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Robert Morris Colonials (11-3-0, 5-1-0 CHA) @ Syracuse Orange (6-5-1, 2-1-1 CHA)
Friday, November 22, 2013 / Tennity Ice Pavilion – Syracuse, N.Y. / 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, November 23, 2013 / Tennity Ice Pavilion – Syracuse, N.Y. / 2:00 p.m.


 
Top Story – Robert Morris swept their fourth opponent this past weekend - and their third in the Colonials' last four series - with two wins over Lindenwood at 84 Lumber Arena. Freshman forward Mackenzie Johnston scored the first goal of her collegiate career with 47 seconds remaining to give RMU a 3-2 victory on Friday, and then the Colonials scored in each period on Saturday en route to a 3-1 win. With the sweep, RMU has won eight of their last nine games and rank second in the nation in victories with 11 (Minnesota, 13).
 
Series vs. Syracuse – Robert Morris has played Syracuse 20 times in their history and the series is dead even at 8-8-4. The Colonials actually have fared better on the road against the Orange, as they hold a slight 5-4-1 advantage all-time and a 3-1 mark in their last four road meetings. Despite going just 1-3 against the Orange last season, all four meetings between RMU and Syracuse were filled with drama and intrigue, as they were all decided by one goal.
 
Scouting Syracuse – Syracuse has been in the 'receiving votes' section of the USCHO.com Poll for three weeks, but fell out in this week's release. At 6-5-1 overall and 2-1-1 in CHA play, the Orange are tied for third in the conference standings following a 0-1-1 weekend at Mercyhurst last weekend. Senior goaltender Kallie Billadeau has been named CHA Goaltender of the Week twice (Oct. 7, Oct. 28) and leads the conference in save percentage (.932), while also ranking fifth in goals-against-average (2.23). The Orange's leading point scorer is sophomore defenseman Nicole Renault, who sits tied for third in the CHA in that department with 12 (2 goals, 10 assists).

Last Time Out – Robert Morris hosted Lindenwood last weekend in what was their next-to-last CHA home series before Christmas break, and came away with their fourth sweep of the season.
 
The Colonials and Lions kicked off things on Friday with a back-and-forth battle that was decided with less than a minute remaining.
 
Lindenwood came out with a very potent offensive attack and fired 10 shots at Jessica Dodds, but the freshman goaltender stopped them all. It wasn't until 2:38 into the second period that one team held an advantage, as senior assistant captain Brandi Pollock tallied her first goal of the season off passes from freshman defenseman Mikaela Lowater and sophomore forward Anissa Gamble.
 
The Lions would answer at the six minute mark with a power play goal, and that's how the second period ended. Senior captain Kristen Richards put RMU back up front 4:34 into the final period with her fourth goal of the season, but Lindenwood came back with a goal less than three minutes later.
 
With just 47 seconds remaining, freshman forward Mackenzie Johnston gathered a pass from junior forward Rebecca Vint and buried the puck past Lions goaltender Nicole Hensley for the first goal of her career.
 
The Colonials avoided the dramatics in Saturday's contest, as they won 3-1. Sophomore foward Ashley Vesci scored her third goal of the season in the first period to give RMU the early lead, and then freshman foward Brittany Howard extended that advantage with a goal near the end of the second period.
 
Lindenwood cut the lead to one in the third period, but Vint scored just 23 seconds later to set the final.
 
On The Doorstep – Robert Morris earned votes in both the USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey and United States College Hockey Online (USCHO) polls this week, marking the fourth week in a row that the Colonials have been recognized in both national rankings.
 
The Colonials earned seven votes from USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine and five from USCHO.com. In each poll, the RMU sits as the first team outside the Top 10 – the second-straight week in which that is the case.
 
Robert Morris is one of four teams in the 'receiving votes' category in the USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine poll, along with Princeton, Minnesota-Duluth, and St. Lawrence. The Colonials will face the Saints in a two-game non-conference set on the first weekend of the new year (Jan. 4-5).
 
Three's the Magic Number – Three seems to be the magic number for the Colonials, as they are undefeated (10-0-0) when scoring three goals or more. In fact, the only win in which RMU didn't hit that mark offensively was in a 2-1 victory on Oct. 11 at Bemidji State.
 
The Colonials have scored at least three goals in eight of their last nine games, with a 2-0 loss to Mercyhurst on Nov. 8 being the only exception. In their current three-game winning streak, RMU has scored three goals in each victory.
 
Orange Crushers – Forwards Thea Imbrogno and Rebecca Vint have enjoyed a lot of success when Syracuse has come up on the Robert Morris schedule. Both players have tallied 10 points in their careers against the Orange.
 
In 12 games, Imbrogno has seven goals and three assists. On Feb. 19, 2011, the then-freshman forward tallied the only two Colonial goals in a 2-2 tie with Syracuse. Imbrogno also notched at least one point in every contest against the Orange last season.
 
Vint has scored four goals and assisted on six others in eight games against Syracuse. The junior forward has points in six of her last seven meetings with the Orange, and four of those games were multi-point efforts.

Two's Better Than One – Robert Morris goaltenders Jessica Dodds and Courtney Vinet are allowing two goals or less in their starts, giving Colonials head coach Paul Colontino two appealing options between the pipes each night.
 
RMU is the only team in the nation that has two goaltenders ranked in the top five of their conference in goals-against-average and save percentage.
 
