Robert Morris Colonials men's ice hockey

Robert Morris Colonials men's ice hockey
University Robert Morris University
Conference AHC
Head coach Derek Schooley
15th season, 231–225–61 (.506)
Captain(s) Brandon Watt
Alternate captain(s) Alex Tonge, Luke Lynch
Arena Colonials Arena
Capacity: 1,100
Location Neville Township, Pennsylvania
Colors Blue, White, and White[1]
              
NCAA Tournament appearances
2014
Conference Tournament championships
2014
Conference regular season championships
2014–15, 2015–16
Current uniform

The Robert Morris Colonials men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Robert Morris University. The team plays its home games at the Colonials Arena[2], located at the RMU Island Sports Center in Neville Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The Colonials are a member of the Atlantic Hockey Conference. Until the 2009–10 season, the Colonials were a member of College Hockey America.[3]

History

Robert Morris had a successful club hockey team for several years before rumors started circulating in the early 2000s that the school would create an NCAA Division I program. In December 2002, reports first surfaced that the school was interested in purchasing the RMU Island Sports Center, which would house a men's and women's ice hockey team.[4] On August 8, 2003, the school officially purchased the 32-acre complex – complete with a 1,100-seat hockey arena – for $10 million.[5] The complex is located in Neville Island, only a few miles from RMU's campus in Moon Township.[4] Just twelve days later, on August 20, 2003, Robert Morris athletic director Susan Hofacre officially announced that the Colonials would field an NCAA men's ice hockey team for the 2004–05 season.[6] At the same time, the school added men's and women's lacrosse and women's field hockey as part of an expansion of the athletic department.[7] Two days later, the school hired former Western Michigan defenceman Derek Schooley as its first head coach.[6]

In January 2004, before the school had ever played a game, they were accepted into the College Hockey America conference.[6] Typically, most new NCAA schools play as an Independent in their first years, but a unique series of events led to RMU being immediately accepted into the conference. The fledgling six-team conference was first given an automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Tournament. However, in January 2004, CHA member Findlay announced they would drop hockey from its athletic program effective at the end of the 2003–04 season.[8] This left the CHA one team short of the six required to keep their automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.[9] As RMU was the only NCAA team not already attached to a conference, the CHA invited RMU to join immediately for the 2004–05 season. The school accepted on January 29, 2004.[6]

Schooley quickly moved to secure the Colonials' first recruiting class and hired two assistant coaches.[10] Nevertheless, the Colonials were predictably overmatched in their first year as an NCAA team. The young squad consisted of twenty-two freshmen and no seniors as Schooley built for the school's future.[11] In its first season, the Colonials finished last in the conference with an 8–21–4 record.

At the start of the 2005–06 season, the Colonials were reminded how much work the program needed to do when they were stunned by the Penn State University club team in a 3–2 exhibition loss prior to the season.[12] Two games later, however, RMU shocked CCHA member Western Michigan in a 5–2 victory that Schooley called "the biggest win for our program."[13] The Colonials improved to 12–20–3 in their second season while advancing to the CHA semifinals for the first time.[6]

In 2006–07, the Colonials improved yet again, finishing 14–19–2. On January 7, 2007, the Colonials beat nationally ranked Notre Dame for their first ever victory over a ranked team.[6] The squad advanced to the CHA tournament final, where they came up just short of qualifying for their first ever NCAA Tournament against Alabama–Huntsville. The Colonials jumped out to a 4–0 first period lead and looked set for their first conference championship before the Chargers mounted a frantic comeback that ended with a 5–4 overtime victory.[14]

It was more of the same for the Colonials over the next two years. In 2007–08, the squad finished a school-record 15–15–4 (including a win over #8 ranked Boston University) but again came up short in the CHA tournament.[6] In 2008–09, the school finished only 10–19–7 before reaching the CHA tournament final against Bemidji State. Once again, the Colonials were left heartbroken, as they lost in overtime for the second time in three years.[15]

