It's always been the goal of Derek Schooley to get his hockey teams at Robert Morris to play fast.

Two games into his seventh season at RMU, Schooley has a feeling that this season he'll be able to keep his foot on the gas.

"We've always been fast but I think we're bigger and stronger and faster because our guys did a very good job in weight room this summer," Schooley said. "We had a lot of guys stay in town. And the guys that went home were very dedicated and came back in great shape. We're seeing the benefits of that training."

Robert Morris opened with a 4-1, 6-3 sweep of American International last weekend in Springfield, Mass, the first two conference games for RMU in its new home, the Atlantic Hockey Association. The Colonials out-shot the Yellow Jackets in five of the six periods and by a combined 95-54 over the two games. RMU also scored a combined 10 goals in back-to-back games against the same opponent, something it never did last season.  

"We're not going to be the most skilled team but want to skate with as many teams as possible," Schooley said. "We're able to get around the rink, play hard and play fast. I'm really pleased with how guys have bought into what we're trying to do.

"We had some good rushes offensively, we were very good off the cycle down low and we sustained the pace for 120 minutes. Eventually our pace in each game wore the other team down."

Maintaining the pace helped contributed to 15 Colonials registering at least a point on the weekend, including goaltender Brooks Ostergard (one assist).

Defenseman Denny Urban led the assault with five points (1-4-5) on the way to earning AHA Co-Player of the Week honors.

Forwards Nathan Longpre and Trevor Lewis each scored a pair of goals.

Forward Colin South, the only freshman in the lineup, had a goal. And sophomore forward Adam Brace, the other new addition after sitting out last season as a transfer from Canisius, had two assists.

Defensemen Brock Meadows and Brendan Jamison also scored goals, something neither player did last season.

"We got production from a lot of people," Schooley said.

It wasn't quite enough to qualify as an International incident, but for Robert Morris it was a solid and satisfying start, one that earned the Colonials 11 votes in the others receiving votes category in the Oct. 11 USCHO.com Top 20 (up from one vote in the preseason poll).

"In the past we've let one of those games slide away for one reason or another," Schooley said. "I'm very proud of the guys."

Up next will be a step up in class, a Friday night game at CCHA-member Ohio State and a Sunday evening clash with AHA-rival Air Force at the Penguins' sparkling new facility, the CONSOL Energy Center, in the annual Pittsburgh College Hockey Showcase.

Robert Morris will also play host at the facility on Dec. 30 against RIT.

Both the Buckeyes and the Falcons participated in the 16-team NCAA Tournament in 2008-09, and Ohio State lists five NHL draftees on its roster.

"Any time you can play at the Penguins' rink, a brand new state-of-the-art facility, in front of a bigger crowd than you normally get it's exciting," Schooley said. "A lot of our guys haven't had a chance to see the new building. They'll really enjoy the exposure."

While enjoying such exposure, Schooley would like to see his team tighten up defensively and at the same time keep the pedal floored.

"Can we do that in every game? That's the question," he said. "Last year we were fast but I think this year we've focused on practicing at a higher tempo. We have shorter practices but we're keeping the tempo fast.

"We still have to work hard for what we get but the harder we work the more chance s we're going to get."