MOON, PA – Colonial hockey is catching fire in Western Pennsylvania. Fifth year head coach, Derek Schooley is continuing to prove that his Colonials are a team to pay attention to this season. With 15 graduating seniors, including Hobey Baker Candidate Ryan Cruthers, it seemed hard to think how this team would rebuild and establish their own identity.

Many assumed this would be the first year of an uncertain roster, then one by one, 13 players (one for 2009) were recruited to Robert Morris and then three transfers from Wayne State, added their names to the mix. Wait a minute, 13 players, they can’t be that good can they? Well, Trevor Lewis scored 67 points in 46 games in the EJHL and was league MVP, posting a 31 point improvement from the year prior. Stefan Lachapelle scored 94 points in 60 games in the COJHL, James Lyle scored 60 points in the COJHL, as a defenseman. Cody Crichton scored 75 points in 49 games in the OPJHL and spent a part of his summer at the Atlanta Thrashers Prospect Camp, where according to online message board reports, he looked to be in great shape and extremely explosive with the puck in the offensive zone.

Adding one more name to the list, Nicholas Chiavetta scored 54 points in 44 games in the EJHL. These are just a few impact players coach Schooley and his staff were able to recruit to lace up for one of the best up-and-coming programs in college hockey.
Yes, Robert Morris University is one of the better programs in the United States because Schooley’s teams never quit.

Building a program isn’t about building on wins, it’s about building on character and this is exactly what you see in the players at Robert Morris when they hit the ice, the wins will come if you can establish this format in your player's minds. They hit the ice hard, they never give up and they are never out of the game. Coach will run you into the ground the next day if you quit, you may not play again (for the entire season) if you quit, you earn your spot on his roster and are expected to continue to prove yourself the entire season.

I sat down with Schooley last week to talk about the upcoming team practices before the season begins on October 5th (exhibition versus Ryerson) and the coach had a descent amount to say already about his new squad that made me feel confident as a fan and Alumni. “We have to be better defensively,” Robert Morris finished last season ranked in the top 10 in offensive scoring in the entire NCAA but also ranked near the bottom in defense. “To be better, we have to start with our goaltending, last year we saw our problems in the net; we need more consistency out of our guys” Schooley said, “It’s hard to say who will be in net this year, who our guy will be, but if we get ourselves into a situation where we have to go with the guy who is playing the best, then they will be in net, all three [Patterson, Russell and Ostergard] of them know what lies ahead, we just have to see who wants it most.”

Now this leads to some questions from the fans. Can an inconsistent net keep the Colonials in contention for the CHA Title as well as a possible trip to the Frozen Four Tournament? The answer is yes. You hear it all the time, “Flashes of Greatness,” we have all seen it in every sport, every position and I can honestly say that between Patterson and Russell, we have all seen them at their most positive moments, which prove they can carry the load. I do not expect to see Freshman Brooks Ostergard coming in and getting the nod right away, not that Brooks couldn’t see the time, but I believe that he will benefit from learning behind Patterson and Russell, as well as former Colonial goaltender turned second year goaltending coach, Joe Tuset.

Leadership is still in question, “It’s not what you do when the coach is looking, but when he isn’t,” Schooley said about his leaders. Whether RMU decides to go with one captain, co-captains or alternates will all be decided soon, but the team is going to find its leaders during practice. I expect this team to play solid defense, have a surprising offense and finish this season right around 20 wins, pulling through the CHA Tournament. A ranked season is in sight, but I can’t quit say if it’s this year, but after a few games we will see the character of this team which will tell you a lot.

Here are some wide-open expectations, which hopefully will be justified after training camp opens. Chris Margott will have a great run on offense, but he will not finish as high in scoring as Cruthers did last year. Margott play a more defensive style and unlike his former line-mate, Margott spends more time hanging back to help the defense than camping out at the “Blue-Line Club.” You won’t see a massive amount of scoring from this team this year, bursts of five, six goal games are just not in the works for this team.

Schooley stresses a more defensively sound team that will keep them competitive late in the season. They will learn to play deep into the third period, picking up their man late and staying with them. The fundamentals are there, the mindset is there, we will see a lot of guys “learning on the job,” so there will be a slight learning curve for them, but with how hard they have been training this off-season, their curve won’t have to last long. Getting to the college level is more about depth and stamina. These guys have the hands and all the talent in the world, it’s just getting that talent to come through in the clutch is what remains to be seen.

Upcoming Dates to watch:

-"Skills Development" Practice Begins, September 16th at 12:45pm
-Exhibition against Ryerson at home, October 5th at 4:05pm
-Season opener at Merrimack, October 11th at 7:35pm