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Robert Morris Colonials men's ice hockey
Robert Morris Colonials men's ice hockey athletic logo
UniversityRobert Morris University
ConferenceAHA
Head coachDerek Schooley
7th season, 87–125–31
Captain(s)Dave Cowan
ArenaIsland Sports Center
Neville Township, Pennsylvania
ColorsBlue, White, and Red
     
NCAA Tournament appearances
2014
Conference Tournament championships
2014
Conference regular season championships
2014–15
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 Island Sports Center in Neville Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The Colonials are a member of the Atlantic Hockey Association. Until the 2009–10 season, the Colonials were a member of College Hockey America.[1]

History

Robert Morris had a successful club hockey team for several years before rumors started circulating in the early 2000s that the school would join NCAA Division I. In December 2002, reports first surfaced that the school was interested in purchasing the Island Sports Center, which would house a men's and women's ice hockey team.[2] On August 8, 2003, the school officially purchased the 32-acre complex – complete with a 1,100-seat hockey arena – for $10 million.[3] The five-year-old complex is located in Neville Island, only a few miles from RMU's campus in Moon Township.[2] 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.[4] 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.[5] Two days later, the school hired former Western Michigan defenceman Derek Schooley as its first head coach.[4]

In January 2004, before the school had ever played a game, they were accepted into the College Hockey America conference.[4] 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.[6] This left the CHA one team short of the six required to keep their automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.[7] 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.[4]

Schooley quickly moved to secure the Colonials' first recruiting class and hired two assistant coaches.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] Two games later, however, RMU shocked CCHA member Western Michigan in a 5–2 victory that Schooley called "the biggest win for our program."[11] The Colonials improved to 12–20–3 in their second season while advancing to the CHA semifinals for the first time.[4]

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.[4] 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.[12]

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.[4] 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.[13]

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).[14] 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.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17]

Season-by-season results

Statistics overview
Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Derek Schooley (College Hockey America) (2004–2010)
2004–2005 Derek Schooley 8–21–4 4–14–2 6th Lost in CHA Quarterfinal
2005–2006 Derek Schooley 12–20–3 7–11–2 4th Lost in CHA Semifinal
2006–2007 Derek Schooley 14–19–2 9–10–1 4th Lost in CHA Championship
2007–2008 Derek Schooley 15–15–4 10–7–3 3rd Lost in CHA Semifinal
2008–2009 Derek Schooley 10–19–7 5–8–5 3rd Lost in CHA Championship
2009–2010 Derek Schooley 10–19–6 6–9–3 4th Tie in CHA Third Place Game
Derek Schooley: 69–113–26 41–59–16
Derek Schooley (Atlantic Hockey) (2010–present)
2010–2011 Derek Schooley 18–12–5 13–9–5 5th Lost AHA Tournament 1st round
2011–2012 Derek Schooley 17–17–5 13–9–5 7th Lost AHA Tournament 2nd round
2012–2013 Derek Schooley 20–14–4 13–11–3 5th Lost AHA Tournament 2nd round
2013–2014 Derek Schooley 18-17-5 13–9-5 Won AHA Tournament Championship
Derek Schooley: 73–60–19 52–38–18
Total: 142–173–58 (.458)

