Derek Schooley has a familiar plan to stop injury bug from derailing RMU hockey's hot start

The sage wisdom of a “Tomlinism” knows no boundaries. They are translatable from sport to sport.

Even Robert Morris men’s hockey coach Derek Schooley is borrowing a verbal pearl from the Steelers head coach.

The Colonials resume play after a nine-day layoff Tuesday night. And the break came at the right time.

No, not because the Colonials were struggling. In fact, they are ranked 17th in the country and are on a six-game win streak. Their 11-3 record is the best 14-game start in program history.

But in the team’s most recent win over Niagara (6-2) on Jan. 10, both captain Nick Prkusic and fellow forward Justin Addamo suffered injuries. Leading goal scorer Jordan Timmons had already been sidelined with a leg injury.

Prkusic is tied for second on the team in points with 16. Addamo is third with 13 and is second in goals with seven.

“We expect a few of them to be back sooner rather than later,” Schooley said on the team’s website. “You play the cards you are dealt. What is it? If the barn is red, you paint it red?”

Not quite, coach. But close enough.

What Schooley was going for there was one of Tomlin’s favorites: “If you have red paint, you paint the barn red.”

In other words, you make good with what you have available. Or, as he and Schooley both like to say, “Next man up.”

“That’s where we are,” Schooley said, pointing to the likes of sophomore Cam Hebert and freshman Matt Guerra as forwards who have filled the void when it comes to the minutes and scoring up front.

“You’ve just got to be prepared,” Schooley continued. “Do things the right way. And make the players in your lineup better. Right now, the ‘next man up’ has been working.”

The Colonials training staff is keeping optimism afloat as to when a full roster may be seen again.

“We’re not going to be playing without all of them. They are going to be coming back bit by bit. Piece by piece. And hopefully by the right time, we’ll have our full team back,” Schooley concluded.

We’ll see how much red paint Schooley brings up to Erie Tuesday night as the Colonials face Mercyhurst (4-5-1).

Speaking of hockey, our first hockey podcast of 2021 with Pens Radio Network host Brian Metzer is up. We talk about the arrival of Penguins winger Kasperi Kapanen, the absence of injured defenseman Mike Matheson and the early struggles of goaltender Tristan Jarry.