# 2020–21 Robert Morris Colonials men's ice hockey season

The 2020–21 Robert Morris Colonials men's ice hockey season was the 17th season of play for the program and the 11th season in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Colonials represented Robert Morris University and were coached by Derek Schooley, in his 17th season.

## Season

As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the entire college ice hockey season was delayed. Because the NCAA had previously announced that all winter sports athletes would retain whatever eligibility they possessed through at least the following year, none of Canisius' players would lose a season of play. However, the NCAA also approved a change in its transfer regulations that would allow players to transfer and play immediately rather than having to sit out a season, as the rules previously required.
Robert Morris began the season well and continued their strong play for most of the year. The team was buoyed by the addition of two freshman, Randy Hernández and Noah West, who made major contributions to the offense and defense respectively. By mid-January RMU found themselves ranked in the top 20 with an 11–3 record and a chance to make the NCAA Tournament without having to win their conference tournament, a rarity for Atlantic Hockey. Unfortunately, the team was hit by several COVID cancellations and ended up losing 4 of their final 7 games entering the Atlantic Hockey Tournament. It was still possible for the Colonials to make the tournament without an Atlantic Hockey Championship, but any chance the team had was washed away when the offense faltered against Niagara and the team was knocked out in the quarterfinals.
On May 26, 2021, it was announced that Robert Morris University would be ending both its men and women's varsity hockey programs, effective immediately.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Jake Coleman | Forward | United States | Graduation |
| Mike Coyne | Forward | United States | Graduation |
| Sean Giles | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (Signed with Knoxville Ice Bears) |
| Aidan Girduckis | Defenseman | Canada | Transferred to Chatham |
| Kip Hoffmann | Forward | United States | Transferred to Illinois |
| Justin Kapelmaster | Goaltender | United States | Graduation (Signed with Allen Americans) |
| Luke Lynch | Forward | United States | Graduation (Signed with Wheeling Nailers) |
| Daniel Mantenuto | Forward | Canada | Graduation (Signed with Asiago Hockey 1935) |
| Alexander Robert | Defenseman | United States | Graduation |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Matthew Guerra | Forward | United States | 21 | Sanford, FL |
| Gavin Gulash | Forward | United States | 21 | Red Bank, NJ |
| Kyler Head | Forward | United States | 21 | Malone, NY |
| Randy Hernández | Forward | Canada | 21 | Miami, FL |
| Matt Hutton | Forward | United States | 21 | Carmel, IN |
| Brian Kramer | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Wexford, PA |
| David Lafrance | Defenseman | Canada | 19 | Ottawa, ON; returned to juniors (Rockland Nationals) |
| Jordan Timmons | Forward | United States | 21 | Bridgeville, PA; transfer from Connecticut |
| Noah West | Goaltender | United States | 19 | Pittsboro, IN |

## Roster

As of December 31, 2020.

