Pittsburgh, Pa. - For the second time in as many nights, the Robert Morris University women's hockey team had its way with its opposition as the Colonials collected their second exhibition victory in 24 hours with a 4-1 win over Waterloo Saturday evening at the RMU Island Sports Center.
Fresh off its blowout victory of Penn State Friday night, RMU scored twice within the first 12 minutes of play and added single goals late in the second and third periods to knock off the visiting Warriors.
Senior assistant captain Brianna Delaney (Stittsville, Ontario / NCCP Raiders) and sophomore defenseman Anneline Lauziere (St. Thomas, Ontario / London Jr. Devilettes) both tallied multi-point games for the Colonials with Delaney's being her second in as many nights.
Robert Morris got on the board in the opening half of the first period thanks to a sequence of nice passes by the hosts. After gathering the puck along the boards in the neutral zone, Lauziere saw a pair of Colonials streaking into the offensive zone and fed Delaney, who then carried it into the final third. Delaney charged hard toward goal and appeared as though she might attempt a shot, but she alertly dropped a back pass to an oncoming Katelyn Scott (Brighton, Mich. / Belle Tire) who ripped a wrist shot that tickled the twine.
After a rookie put RMU on the board first, two more combined to add to the Colonials' lead. Freshman Katie Fergus (Oakville, Ontario / Burlington Jr. Barracudas) found classmate Rebecca Vint (Caledon, Ontario / Brampton Junior Thunder) with space right on the doorstep, and Vint banged the puck home to double the RMU lead.
Waterloo cut into its deficit in the final three minutes of the first when it registered a score off a rebound directly in front of the net to put the Colonial lead at 2-1 after 20 minutes of action.
A key turning point came right near the middle of the game when a pair of Colonials, both defensemen, were sent off with penalties simultaneously, giving Waterloo a full two-minute, five-on-three advantage. The Robert Morris penalty killing unit, along with junior netminder Kristen DiCiocco (Niagara Falls, Ontario / Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres), came up huge, though, as it kept the Warriors from finding the net and evening the score. DiCiocco made eight important saves during the two minutes while RMU also blocked a trio of shots.
Not long after RMU had successfully killed off the 5-on-3, the hosts seemed to use that momentum to add to their lead. Lauziere again started a scoring sequence when she sent a pass along the blue line to fellow defenseman Kylie St. Louis (Windsor, Ontario / Southwest Wildcats). St. Louis blasted a shot from the point that the Warrior goaltender was able to stop but could not control. Sophomore Thea Imbrogno (Etobicoke, Ontario / Mississauga Jr. Chiefs) pounced on the rebound and quickly rifled it home top shelf to give RMU a 3-1 edge.
Robert Morris dominated the final frame, outshooting the Warriors by an amazing 22-0 margin, and earned four power plays in the process. After creating pressure throughout the period, RMU finally broke through in the final minute when Delaney lit the lamp to set the final margin.
Freshman Courtney Vinet (Camrose, Alberta / Edge School) got the start in between the pipes for RMU and made six stops. DiCiocco came on in the middle of the second stanza and kept a clean sheet while making 10 saves in net.
In a similar vein to Friday's game, Robert Morris once again had a decided advantage in the shot count, holding a 41-17 edge in that department. RMU held the Warriors to an 0-for-6 mark on the power play while scoring multiple power play goals for the second straight night.
RMU will play its final exhibition contest of the season next Saturday, Oct.1, when it hosts Windsor in a matinee matchup. The opening puck drop is set for 2:05 p.m.
