Pittsburgh, Pa. – Head coach Paul Colontino and the 2016-17 Robert Morris University women's hockey team announced senior forward Rikki Meilleur will be captain of the Colonials for the upcoming season.
 
"We are excited to name Rikki as our 2016-17 captain," said Colontino. "She has excelled here at RMU both in the classroom and on the ice. She has emerged as a true leader within our program and amongst her peers. Over the last three years, she has earned the respect of our staff and her teammates through hard work, commitment and discipline. Rikki has shown remarkable maturity in balancing academics and hockey and has achieved success in both areas. I know she will continue to act as a great role model for both her teammates and our future Colonials."
 
"It's an honor," said Meilleur of being selected to lead the team to success. "You know you have the respect of your teammates and I think it's going to be a good year. If your teammates respect you and you show respect for them, I think everything will fall into place. We just have to put it all out on the ice."
 
An assistant captain last season, Meilleur will bring veteran leadership experience to her senior campaign.  In 2015-16, the St. Adolphe, Manitoba, native recorded five goals, including one game-winner and a career-high 10 assists on the year. In 36 games, she finished plus-one on the season.
 
"Being an assistant captain [last season], I was able to get my toes wet. I got to learn from a great leader in [Ashley] Vesci and she set such a good example," Meilleur added. "I hope to follow in her footsteps. It's a bigger role to fill, but I'm up for it and I know I can do it."
 
The Colonials are coming off a trip to the College Hockey America Tournament Semifinals and enter the new season under the guidance of five seniors.
 
Senior goaltender Jessica Dodds made 33 starts in net for RMU last season. She finished the season with a 15-13-4 record, .922 save percentage and 2.28 goals against average in nearly 2,000 minutes played. In 2014-15, Dodds was named CHA Rookie of the Year and made the All-USCHO Rookie Team, All-CHA First Team and All-CHA Rookie Team.
 
Entering her senior season, Maeve Garvey is coming off her most productive year on the ice. She finished 2015-16 tied for fifth on the team with 23 points (8g-15a) after she put together a six-point season the previous year. Garvey ranked fifth on the squad in assists and was plus-one on the year.
 
Senior Mackenzie Johnston tied for second on the team with 25 points (12g-13a) last season. The forward from Barrie, Ontario, finished third among all Colonials in goal scoring, tied for third in game-winning goals, fourth in power-play goals, and was a faceoff leader for Robert Morris.
 
All-CHA First Team defenseman Mikaela Lowater led the league and tied for sixth in the nation in power-play goals (seven) last season, and ranked second in the CHA in power-play points (13). She tied for second in defenseman scoring (11g-11a-22p) with fellow teammate Maggie LaGue and finished within the top 25 in the country in points per game among defensemen (0.58). Lowater led the Colonials with 81 blocked shots and a plus-eight rating.
 
Robert Morris returns 19 of 22 players from last season for the upcoming season this September.
 
"Last season obviously wasn't the way we wanted it to end," Meilleur stated, "but we had such a good season throughout the whole year and such a good group of girls. Everyone had each other's back and wanted to win. We're all really pumped for next season and we're going to strive for the best. I've heard the incoming class is really talented and with the group of returners we have I think we'll get it done."
 
 
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