Talented winger Matthew Graham is the third player to leave the Robert Morris hockey program this summer with eligibility remaining.
Graham, a 23-year-old native of New Bedford, Nova Scotia, will return to his home province with St. Francis Xavier University, which is located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
“He is a strong two-way forward that has the ability to create offense while at the same time being very reliable defensively,” X-men head coach Brad Peddle said. “He comes very highly recommended based upon his character, talent and work ethic. After two years of Division 1 NCAA play, Matt has made an important decision to transfer to a school closer to home and his family. With two years of high level university hockey experience he will be well prepared to step in to our league and be a very solid addition to our group.”
Graham showed a ton of offensive talent in his two seasons with the Colonials, but never quite had the scoring totals to match. He scored five goals and recorded five assists in 32 games as a freshman in 2016-17. Last season, he had six goals and 11 assists in 32 games. Three of his 11 career RMU goals came on the power play.
He is the third player to leave RMU this offseason with eligibility remaining, joining fellow forwards Kevin Lavoie, who will transfer to the University of Toronto, and Ryley Risling, whose hockey future is unknown.
Robert Morris also had nine players graduate at the end of the 2017-18 season. The late addition of Coraopolis native Aiden Beck to the incoming group of freshmen will give the Colonials a 12-player class of first-year players when they arrive on campus this fall. They will start their season with an exhibition game against Brock University on Oct. 7.
