Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University men's hockey team is revamped, reloaded and ready to go as they return to the ice for the 2023-24 season.
Entering back into the Atlantic Hockey Association conference, the Colonials added 10 players from the transfer portal and 13 freshmen along with their six current members, totaling a 29-man roster.
"We are really happy with the team we've put together for this upcoming season," said head coach Derek Schooley. "This has been a major focus for myself and associate head coach Matt Nicholson for the past year. We believe we have some really good pieces in place to welcome Colonial Hockey back to the NCAA Division I level."
Entering the 2023-24 campaign, the forward corps will see an injection of 17 players. "Our forward group falls into three categories," said Schooley, "the first category is our returning six players that spent the previous year at RMU training and preparing for this upcoming season that includes some former Colonials that have played important minutes in the history of the program."
Of those six returning members of the men's squad,
Cameron Hebert comes back for his graduate season in a Colonials uniform, along with
Matt Hutton and
Gavin Gulash starting up their senior years. On campus last year in 2022-23, was also
Matthew Boczar,
Charles Merkley and
Dominic Schimizzi preparing to take on their redshirt freshman campaigns.
"The second group is a collection of transfers that have had a history of scoring at their previous institutions, as well as the ability to play in key situations on both sides of the puck," stated Schooley.
Bolstering this tier of playmakers are four graduate students. Transferring about two hours north, from Mercyhurst University, in Erie, Pa., the Colonials bring in
Paul Maust, from Butler, Pa., and
Rylee St. Onge. In Maust's four seasons for Mercyhurst, he collected 32 points. A hometown player that attended Mars Area High School, Maust also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite teams growing up. St. Onge first started his collegiate career with the University of Alaska-Anchorage, registering 17 points. The last three seasons at fellow AHA opponent Mercyhurst, he produced 24 goals and 42 points.
The Colonials also introduced two graduate players from Michigan, including
Dallas Tulik, coming from Ferris State. In four years, Tulik totaled 35 points. And,
Logan Ganie of Michigan Tech picked up 25 points in his four seasons.
"The third group is our freshman forwards that provide a mix of speed, skill and the ability to score," said Schooley.
Joining the program are seven freshmen forwards, all coming with experience in the North American Hockey League (NAHL), Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), and Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL).
One of the incoming first-years is
Jackson Reineke from Faribault, Minn. This past season in the NAHL, Reineke was ranked fourth in points across the league, posting 66 points in 59 games played. He was also third in goals with 32 on the year. Also, from the NAHL,
Walter Zacher of Buffalo, N.Y. joins RMU after playing three seasons with the Austin Bruins. Across 128 games, Zacher collected 96 points, including a 55-point campaign in 2022-23, scoring 32 goals just as Reineke did.
Continuing with the freshman class of forwards, Schooley recruited two players from the Markham Royals out of the OJHL.
McKay Hayes, a native of Ancaster, Ontario makes his way to the states after a successful 81-point season last year, as the captain of the Royals. He ranked sixth in the league in points. The year before he put up 54 points with the Toronto Patriots. Hayes's teammate
Lee Chiang also comes to RMU after posting six points in eight games with the Royals. In 2021-22, Chiang had 35 points in 48 games with the Aurora Tigers in the OJHL.
Bringing in more offensive upside, the Colonials welcome
George Krotiris from the Cobourg Cougars. Krotiris finished the season in the top 10 in scoring, recording a 76-point season. The year prior he put up 61 points, and across 14 playoff games, Krotiris added four goals and seven helpers on his playoff resume. Adding another goal scorer,
Cameron Garvey on the Collingwood Blues scored 40 goals last year, ranking fourth in the OJHL.
Rounding out the freshman class of forwards is
Tanner Klimpke, who played in the AJHL for half the season with the Olds Grizzly's and then the Whitecourt Wolverines. In total, Klimpke saw action in 60 games and finished with 58 points.
"We are looking forward to combining these three groups into a productive offensive group," stated Schooley.
Moving onto the blue line, the Colonials are rostering nine defensemen. "We were able to add four transfers that will help us immediately," said Schooley. "Having that experience is immeasurable and will help us move the puck up the ice and defend in transition."
Bringing a veteran presence to the defense core, the Colonials brought three graduate transfers in
Mitch Andres from Boston College,
Luke Johnson from Providence College and
Cade Townend from Merychurst. Townend in his four years in the AHA, recorded 38 points. Andres and Johnson bring a steady defensive game after four years each playing in the Hockey East conference. The defense will also receive help from Junior transfer
Trevor LeDonne out of the University of St. Thomas.
Along the depth chart, RMU welcomes five freshman defensemen to the lineup.
Thomas Haynes and
Tom Gangl join the squad after playing in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) for the Smiths Fall Bears. Haynes also comes with time spent in the OJHL for four seasons, and produced 45 points last year. Gangl served as an alternate captain for the Bears last season and posted 42 points from the blue line.
Luke Van Why and
Gabriel Lunn enter the team as the two youngest players on the roster, as the only two born in the year 2003. Both student-athletes are arriving from the NAHL. van Why from Hatfield, Pa. joins the team after 105 games of experience for the Maryland Black Bears, totaling 71 points. Lunn played for the Johnstown Tomahawks this past season scoring two goals and dishing out 25 helpers.
Finishing up the defensive core is
Michael Craig, a right-handed defenseman from St. Catharines, Ontario. At the end of the previous year's campaign, Craig finished fourth among all defensemen in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) in points with 48. In three years with the Nanaimo Clippers, Craig owns 82 career points in the BCHL.
"Our five freshman defensemen will provide a good mix of puck moving offense and a tremendous amount of size and length to play in their end. We are very pleased with our defensive corps," said Schooley.
Finally, between the pipes the Colonials added three netminders for the 2023-24 season.
"This is a position in which we were able to get a tremendous amount of experience and depth right with the addition of two fifth-year goalies as well as an incoming freshman," said Schooley.
From Fox Chapel, Pa.,
Chad Veltri returns home to RMU after playing four years at Niagara University in the AHA. Veltri owns 34 collegiate wins and a career 2.61 goals-against-average with a .912 save percentage.
The other graduate transfer joining RMU's roster is
Francis Boisvert, traveling from St. Lawrence University. Boisvert made 481 saves in 18 games for the Saints.
Joining as a freshman goalie is
Michael Sochan from Redwood City, Calif. Sochan arrives with playing time in the BCHL, NAHL and USHL. Recently with the Surrey Eagles of the BCHL this past year, he owned a .906 save percentage in the regular season and .928 in the playoffs.
"Any time you have the ability to add a top goalie from Atlantic Hockey and two other goalies with good size and great potential, you have to be thrilled with where you are in net," stated Schooley.
To view the full roster on the website, click
here.
"The key will be to combine all of our players into a cohesive team," stated Schooley. "We've been working on our team culture throughout the summer and we are looking to hit the ground running when the team reports in a little over a month."
RMU will open the home portion of its 2023-24 campaign with a 7:00 p.m. faceoff at Clearview Arena Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, at the RMU Island Sports Center on Neville Island against Bowling Green University. Season tickets for the 2023-24 season are on sale now and
can be purchased by using the following link. There are a limited number of season tickets available, so make sure to purchase yours today.
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