By this time, it was clear that the CHA would soon disband. In 2006, Air Force left the league, leaving the conference with only five teams (one short of the six required to retain the NCAA autobid).[16] Given two years to keep their autobid before losing it, the CHA began the search for a sixth member – likely a club team, as all current Division I teams were already in a conference.[16] After no school expressed interest in joining, Wayne State announced just prior to the 2007–08 season that they would disband their team following the season.[17] Following Wayne State's departure, saving the CHA was all but impossible, and Robert Morris applied for membership into Atlantic Hockey (AHA). In January 2009, the AHA announced that both RMU and Niagara's applications were unanimously approved, paving the way for the schools to join the conference for the 2010–11 season.[18] Robert Morris and Penn State were the hosts of the inaugural Three Rivers Classic NCAA hockey tournament at the Consol Energy Center in December, 2012.[19]

College head coaching record

Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Robert Morris Colonials (CHA) (2004–2010)
2004–05 Derek Schooley 8–21–44–14–26thCHA Quarterfinals
2005–06 Derek Schooley 12–20–37–11–2T–4thCHA Semifinals
2006–07 Derek Schooley 14–19–29–10–13rdCHA Runner-Up
2007–08 Derek Schooley 15–15–410–7–33rdCHA Semifinals
2008–09 Derek Schooley 10–19–75–8–53rdCHA Runner-Up
2009–10 Derek Schooley 10–19–66–9–32ndCHA Third Place Game (Tie)
Derek Schooley: 69–113–26 (.394)41–59–16
Robert Morris Colonials (Atlantic Hockey) (2011–present)
2010–11 Derek Schooley 18–12–513–9–55thAtlantic Hockey First Round
2011–12 Derek Schooley 17–17–513–9–57thAtlantic Hockey Quarterfinals
2012–13 Derek Schooley 20–14–413–11–35thAtlantic Hockey Quarterfinals
2013–14 Derek Schooley 19–18–513–9–55thNCAA West Regional Semifinals
2014–15 Derek Schooley 24–8–519–5–41stAtlantic Hockey Semifinals
2015–16 Derek Schooley 24–11–418–6–41stAtlantic Hockey Runner-Up
2016–17 Derek Schooley 22–12–415–10–3T–3rdAtlantic Hockey Runner-Up
2017–18 Derek Schooley 18–20–312–13–37thAtlantic Hockey Runner-Up
Derek Schooley: 162–112–35 (.581)103–72–32
Total:231–225–61 (.506)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Players

