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Shaler graduate Luke Lynch is trying to follow in the footsteps of his brother, Zac, at Robert Morris. Zac is the school’s all-time leading scorer.
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Another Lynch ready to take the ice at Robert Morris

Robert Morris University photo

Another Lynch ready to take the ice at Robert Morris

When Robert Morris freshman Luke Lynch arrived on campus earlier this fall, there wasn’t exactly a long “getting-to-know-you” phase with his older teammates.

Sure, Lynch, a Shaler High School graduate, had been around the Colonials on recruiting trips and game visits, but most of the team also knew him as Zac’s younger brother.

Luke will start his collegiate hockey career this month very aware of the legacy his brother left at Robert Morris — Zac graduated last year as the Colonials’ all-time leading scorer — but also intent on making his own mark on the program.

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“It’s special,” Luke said. “I’m proud of everything he did and stuff like that, but I’m my own person, I’m ready to make my own story.”

The first step is allowing his teammates to get to know him as his own person, and not just Zac’s sibling.

“We have [slightly] different personalities,” Luke said. “I’m just hanging out with the guys so they get to know me a little different than they knew my brother, stuff like that.”

One area where the two will likely be similar, though, is their immediate impact on the ice. As one of 10 freshmen on the Robert Morris roster heading into this year, Lynch will almost certainly be called on to contribute right away. And that’s exactly what he’s hoping for.

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“I just want to do whatever it takes to help the team win,” he said. “Whatever role that is, I’m ready to do it.”

That role will likely involve finding the back of the net, something Lynch showed he was pretty adept at in his junior career with the Johnstown Tomahawks. Lynch scored 29 goals and had 27 assists in Johnstown last year, a new team single-season record.

Now, though, he’s adjusting to college hockey, and said the speed is just a bit quicker than what he was used to in the North American Hockey League (NAHL).

“It’s definitely been a lot faster and high-paced and everything like that,” Lynch said. “Everything we expected when all the guys came in. We were all leaning on each other. We have 10 freshmen, so a lot of older guys are helping us out and everything, so we know what we need to bring to practice everyday and to the games.”

He said the freshmen are also leaning on each other off the ice, going to classes and meals together. They may be thrown into the fire early, but they know this Robert Morris program has built expectations over the past three seasons, with regular-season conference championships in the past two and an Atlantic Hockey tournament title in 2014.

“As a hockey player, you’re always aiming for a championship like that, that doesn’t change no matter what level you’re at,” Lynch said. “Coming into this program, we know it’s expected and we set that goal this season already.”

And while Luke has his own goals set for this upcoming season, he also gets to watch his brother achieve his own. Zac made his NHL preseason debut Sept. 27 for the Florida Panthers against the Nashville Predators.

“It’s been an unbelievable experience watching him do everything he’s been doing,” Luke said. “He’s succeeding at the goals that he’s had since he was a little kid, stuff like that. Definitely proud of him and we’ll see where it goes from there.”

One day, Luke hopes to join his brother in pursuing his NHL dream. With a four-year age gap, the two haven’t had many opportunities to play organized hockey against one another. That doesn’t mean there isn’t some healthy competition, though.

“Everything we did was a rivalry, no matter what it was,” Luke said with a laugh. “It was just brother stuff, usually ended in a fight.”

Sam Werner: swerner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SWernerPG

First Published: October 7, 2016, 4:00 a.m.

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Shaler graduate Luke Lynch is trying to follow in the footsteps of his brother, Zac, at Robert Morris. Zac is the school’s all-time leading scorer.  (Robert Morris University photo)
Robert Morris University photo
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