## Standings

2020–21 Atlantic Hockey Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | OW | OL | SW | PTS | PT% | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #15 American International †* | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | .889 | 47 | 18 | 19 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 67 | 40 |
| Army | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 30 | .667 | 42 | 33 | 22 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 71 | 48 |
| Robert Morris | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 29 | .644 | 58 | 48 | 24 | 15 | 9 | 0 | 85 | 69 |
| Canisius | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24 | .615 | 42 | 34 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 59 | 46 |
| RIT | 13 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 | .590 | 43 | 40 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 68 | 70 |
| Sacred Heart | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 20 | .513 | 35 | 38 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 43 | 59 |
| Mercyhurst | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 23 | .479 | 54 | 50 | 21 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 64 | 67 |
| Bentley | 15 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 16 | .356 | 35 | 48 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 42 | 51 |
| Niagara | 15 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 15 | .333 | 39 | 53 | 22 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 57 | 70 |
| Air Force | 13 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | .231 | 32 | 49 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 35 | 56 |
| Holy Cross | 12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .194 | 22 | 38 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 30 | 52 |
| Championship: March 20, 2021 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll |||||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and Results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Rank$^#$ | Site | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| November 21 | 7:05 PM | vs. Alabama–Huntsville* | | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | Lubbesmeyer | W 5–2 | 0 | 1–0–0 |
| November 22 | 4:05 PM | vs. Alabama–Huntsville* | | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | Cooper | W 4–3 | 0 | 2–0–0 |
| November 27 | 5:05 PM | vs. Canisius | | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | West | L 2–5 | 0 | 2–1–0 (0–1–0) |
| November 28 | 4:05 PM | vs. Canisius | | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | Lubbesmeyer | W 5–4 | 0 | 3–1–0 (1–1–0) |
| December 1 | 7:00 PM | vs. #18 Bowling Green* | | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | Lubbesmeyer | L 3–6 | 0 | 3–2–0 |
| December 4 | 9:05 PM | at Air Force | | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | West | W 4–1 | 0 | 4–2–0 (2–1–0) |
| December 5 | 6:05 PM | at Air Force | | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | West | W 4–2 | 0 | 5–2–0 (3–1–0) |
| December 29 | 3:07 PM | at #7 Bowling Green* | | Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, Ohio | West | L 1–2 | 0 | 5–3–0 |
| December 31 | 2:00 PM | at Niagara | | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | West | W 6–1 | 0 | 6–3–0 (4–1–0) |
| January 2 | 7:30 PM | vs. RIT | | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | West | W 3–1 | 0 | 7–3–0 (5–1–0) |
| January 3 | 4:00 PM | vs. RIT | | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | West | W 4–3 | 0 | 8–3–0 (6–1–0) |
| January 7 | 5:00 PM | at Niagara | #20 | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | West | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 0 | 9–3–0 (7–1–0) |
| January 9 | 7:35 PM | vs. Niagara | #20 | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | Lubbesmeyer | W 5–4 $^{OT}$ | 0 | 10–3–0 (8–1–0) |
| January 10 | 4:00 PM | vs. Niagara | #20 | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | West | W 6–2 | 0 | 11–3–0 (9–1–0) |
| January 19 | 4:30 PM | at Mercyhurst | #17 | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | West | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 127 | 11–4–0 (9–2–0) |
| January 20 | 4:35 PM | at Mercyhurst | #17 | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | Lubbesmeyer | L 5–7 | 75 | 11–5–0 (9–3–0) |
| January 30 | 7:30 PM | vs. Mercyhurst | | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | Lubbesmeyer | W 5–3 | 0 | 12–5–0 (10–3–0) |
| February 4 | 7:30 PM | vs. Long Island* | #19 | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | Lubbesmeyer | W 4–1 | 0 | 13–5–0 |
| February 5 | 3:00 PM | vs. Long Island* | #19 | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | West | W 4–0 | 0 | 14–5–0 |
| February 20 | 7:05 PM | at RIT | #19 | Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York | West | L 1–6 | 0 | 14–6–0 (10–4–0) |
| February 21 | 5:00 PM | at RIT | #19 | Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York | West | L 3–4 | 0 | 14–7–0 (10–5–0) |
| Atlantic Hockey Tournament ||||||||||
| March 12 | 7:00 PM | vs. Niagara* | | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania (Quarterfinal Game 1) | West | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 0 | 15–7–0 |
| March 13 | 7:05 PM | vs. Niagara* | | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania (Quarterfinal Game 2) | West | L 2–3 $^{2OT}$ | 0 | 15–8–0 |
| March 14 | 7:05 PM | vs. Niagara* | | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania (Quarterfinal Game 3) | West | L 1–2 | 0 | 15–9–0 |
| Robert Morris Lost Series 1–2 ||||||||||
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||||||

## Scoring Statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Randy Hernández | RW | 24 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 2 |
| Nick Prkusic | F | 24 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 12 |
| Grant Hebert | C | 24 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 18 |
| Nick Jenny | D | 24 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 4 |
| Justin Addamo | RW | 21 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 53 |
| Brendan Michaelian | D | 24 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 8 |
| Santeri Hartikainen | C/RW | 21 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 6 |
| Nick Lalonde | RW | 24 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 6 |
| Brian Kramer | D | 22 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 32 |
| Jordan Timmons | F | 13 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 4 |
| Aidan Spellacy | F | 24 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 6 |
| Matthew Guerra | F | 16 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 12 |
| Nolan Schaeffer | D | 24 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| Cameron Hebert | RW | 15 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 |
| Kyler Head | F | 23 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 17 |
| Gavin Gulash | F | 22 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
| David Lafrance | D | 14 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Tyler Love | RW | 24 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Roman Kraemer | F | 22 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Geoff Lawson | D | 15 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Darcy Walsh | C | 15 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 19 |
| Bradley Stonnell | D | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Garrett Clegg | RW | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 19 |
| Reid Cooper | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Hutton | F | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quinn Warmuth | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dyllan Lubbesmeyer | G | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Noah West | G | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bench | - | - | - | - | - | 10 |
| Total | | | 85 | 149 | 234 | 272 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Noah West | 19 | 1082 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 48 | 520 | 1 | .915 | 2.66 |
| Dyllan Lubbesmeyer | 7 | 313 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 131 | 0 | .903 | 2.68 |
| Reid Cooper | 2 | 71 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 22 | 0 | .846 | 3.35 |
| Empty Net | - | 14 | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 24 | 1480 | 15 | 9 | 0 | 69 | 673 | 1 | .907 | 2.80 |

## Rankings

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 (Final) |
| USCHO.com | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 20 | NR | NR | 20 | 17 | 17 | NR | 19 | 19 | 19 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | - | NR |
| USA Today | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award |
| Nick Prkusic | Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year |
| Randy Hernández | Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Year |
| Nick Jenny | Atlantic Hockey Best Defenseman |
| Nick Jenny | Atlantic Hockey Individual Sportsmanship Award |
| Derek Schooley | Atlantic Hockey Coach of the Year |
| Nick Jenny | Atlantic Hockey First Team |
| Nick Prkusic | Atlantic Hockey First Team |
| Noah West | Atlantic Hockey Second Team |
| Brendan Michaelian | Atlantic Hockey Second Team |
| Randy Hernández | Atlantic Hockey Second Team |
| Noah West | Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team |
| Brian Kramer | Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team |
| Randy Hernández | Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team |