Clean Look For The Colonials

October 7 will be a big night in Moon Township, Pennsylvania as the the Robert Morris University Colonials men's hockey team will take to the ice for the first time since 2021 after the battle with school administration to have the programs reinstated. Bowling Green will be the first team to play at Clearview Arena at the RMU Island Sports Center in this new era, and it seems that new moment in the program's history will see RMU in new uniforms to kick off this new era! What do they look like? Are they anything like the old uniforms? Will they tie the old program's legacy to the new era or are we talking a complete makeover? Let's find out!

Back in 2017, the Colonials broke out the jerseys you see to the right, and they were fairly traditional in design when it comes to hockey uniforms. I'm not big on the alternate red jersey they chose due to there being no logo and that dumb circular name with no lines or contrast around it, but the home and road jerseys worked well for the final few years before the program was terminated unexpectedly. The floating Under Armour logo really should be moved somewhere else on both of those jerseys, but these uniforms worked very well for Robert Morris.

So what does this new era in history look like for the Colonials?

I gotta say that these uniforms continue with the traditional look worn by RMU, but feel somewhat more modern than what they debuted in 2017! In other words, these uniforms will do nicely!

"I couldn't be more excited to unveil our new uniform/jersey combinations," head coach Derek Schooley stated. "Knowing how important it is representing RMU and our brand as 'Pittsburgh's College Hockey Team,' Under Armour, Natale Sporting Goods, and K&B Outfitters did an outstanding job on the new look Colonial jerseys. The jerseys combine a clean, crisp and sharp look with the tradition of our past jerseys. I am excited to see them live on October 7th."

I normally don't give way to marketing speak or anything, but Derek Schooley may have hit the nail squarely on the head with his line of "clean, crisp and sharp look with the tradition of our past" in describing the new look for RMU. And I agree with him. The striping is traditional in a hockey sweater sense, the colours contrast nicely so things are easily identified on the uniforms, there's a tie-in to the old jerseys with the star on the shoulders, and the overall aesthetic feels like a hockey jersey. If there's one quibble I have, they should use the logo on the chest because RMU's logo is great, but they have history with the diagonal acronym. While the old jerseys would have worked fine, these new ones certainly don't take a step back.

I should note that this jersey unveiling only involved the men's team, so I'm hoping the women's program gets their own look to differentiate from the men. While it would make sense economically just to double the order for jerseys to dress the women, RMU can and should do better in giving the women their own unique identity. I suspect this may be why they weren't part of today's unveiling for RMU, but we won't know for sure until the women take the ice in some form prior to October.

The men's side of the the MRU Colonials will restart their program looking very good in their new uniforms. The roster is filled with transfer students and players from Canadian junior leagues so they have a solid foundation on which to build. We'll see how the Colonials fare this season in their first season back in the NCAA circuit, but, at the very least, they'll look good skating up and down the ice!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!