior Grant Hebert is currently tied for ninth overall in the country in scoring with 17 points in 14 games. 
• Junior pivot Aidan Spellacy has been RMU's most consistent performer in the dot so far this year, going 153-273 (56.3%) on face-offs through 14 games. Sophomore Santeri Hartikainen has also been excellent at 110-206 (53.3%).
• 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 Air Force, 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. Noah West has also enjoyed recognition for AHA, earning Rookie of Week, Rookie of the Month, and Goaltender of the Week honors in January. 
• RMU has done the honor of opening up the scoring in almost every game this season. The Colonials hold a remarkable 10-2 record when scoring first this year and have only given up the opening tally three times all season. 
• 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 

The Colonials and Lakers are back at it again four days after they last met as RMU looks to split the season series on the road Saturday at Mercyhurst Ice Center. 

RMU is 16-14-9 all-time against Mercyhurst, including 6-7-5 on the road. They average north of three goals a game against MU historically, and have not lost consecutive games to the Lakers since February 16 and 17 of 2018.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS

Mercyhurst did its best to disrupt the flow of the RMU offense Tuesday night, and its a good bet that the Colonials see a similar game plan out of the Lakers Saturday night as well. 

Despite controlling the better part of possession and play, Mercyhurst blocked an astounding 22 shots against RMU on Tuesday, including a number of prime chances on the man-advantage. 

The defensive-heavy mindset has pretty much been on par with how the Lakers have approached every game trios season, having blocked double-digit shots in every single game they've played this year. 

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 271-270-68 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 faces Mercyhurst for the third straight time when they visit Clearview Arena on Saturday, January 30 at 7:30 p.m.