Tim Benz: Building from scratch a bit easier this time around for RMU hockey coaches

For Robert Morris men’s hockey coach Derek Schooley, the process isn’t entirely new.

Building a team virtually from scratch.

He did it before when the Colonials program took the ice for its inaugural season in 2004-05. Now he’s doing it again in 2023-24 as both the men’s and women’s teams are relaunching after a two-year absence after budget cuts by the school’s previous administration.

This time around, Schooley has found the process less daunting.

“It’s different because we’ve got a history,” Schooley said of the program’s rebirth. “We’ve been there. We’ve had success. We know how to get there. That was something completely, utterly, and 100% new (in ‘04-’05). We know our locker room. We know our arena. At this time in 2004, they were still building our locker room. It’s different.”

Now, the reality of actually getting on the ice again is starting to take hold. Over the past few weeks, RMU has announced the season schedule for the men’s and women’s programs. Plus, both teams have released their reconfigured rosters.

The men begin the ‘23-’24 season at home against Bowling Green on Oct. 7. The women start the year on the road at Union College on Sept. 29, with the home opener on Oct. 7 against St. Anselm before the men’s faceoff.

“We’ve even got our jerseys,” Schooley said with a laugh. “So we’re getting there. It’s getting real. It seems like forever since I’ve coached a hockey game and the Colonials have played a hockey game. But we are at the point where we’re a little over a month away from all of our players reporting.”

Those 29 players for Schooley’s team have been assembled between three holdovers from the previous roster (forwards Cameron Hebert, Gavin Gulash and Matthew Hutton), three players who enrolled during the ‘22-’23 school year (Matthew Boczar, Charles Merkley and Dominic Schimizzi), 10 transfers and 13 freshmen. Ten of those freshmen are forwards.

Among those who transferred are four veteran defensemen. Graduate transfers Mitch Andres (Boston College), Luke Johnson (Providence), Cade Townend (Mercyhurst) and junior transfer Trevor LeDonne (St. Thomas) will provide experience on the blue line.

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Townend will be joined by fellow former Mercyhurst players Paul Maust (Gr., forward) and Rylee St. Onge (Gr., forward). Maust (Butler) and Schimizzi (Greensburg) are both local products, as is former Niagara goalie Chad Veltri (Fox Chapel).

Veltri was the goalie of record for the Purple Eagles against the Colonials in the 2021 Atlantic Hockey playoffs prior to the program being eliminated.

“That year RMU had a great team,” Veltri told “Breakfast With Benz” when he committed in March. “And it truly shocked everyone when the news came out that they were folding. It’s just crazy to come back there. It’s funny how it happens like that.”

Veltri played 98 career games for the Purple Eagles, leading Atlantic Hockey in total saves last season with 937. St. Lawrence transfer Francis Boisvert and freshman Michael Sochan will also be in the goaltending competition.

Schooley, who is also bringing back former assistants Matt Nicholson and Ryan Durocher, said the most important thing he learned throughout the roster-building process was to be flexible between targeting — and eventually signing — players between the transfer portal and the recruiting process, based on who was ready to commit and who became available.

The second thing was to find players adept at rebuilding the team’s winning culture — which culminated with an Atlantic West Division championship in 2021 before the program was scuttled.

“We wanted captains. We wanted to have guys who are leaders. Guys who are workers. Guys who are willing to build and facilitate that culture, … energy guys. Guys who have played in a lot of roles,” Schooley said.

On the women’s side, head coach Logan Bittle also has some veteran experience in his defense core. Four members of the 2021 CHA championship team are returning to the blue line — Chace Sperling, Allyson Hebert, Gillian Thompson and Wasyn Rice. After recovering from a brutal leg injury by the end of the 2021 season, Sperling played two years at St. Cloud before returning to Neville Island.

The team also features 11 transfers from other universities, along with freshmen Maggie Hatch (goalie, Cleveland Heights) and Schooley’s daughter, Kaitlyn (defense, Moon Township), who are coming off appearances in the World University Games last December.

“The biggest challenge in building this roster was finding the balance in classes,” Bittle said. “We were able to balance these classes out nicely with the use of the transfer portal. We were able to bring in a very talented and experienced group through the portal that will be able to lead our skilled incoming first-year players.”

Building a team from the ground up is familiar to Bittle as well. He was on Schooley’s first-ever men’s team as a player.

“Being a part of a first-year program back in 2004 certainly had its ups and downs. That being said, the pride you take from being a part of all the firsts for the program and knowing you were a part of laying the foundation of a program that is so successful is a very special feeling. These student athletes now have that opportunity,” Bittle said.

For both coaches, their rebuilt rosters began as a list of targets on a piece of paper. Now they are at least names on the backs of jerseys. The next goal is to get those players to function together as a team.

“It’s going to be a whirlwind to get everybody on the same page,” Schooley said. “But we feel if we can connect quickly, we will be successful faster. We need to get everybody together as a group and go from there.”

Listen: Tim Benz and Derek Schooley discuss new RMU men’s hockey roster, schedule