While Miami has already played four regular season games, these will be Robert Morris’ first official games of 2024-25.
The Colonials were beaten, 7-2 by Bowling Green, edged Canadian team Simon Fraser and lost by one to Team USA’s Under-18 team in their three exhibitions.
RMU looks to build on an 11-win 2023-24 season, its first since its program was reinstated following an unnecessary and crippling two-year dormancy.
VFG takes a look at the upcoming series:
WHO: Miami RedHawks (2-0-2) vs. Robert Morris Colonials (0-0).
WHERE: Cady Arena (3,049), Oxford, Ohio; and Clearview Arena (1,200), Moon Twp., Pa.
WHEN: Thursday — 7:05 p.m.; Saturday — 7 p.m.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Miami leads, 4-3.
VIDEO STREAMING: Thursday — NCHC.tv ($); Saturday — FloHockey ($).
MIAMI RADIO: Thursday — WMOH-AM (1450) (Greg Waddell, PxP and Drew Davis, color).
MIAMI RADIO STREAMING: MiamiRedHawks.com (Waddell PxP).
NOTES: Like Alaska-Anchorage, Robert Morris’ last couple of seasons have been more than tumultuous.
In an act of blatant stupidity, the Colonials’ president cut men’s and women’s hockey following a 15-9 COVID-shortened 2020-21 season with no notice or consultation with any other school staff, coaches, players or board of governors, which included Pittsburgh Steelers GM Kevin Colbert, who ultimately resigned as a result.
Eight months later, Robert Morris raised a seven-figure pool and announced it would be returning for the 2023-24 season.
And it retained successful coach Derek Schooley — the only coach the program has even known– who has led the Colonials to four 20-win seasons and a 2014 NCAA Tournament berth.
Schooley brought in an excellent class of forwards last season, led by Tanner Klimpke, who went 15-11-26 in 2023-24, tops on RMU in goals and points.
Despite missing four games, Walter Zacher finished with five goals and a team best-tying 17 assists in his rookie campaign, and Jackson Reineke added nine tallies and 12 helpers for 21 points.
McKay Hayes, Cameron Garvey and George Krotiris were also key offensive-contributing forwards from the freshman class.
Garvey scored 11 goals, Hayes ended the year with 14 points, and Krotiris added 12. Both Hayes and Krotiris netted six markers.
RMU lost several key defensemen, but that 2023-24 class also produced multiple solid blueliners, including Michael Craig, Gabriel Lunn, Luke van Why and Tom Gangl, all of whom dressed for at least 18 games as freshmen.
Senior Trevor Ledonne is also back after logging 29 games on defense for Robert Morris last season.
The Colonials have three new goaltenders, all 6-feet-4 or taller: Freshmen Cameron Croix-Kochendorfer and Dawson Smith and junior Dylan Meilun.
Meilun was the starter for upstart Stonehill last season and went 2-24 with a 5.03 goals-against average and an .874 save percentage, which actually isn’t bad considering how badly Stonehill was outmatched most of 2023-24.
Croix-Kochendorfer posted a .919 save percentage for NAHL Aberdeen last season, and Smith — from Whitehorse, Yukon — had a .933 save percentage in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
Who will start between the pipes for Robert Morris’ season openers is a major question mark.
In addition to Meilun, the Colonials added several key transfers, including grad senior and forward Mitch Deelstra from Northern Michigan, fellow forward Cody Monds from Clarkson and D-man Greg Japchen from Stonehill.
Robert Morris is also hoping for offensive performance from its six incoming freshmen forwards.
Miami won its first four meetings with the Colonials, outscoring them, 23-7 in a pair of series in the mid-2000s, but the RedHawks are 0-3 vs. RMU since.
In 2010, MU won 29 games but was swept in a home-and-home series vs. RMU, and the Colonials held off the RedHawks, 1-0 in the Three Rivers Classic championship game on Dec. 29, 2012 on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ home ice.
(If memory serves, Curtis McKenzie fired a potentially game-tying shot that was saved right on the goal line but the league at that time did not have a review process, and Miami coach Enrico Blasi said in the postgame presser it was a shame that such a tournament wouldn’t have instant replay)
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