Dodds leads the CHA in wins (8), winning percentage (1.000), and goals-against average (1.61), and also ranks second in save percentage (.929) and tied for second in shutouts (3). Meanwhile, Vinet ranks fourth in goals-against-average (2.00) and tied for fifth in save percentage (.923). The junior also has a shutout to her name.
 
I'll Take the Saturday Special – The Colonials have enjoyed Saturdays moreso than Friday evenings in this early season, as they have won all six games played on the weekend's first day.
 
Robert Morris has used Saturdays as bounce-back days this year, with three of those five weekend wins coming after a Friday loss. The Colonials did this in their opening series against RPI, as they outlasted the Engineers in overtime to win 3-2, and then picked up a big 3-0 victory against No. 7/8 Boston University following a 5-2 loss the night before. RMU also came back from a 2-0 defeat to Mercyhurst with a 3-2 victory to split the series.
 
The Colonials also have clinched three sweeps on Saturdays, as they beat Bemidji State 3-0 on Oct. 12, Vermont 6-4 on Oct. 26, and Lindenwood 3-1 last Saturday.
 
RMU is scoring an average of 3.5 goals per game on Saturdays, while allowing just 1.5 goals per game. On Fridays, the Colonials average just 2.43 goals per game and give up 2.29.
 
Record Watch – Senior assistant captain Thea Imbrogno ranks in the career top five in Robert Morris program history for points, goals and assists. 14 games into 2013-14 season, Imbrogno ranks second in career points and career assists. Imbrogno also ranks fourth in career goals scored with 44. If she finishes the year similar to her previous three seasons, then she could end up threatening at the top marks in all of those categories.
 
Imbrogno also holds spots in the same categories for single season performance. She worked her way into the single-season record books after an impressive sophomore campaign. Imbrogno ranks second in single-season points, tied for fourth in single-season goals scored and second in single-season assists.
 
Junior forward Rebecca Vint reset the single-season record book last season as a freshman, and added onto that with a successful sophomore campaign. 14 games into the 2013-14 season, Vint ranks fourth in career points, third in goals, and tied for fourth in assists. She also holds the program's single-season records in points, goals, and assists, and cracked the top five in points (third) and goals (tied for fourth) after her second season.
 
If Imbrogno breaks Brianna Delaney's career marks in her senior campaign, Vint could topple them in her final season as a Colonial in 2014-15.
 
Career Points
121 - Brianna Delaney (51g, 68a)
98 - Thea Imbrogno (44g, 54a)
97 - Sara O'Malley (52g, 45a)
88 - Rebecca Vint (45g, 43a)
75 - Kelsey Thomas (32g, 43a)
75 - Kristen Miles (43g, 32a)

Career Goals
53 - Brianna Delaney
52 - Sara O'Malley
45 - Rebecca Vint
44 - Thea Imbrogno
43 - Kristen Miles

Career Assists
68 - Brianna Delaney
54 - Thea Imbrogno
45 - Sara O'Malley
43 - Kelsey Thomas
43 - Rebecca Vint

October's Glory Maples – Following a blistering start to their collegiate careers, freshmen Brittany Howard and Jessica Dodds were honored by the CHA in their October monthly awards on Nov. 4.
 
Howard, a St. Thomas, Ontario native, was named CHA Player of the Month after coming out of the month with the conference lead in assists (13), points (17), power play points (6), and game-winning goals (2). The forward also ranks first, tied for first, tied for fourth, and tied for second in those respective categories, nationally.
 
After collecting her first career goal and assists in a 3-0 victory over RPI on Oct. 5, there hasn't been a game that Howard hasn't registered at least a point in. The freshman carries a nine-game point streak into this weekend's home series, and has tallied multiple points in six of those contests. In wins over Vermont (1 goal, 2 assists) and at Penn State (3 assists), Howard collected a career-best three points.
 
Dodds, a London, Ontario native, was honored with the CHA Rookie of the Month award. The goaltender leads the CHA in wins (6) and goals against average (1.49), is tied for first in shutouts (3), and slots third in save percentage (.932). Nationally, Dodds ranks tied for fourth, eight, tied for third, and 13th in those respective categories.
 
Dodds made her collegiate debut on Oct. 5 against RPI, With the Colonials facing being swept, the freshmen held the Engineers to just two third-period goals, and earned her first win of her career in overtime. Dodds then earned starts in Saturday contests at Bemidji State and against No. 7/8 Boston University, and shut down both offenses to pick up her first two career shutouts.

Looking Back – Robert Morris has played three times on these dates with a record of 2-1.
 
The Colonials took down Brown on Nov. 23, 2007, 4-2, to move to over .500 for the first time all season. After the Bears took a 1-0 lead through the first 20 minutes, RMU came back with three unanswered goals - two of which from the power play - to take control of the game. Kristen Miles, Maria Stoa, Kylie Rossler, and Megan Picnic all lit the lamp for the Colonials, while Brianne McLaughlin made 22 saves to get the win.
 
RMU fell to RPI on Nov. 22, 2008, 2-0. The two teams played an even, scoreless 40 minutes, but the Engineers broke through with two goals in the final period to get the win. Daneca Butterfield stopped 33 of 35 shots in the loss.
 
In their 2011-12 CHA Championship year, the Colonials defeated Colgate, 5-2, in a non-conference tune-up before the Nutmeg Classic. Current RMU forwards Rebecca Vint (2) and Katie Fergus scored for the Colonials, while Kristen DiCiocco earned the win by making 30 saves.