Current roster

As of June 24, 2018.[20]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Quebec Francis Marotte Junior G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1995-05-01 Longueuil, Quebec Nepean (CCHL) —
2 Michigan Brendan Michaelian Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 1997-12-07 Wixom, Michigan Amarillo (NAHL) —
3 Minnesota Nolan Schaeffer Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1997-07-15 Marshall, Minnesota Fairbanks (NAHL) —
4 Ohio Aidan Spellacy Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1998-06-13 Lakewood, Ohio Lone Star (NAHL) —
5 Colorado Sean Giles Junior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1996-05-14 Colorado Springs, Colorado Lone Star (NAHL) —
6 Ohio Nick Jenny Sophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1996-06-23 Strongsville, Ohio Aberdeen (NAHL) —
7 Michigan Michael Louria Senior (RS) F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1994-03-13 Gibraltar, Michigan UMass Lowell (HEA) —
8 Michigan Eric Israel Senior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 1995-02-08 Huntington Woods, Michigan Brockville (CCHL) —
9 Ontario Daniel Mantenuto Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1997-10-18 Thornhill, Ontario Aurora (OJHL) —
10 Ontario Nick Lalonde Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1998-01-30 Brooklin, Ontario Ottawa (CCHL) —
11 British Columbia Kyle Horsman Senior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 223 lb (101 kg) 1994-04-22 Sechelt, British Columbia Cowichan Valley (BCHL) —
14 Ontario Grant Hebert Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-05-22 St. Andrews West, Ontario Fargo (USHL) —
16 Alberta Nick Prkusic Sophomore F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1996-11-10 St. Albert, Alberta Brooks (AJHL) —
17 Ontario Brandon Watt Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1994-01-01 Ottawa, Ontario Nepean (CCHL) —
18 New York (state) Michael Coyne Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1995-02-21 Buffalo, New York Wenatchee (BCHL) —
19 Michigan Alex Robert Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1995-01-08 Novi, Michigan Madison (USHL) —
20 Illinois Kip Hoffmann Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-03-05 Huntley, Illinois Janesville (NAHL) —
21 France Justin Addamo Freshman F 6' 6" (1.98 m) 227 lb (103 kg) 1998-05-27 Clermont-Ferrand, France Lone Star (NAHL) —
22 Ontario Aidan Girduckis Freshman D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-10-08 Belleville, Ontario Carleton Place (CCHL) —
23 Ontario Geoff Lawson Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997-05-15 Metcalfe, Ontario Wellington (OJHL) —
24 Ontario Alex Tonge Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 171 lb (78 kg) 1995-06-24 Kingston, Ontario Kingston (OJHL) —
26 Pennsylvania Aiden Beck Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-08-28 Coraopolis, Pennsylvania Springfield (NAHL) —
27 Pennsylvania Jacob Coleman Junior F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 162 lb (73 kg) 1997-04-29 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Muskegon (USHL) —
28 Pennsylvania Luke Lynch Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 1996-06-20 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Johnstown (NAHL) —
30 Saskatchewan Reid Cooper Freshman G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-07-01 Corman Park, Saskatchewan Salmon Arm (BCHL) —
35 Minnesota Dylan Lubbesmeyer Sophomore G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1996-12-06 Burnsville, Minnesota Shreveport (NAHL) —

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Robert Morris Athletics". Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Robert Morris Athletics - Colonials Arena". rmucolonials.com. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  3. ↑ "Robert Morris Colonials Men's Ice Hockey". U.S. College Hockey Online. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
  4. 1 2 Times, Business (July 2, 2003). "RMU taps former Pirates v.p. to buy and run sports center". Pittsburgh Business Times. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  5. ↑ Gigler, Dan (January 11, 2001). "Robert Morris Opens Ice Arena". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Robert Morris Colonials History and Records" (PDF). Robert Morris University. November 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  7. ↑ Staff (August 22, 2004). "RMU to name hockey coach". Beaver Country Times. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  8. ↑ Wodon, Adam (January 6, 2004). "Findlay to drop hockey". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  9. ↑ Wodon, Adam (April 22, 2004). "Lindenwood Explores Move into D-I". CollegeHockeyNews.com. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  10. ↑ Conference, Northeast (August 19, 2004). "Robert Morris Names Marc Fakler, Shane Clifford Assistant Men's Ice Hockey Coaches". NortheastConference.org. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  11. ↑ "2004-05 Team Statistics". USCHO.com. November 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Penn State 3, Robert Morris 2". USCHO.com. November 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  13. ↑ McCinn, Dan (October 15, 2005). "Robert Morris Skates Past Western Michigan". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  14. ↑ Mackinder, Matt (March 11, 2007). "Chargers snag first NCAA automatic bid with OT victory". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Bemidji State 3, Robert Morris 2". USCHO.com. November 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  16. 1 2 Brown, Scott (April 23, 2006). "A New World Order". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  17. ↑ Staff, INCH (September 26, 2007). "Wayne State to Drop Hockey Program". insidecollegehockey.com. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  18. ↑ Staff, CHN (January 29, 2009). "Niagara, Robert Morris Officially Announce Move". collegehockeynews.com. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  19. ↑ Werner, Sam (December 28, 2012). "Robert Morris hockey attracts strong field for Three Rivers Classic." Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
  20. ↑ "2018–19 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". RMUColonials.com. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
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