Veteran sportswriter, member of the WDVE Morning Show and hockey aficionado Mike Prisuta has been covering the Pittsburgh sports scene for over 20 years. He has covered Pittsburgh sports as a reporter for the Beaver County Timesand as a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and has had his pulse on the happenings of each of the professional organizations and college programs in the area. A graduate of Michigan State University, Prisuta got his start in the profession covering the Spartan hockey program and possesses knowledge of the college hockey world unmatched in the region.

Throughout the 2011-12 season, Prisuta will serve up weekly stories surrounding Colonial hockey as well as the latest notes and news around college hockey.

Prisuta on Pucks: Atlantic Hockey Play Gets Underway 

A record of 2-5-0 through what amounted to the non-conference portion of RMU's schedule wasn't what head coach Derek Schooley had in mind, but it hasn't changed what Schooley still believes his Colonials can achieve.

“We just have to keep getting better every week,” Schooley said in the wake of Robert Morris being swept, 5-2 and 6-2, last weekend at Michigan State. “We have enough talent to go far if we can keep improving on our mistakes.”

The first seven games of the 2011-12 schedule revealed at least that much.

Five of those games were against non-conference opponents while a sixth, against Atlantic Hockey Association-rival Mercyhurst, was played in the Mutual of Omaha Stampede in Omaha, Neb., and didn't count in the AHA standings.

All of that changes beginning this weekend when the Colonials host American International (7:05 p.m., Friday and Saturday, at the Island Sports Center).

RMU's lone AHA game to date was a 4-2 loss on Oct. 16 at Air Force, but 26 of the next 27 will be played against conference competition (the exception is the RMU Hockey Showcase against Ohio State on Dec. 30 at the CONSOL Energy Center). The Colonials are already five points behind first-place Air Force in the conference (the Falcons have played three AHA games).

“We have to do some catching up in the standings,” Schooley said.

They also have some tightening up to do on the ice.

“When we plug one hole, another springs open,” Schooley said. “We just have to get our whole game in order. Our guys know how to do it. It's a matter of putting it all together at the same time.”

The Colonials will have to put it together this weekend with a depleted lineup.

Junior forward Adam Brace (RMU's leading goal scorer at 3-2--5) will be out (upper body) and senior forward Tom Brooks (2-0—2) will remain out (lower body).

“Our depth is being challenged early in the season,” Schooley said.

So is the Colonials' ability to absorb near-misses.

RMU has allowed four empty-net goals in seven games, as many as it did in 2010-11.

 “We've been in every hockey game,” Schooley said. “Every game has been close at some point during the third period. I like our battle level, our resiliency to be in these games.

“We have to find a way to get over the hump.”

The AHA schedule will demand as much from Robert Morris, Schooley suspects.

He views the conference this season as he did a year ago, as a very competitive collection of evenly-matched teams that are capable of playing winning hockey.

“Air Force (3-2-1 overall, 2-0-1 AHA) has started out very well,” Schooley said. “Connecticut (3-2-1, 2-0-0) has started out very well. Holy Cross beat Boston University (5-4 at BU). Niagara had a good win (2-1 at Colgate, No. 18 in this week's USCHO.com Top 20). We had a good win (over No. 19 Quinnipiac).

“What we've learned so far is you have to play 60 minutes no matter who we're playing. We've played some very good games but we haven't played 60 minutes in those games and that's either hurt us in games or cost us games.

“In the AHA, once again this year, if you don't bring your 'A' game you're going to get beat. If we're there we're going to have a very good chance of winning hockey games. If we're not there we're going to get beat.”