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FAIRBANKS — Coming to the Brice Alaska Goal Rush means a reunion for Robert Morris head coach Derek Schooley and University of Alaska Fairbanks athletic director Forrest Karr. They each serve on the NCAA Hockey Rules Committee.

“He’s a good guy, and it’s a good benefit for college hockey to have him on the rules committee,” Schooley said by telephone on Monday of Karr, who is the committee chairman.

Coming to the Goal Rush also means that it’s time for Robert Morris to play for keeps. The second edition of the four-team tournament at the Carlson Center marks the beginning of the regular season for the Colonials of Morris Township, Pa., near Pittsburgh.

“I think playing against teams from the CCHA and the WCHA will be good for us,” said Schooley, who’s in his sixth season with the College Hockey America program. “We’ve got a lot of nonconference games this season, so the pace will be good and we’ll have to be ready to go right off the bat.”

Fourteen of the Colonials’ 33 games this season are nonconference contests, starting at 7:35 p.m. Friday against the Goal Rush host Alaska Nanooks of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. Robert Morris plays at 3:05 p.m. Saturday against the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

“Fairbanks has already played twice and Anchorage has already played twice,” Schooley said, alluding to last week’s Kendall Hockey Classic at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, “so we’ve got to be ready to go right off the bat because they’ve gotten some of the kinks out of their systems that we have not got out of our system yet.”

The Colonials are the last team not named the Alaska Nanooks to win the Kendall Classic. Robert Morris captured the title in the 2007 regular-season opening tournament.

“It was a great experience for our guys,” Schooley recalled. “It was long travel, but it’s a good trip and good team-bonding. ... You get to spend a lot of time with the guys and you get to learn a little bit more. It’s finally exciting for us to kick off our season and come back to Alaska again.”

One thing that Robert Morris learned last weekend is that the Nanooks and the Seawolves won’t resemble the Queen’s University Golden Gaels. In an exhibition series, the Colonials swept the visitors from Kingston, Ontario, 8-4 on Friday and 3-2 on Saturday.

“I think the difference between playing exhibition games and real games is that, obviously, you have to tighten up defensively and you have to be ready to battle,” Schooley said. “Players are bigger and stronger and faster at the Division I level compared to some of the Canadian schools.”

Nathan Longpre is among the Colonials ready to battle, as the junior center is the leading returning scorer from last season, when Robert Morris posted a 10-19-7 record, including a third-place mark of 5-8-5 in the four-team College Hockey America.

The first-team All-CHA selection was the team’s second-leading scorer last season with 12 goals and 29 assists for 41 points. He had four points against Queen’s, including two goals and an assist Friday.

“He put up 40 points last year, and not a lot of teams have a player who can produce like that,” Schooley said. “He’s a big, strong kid who skates well and possesses the puck.”

The Colonials also return third-leading scorer and junior defenseman Denny Urban, who posted 4-23-27 totals last season.

Contact staff writer Danny Martin at 459-7586.