Pittsburgh,
Pa. -
The Robert Morris University women's
ice hockey team was chosen to finish second in College Hockey America (CHA) for
the upcoming 2012-13 season according to a poll of conference head coaches.
Despite earning an upset win in the 2012 CHA Tournament
Championship game over No. 6 Mercyhurst, the Colonials were predicted to finish
below Lakers. The Lakers were selected
to win their 10th overall conference championship, receiving four first-place
votes while RMU received two votes.
Robert Morris will look to carry over their success from
the 2011-12 season. Last season, in his
first year as head coach, Paul Colontino
led the Colonials to unprecedented heights. He helped RMU break its program
record for wins by the end of January and finished the season with 19
victories. Colontino was the recipient of
the CHA Coach of the Year Award and also took home USCHO National Coach of the
Year accolades. Colontino guided the
Colonials to the largest year-to-year win improvement in Division I before the
squad earned the program's first-ever conference championship.
The Colonials return the 2012 CHA Tournament MVP and CHA
Goaltending Trophy winner Kristen DiCiocco (Niagara Falls, Ontario / Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres). Last season, DiCiocco led the CHA in both
goals against average (1.97) and save percentage (.928) and ranked among the
top ten nationally in each category.
During the middle portion of last season, she became the first Colonial
ever to win honors in four consecutive weeks which RMU hit the ice. In the 2012 CHA Championship, DiCiocco
registered a career-high performance with 45 saves.
Sophomore Rebecca Vint (Caledon, Ontario / Brampton Junior Thunder) the reigning CHA Rookie
of the Year also returns for RMU. Vint
had the best offensive season in program history. She broke RMU's single season records in
points (44), goals (22) and assists (22) as she became the first Colonial to
ever reach 40 points or 20 goals in a season.
Vint also reset the mark for longest point streak in school history
(12). She finished ranked fourth
nationally in points per game among rookies and tied for third nationally in
goals by rookies. She was selected to
the USCHO All-Rookie Team to complete her impressive freshman campaign.
Junior forward Thea Imbrogno (Etobicoke, Ontario / Mississauga Jr. Chiefs), an All-CHA
Second-Team selection will serve as an assistant captain for the Colonials this
season. Last season Imbrogno ranked
second on the team in points (36), goals (16) and assists (20). On Jan. 21, Imbrogno scored the
game-winning-goal to lead the Colonials to their first-ever victory against
Mercyhurst highlighting her career here at RMU.
The Colonials also return key seniors Cobina Delaney (Sittsville, Ontario /
Ottawa Senators), Jamie Joslin (Richmond Hill, Ontario / Aurora Panthers) and Dayna Newsom (Oakville, Ontario / Oakville
Ice), who along with Imbrogno will serve as the 2012-13 team captains.
RMU will begin exhibition play next weekend, Friday,
Sept. 28 and Sat., Sept. 29. as it takes on the Guelph Gryphons of the
Ontario Universities Athletics Conference (OUA). Faceoff is set for 7:35 p.m. both nights.
2012-13
Women's Ice Hockey Preseason Coaches Poll
(first-place votes in parenthesis)
1. Mercyhurst
(4)
2. Robert Morris (2)
3. Syracuse
4. Rochester
Institute of Technology (RIT)
5. Lindenwood
6. Penn State