      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 August 20, 2013[18]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
33 Pennsylvania Andrew Blazek Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Pittsburgh, Pa. Topeka Roadrunners —
28 Colorado Matt Cope Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Lakewood, Colo. Wenatchee Wild —
44 Ontario Brandon Denham Sophomore F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Milton, Ontario Oakville Blades —
9 Ontario David Friedmann Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Toronto, Ontario Toronto Jr. Canadiens —
12 Alaska Jimmy Geerin Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Anchorage, Alaska Burnaby Express —
16 Ontario Greg Gibson Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Burlington, Ontario Amarillo Bulls —
4 California Chase Golightly Sophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Temecula, Calif. Prince George Spruce Kings —
31 New York (state) Dalton Izyk Freshman G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Oswego, N.Y. Indiana Ice —
19 British Columbia Scott Jacklin Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Kimberley, British Columbia Trail Smoke Eaters —
11 British Columbia Jeff Jones Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Revelstoke, British Columbia Merritt Centennials —
30 Ontario Brandon Lane Freshman G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Oakville, Ontario Kanata Stallions —
26 Ontario Daniel Leavens Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Thornhill, Ontario Newmarket Hurricanes —
24 Michigan Jay Llewelyn Sophomore F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 222 lb (101 kg) Saginaw, Mich. Carleton Place Canadians —
27 Pennsylvania Zac Lynch Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Pittsburgh, Pa. Bay State Breakers —
6 Ontario Rob Mann Freshman D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 217 lb (98 kg) Oshawa, Ontario Pentiction Vees —
5 Michigan Evan Moore Sophomore D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Grosse Pointe, Mich. Sioux Falls Stampede —
2 Alberta Evan Renwick Senior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Calgary, Alberta Canmore Eagles —
3 New Jersey John Rey Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Turnersville, N.J. Amarillo Bulls —
14 Pennsylvania David Rigatti Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Pittsburgh, Pa. Texas Tornado —
22 Ontario Ben Robillard Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa Jr. Senators —
21 British Columbia Mac Roy Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Chilliwack, British Columbia Alabama-Huntsville —
1 New York (state) Terry Shafer Sophomore G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Penfield, N.Y. New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs —
7 Pennsylvania Colin South Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sewickley, Pa. Bay State Breakers —
15 Pennsylvania John Walton Senior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) West Chester, Pa. Philadelphia Jr. Flyers —
10 Ontario Tyson Wilson Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Brockville, Ontario Brockville Braves —
23 Michigan Cody Wydo Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Southgate, Mich. Motor City Metal Jackets —

Alumni

As of the end of the professional 2009–10 season, no former Robert Morris player has played a National Hockey League game. However, several players have gone on to play in the minor leagues, including the American Hockey League and Tier AA leagues ECHL and Central Hockey League.[19]

School records

The following are the Robert Morris school records. Statistics are accurate as of the conclusion of the 2012-2013 season.[4] Italics indicates player is still active.

Individual records

Team records

See also

References

  1. ^ "Robert Morris Colonials Men's Ice Hockey". U.S. College Hockey Online. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Times, Business (July 2, 2003). "RMU taps former Pirates v.p. to buy and run sports center". Pittsburgh Business Times. Retrieved November 10, 2010. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  3. ^ Gigler, Dan (January 11, 2001). "Robert Morris Opens Ice Arena". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Robert Morris Colonials History and Records" (PDF). Robert Morris University. November 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  5. ^ Staff (August 22, 2004). "RMU to name hockey coach". Beaver Country Times. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  6. ^ Wodon, Adam (January 6, 2004). "Findlay to drop hockey". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  7. ^ Wodon, Adam (April 22, 2004). "Lindenwood Explores Move into D-I". CollegeHockeyNews.com. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  8. ^ Conference, Northeast (August 19, 2004). "Robert Morris Names Marc Fakler, Shane Clifford Assistant Men's Ice Hockey Coaches". NortheastConference.org. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  9. ^ "2004-05 Team Statistics". USCHO.com. November 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  10. ^ "Penn State 3, Robert Morris 2". USCHO.com. November 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  11. ^ McCinn, Dan (October 15, 2005). "Robert Morris Skates Past Western Michigan". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  12. ^ Mackinder, Matt (March 11, 2007). "Chargers snag first NCAA automatic bid with OT victory". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  13. ^ "Bemidji State 3, Robert Morris 2". USCHO.com. November 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  14. ^ a b Brown, Scott (April 23, 2006). "A New World Order". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  15. ^ Staff, INCH (September 26, 2007). "Wayne State to Drop Hockey Program". insidecollegehockey.com. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  16. ^ Staff, CHN (January 29, 2009). "Niagara, Robert Morris Officially Announce Move". collegehockeynews.com. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  17. ^ Werner, Sam (December 28, 2012). "Robert Morris hockey attracts strong field for Three Rivers Classic." Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
  18. ^ "M Ice Hockey - 2013-14 Roster". RMUColonials.com. 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  19. ^ "Robert Morris University Alumni Report". HockeyDB.com. November 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  20. ^ a b "Colonizing a New World". Robert Morris University. 2011-09-15. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  21. ^ a b c d http://www.uscho.com/stats/player/mid,17303/eric-levine/#20122013
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