Robert Morris has released its schedule for the 2019-20 season, which will a home-and-home series with in-state rival Penn State, but won’t feature the Three Rivers Classic tournament for the first time since 2012.
The Colonials and Nittany Lions will meet on October 25 at Penn State’s Pegula Ice Arena, with the return game at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday, Jan. 11.
That game is the lone one on the schedule at the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins for Robert Morris after seven years of playing and hosting the two-day tournament that will go on hiatus.
The team released the following statement to Pittsburgh Hockey Digest regarding the suspension of the tournament:
“With the decline in attendance at the Three Rivers Classic in recent years, all of the partners involved have decided to take some time off from the tournament to evaluate future strategies for promoting college hockey in the region. For this year, we will focus on the single game at PPG Paints Arena that will be an exciting event for our student-athletes and our loyal fans.”
The rest of RMU’s non-conference schedule will feature a home series against Michigan Tech to start the season on October 5-6 and a trip to Arizona State on Jan 31-Feb 1.
“This is an exciting schedule for our hockey program,” head coach Derek Schooley said in a press release. “While we continue our home-and-home series with Penn State with our home game at PPG Paints Arena, with a trip to Arizona State and hosting Michigan Tech, we’re getting the opportunity to play new opponents that we haven’t had the chance to play before.”
Atlantic Hockey play will start October 11-12 with Bentley in town. Canisius, Air Force, Mercyhurst, Army, AIC and RIT will also make appearances at RMU Island Sports Center this season while the Colonials will visit Canisius, Bentley, Mercyhurst, Sacred Heart, Holy Cross and Niagara.
The full schedule can be found here: https://rmucolonials.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey
