Robert Morris vs. Maine
Friday, October 23 - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 24 - 2:00 p.m.
Alfond Arena - Orono, Maine

Top Story - After falling to No. 8/10 St. Lawrence in their home opener, the Robert Morris University Colonials begin a six-game road stretch when they head North to Orono, Maine to take on the Maine Black Bears. On Friday, October 23 the puck drops at 7:00 p.m. at Alfond Arena and the next day the Black Bears and the Colonials will face each other in game two of the series at 2:00 p.m., also at Alfond Arena.

This past weekend the Colonials were one period away from topping the nationally ranked St. Lawrence Saints in both games of the series. In game one freshman Dayna Newsom scored the opening goal at 6:27 in the first period off assists from Kelsey Thomas and Brianna Delaney to give RMU a 1-0 advantage. St. Lawrence tied things up, but Sara O'Malley found the net for RMU's second goal to give them a 2-1 advantage. With no one scoring in the second period, Robert Morris was still leading upon entering the final stanza, but St. Lawrence scored two goals in the third period to take the 3-2 win. Game two saw similar events. Within the first two periods Whitney Pappas, Sara O'Malley and Jordan Riley all scored goals to give the Colonials a 3-2 lead upon entering the third period. Once again, the Saints attacked in the third period and scored four goals to win game two 6-3.

Scouting the Black Bears - The Black Bears enter this weekend coming off a 1-1 tie against Boston College on Sunday, October 18. Boston College scored the first goal of the game at 9:18 in the first period, but Maine's Myriam Croussette responded just 54 seconds into the second period with a goal to knot the score 1-1. Neither team was able to find the net again for the remainder of play leaving the score deadlocked. The team won its first two contests of the season against Sacred Heart, but fell to Providence twice and Minnesota State twice. They enter this weekend with a 2-4-1 record.

Maine is currently led by its top two returning forwards from 2008-09. Jenna Oullette leads the team with eight assists and has also contributed two goals for 10 points. Last year she finished second on the team with 18 points. Jennie Gallo is first on the team with five goals and second in points with nine. She was the top Black Bear scorer in 2008-09 with 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points. This year Candice Currier and Brittany Opp have been splitting time between the posts. Thus far, Currier has established a GAA of 1.72 and a save percentage of .942, while Opp has registered a 3.68 GAA and a .888 save percentage.

Robert Morris is 4-2-0 against Maine in the all-time series and has won the past four contests against the Black Bears.

Quotes from Coach Handrahan - "After the two disappointing weekends where we were close in games against ranked teams, we are looking for a more consistent effort from start to finish.  We have to stick to the details and respect the process without getting wrapped up in results. If we can do that, we should be in the games. Maine is a hard working team that is on the rise and we have had great games against them in our history."

Last Time Out - The Last time the Black Bears and the Colonials met was on November 27-28, 2008 during Robert's Morris Skate for the Cure event. The Colonials topped the Black Bears 4-2 on Friday night and then won the second contest 5-4. Along with winning both contests, Robert Morris raised roughly $6000 for breast cancer research. On night one , Jacki Gibson, Chelsea Walkland, Jordan Riley and Brianna Delaney all scored goals in route to the victory, with former RMU goalie Brianne McLaughlin  registering 40 saves in the triumph. The Black Bears made it tougher for the Colonials on night two, but RMU prevailed with the win. Robert Morris was down 4-3, 21 seconds into the third period, but Whitney Pappas and former Colonial Megan Picinic scored two goals within seven minutes to take the win. Pappas and Sara O'Malley both scored a pair of goals in the victory.

Colonials and the Hockey East - The Colonials are 7-12-1 against Hockey East opponents since the programs beginning in 2005-06. Over the past four years Robert Morris has secured wins over Maine, Vermont and Northeastern, and has recorded a tie against Providence. So far this season, Robert Morris is 0-2 against Hockey East Opponents. They fell to Boston University 4-3 in overtime and lost to Northeastern in a 4-0 shutout.

Third Period Woes - In three out of RMU's five losses they were either tied or leading their opponent after the second period. However, the Colonials lost the game by a string of unanswered goals by their opponent in the third period. In RMU's season-opener against Minnesota Duluth, RMU was tied with the Bulldogs 2-2 after two periods, but Duluth captured three goals in the final stanza of action to win the game. The same thing happened this past weekend in RMU's two losses to St. Lawrence. In game one, RMU was up 2-1 after the second period, but the Saints bounced back with two goals in the third period to win the game. In game two, The Colonials were on top 3-2 after two, but were defeated 6-3 after St. Lawrence scored a surge of four goals in the third period.

Really Special Teams - In the Colonials first six games of the season they have held their opponents to just three power play goals on 28 opportunities, which accounts for a .893 penalty kill.  Robert Morris has always been strong defensively, and with five of its six defensemen having at least a year of experience under their belts, the Colonials will continue to cause teams to struggle on the power-play.

Oh My O'Malley - Junior Sara O'Malley has been a reliable scorer for the Colonials since her rookie year. She wasted no time in the 2009-10 season to utilize her abilities, as she scored two goals in Robert Morris's 4-1 win over the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. This past weekend she scored two goals and one assist in the series against the Saints and now has six points this season, bringing her career point total to 43, which ranks fifth in the all-time record books. She is currently ranked tied for 19th in the nation with 1.00 points per game and tied for 17th with 0.67 goals per game.

Colonial Spotlight - Dayna Newsom - Rookie Dayna Newsom is currently leading RMU's large group of freshman and is tied for fourth overall on the team with two goals and one assist. She scored RMU's second goal in her collegiate debut against Minnesota Duluth and this past weekend she scored the opening goal in RMU's 3-2 loss to the Saints and assisted on another goal the next day. She is the only freshman to have scored a goal so far this season.

Captain Pappas - Junior captain Whitney Pappas has proved her ability to lead this team in the 2009-10 season. She is currently tied for second on the team with three goals and two assists. She scored the Colonials first goal of the season against Minnesota Duluth on October 2 and assisted on RMU's second goal then next night against Duluth when the Colonials won 4-1. On October 9, she recorded the game-tying goal against No. 10 Boston to send the contest into overtime and this past weekend she scored one goal and one assist in the series against St. Lawrence. She is tied for fifth in the nation for defensemen points per game with .83 and has scored at least one point in five out of RMU's six contests thus far.

Valuing the Veterans - Although the Colonials lost one of their biggest classes, the returners on this young squad have quickly become strong leaders on the team. After six contests, the returners have accounted for 12 of the Colonials 14 goals and 10 of their 16 assists. When the team gets in tight spots the veterans on the team have been able to step up and make the play.