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Top Story - Robert Morris won their fifth series of the 2013-14 season this past weekend, as they won and tied against Syracuse in the Empire State. The Colonials are now 12-3-1 (6-1-1 CHA) and extended their lead in the CHA standings from three points to four, following a split between RIT and Mercyhurst. RMU's 12 wins are tied for second in the nation with Clarkson (12-3-2) and are three behind Minnesota's mark of 15 victories. The Colonials are currently on their second five-game unbeaten streak of the season, with the first coming from Oct. 19 to Nov. 1.


 
Series vs. Ohio State - Robert Morris has played Ohio State four times in their history, but have gotten the short end of the stick each time. The Colonials played a series in Columbus during the 2009-10 season and fell 4-1 and 6-1, then were swept nine months later with the score being 4-1 each time.
 
Scouting Ohio State - Ohio State comes into this game with an overall record of 3-8-2, and are sixth in the WCHA with a mark of 2-8-2. The Buckeyes have lost seven of their last eight games, but have defeated No.4 North Dakota and previously ranked Mercyhurst on the road. Ohio State is led by junior defensemen Kari and Sara Schmitt, who each have tallied 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists) on the season. Two goaltenders have split time between the pipes for the Buckeyes - redshirt senior Chelsea Knapp is 2-6-1 with a goals-against-average of 3.14 in nine starts, while senior Lisa Steffes is 1-2-1 in four starts with a GAA of 1.79. Ohio State is coached by former Colonials head man Nate Handrahan, who coached RMU from 2005-11.
 
Breaking Through - After four weeks on the doorstep of the Top 10, Robert Morris finally broke through this week as the Colonials slot in 10th in the USCHO.com Poll. This is the first time RMU has ever been ranked in a national poll.
 
The Colonials spent the last four weeks in the 'receiving votes' section of the rankings, getting as many as 10 votes in the Nov. 11 release of the poll. RMU received the most votes for a non-Top 10 team over the last two weeks.
 
CHA rival Mercyhurst slid out of the poll following a split at RIT this past weekend, and only received two votes. The Colonials beat the team ahead of them, No. 9 Boston University, on Oct. 19 and will play No. 8 Quinnipiac on Jan. 17-18.
 
Last Time Out - Robert Morris won their fifth series of the season by coming out of Syracuse with a tie and a victory in CHA play.
 
The Colonials earned their first tie of the 2013-14 campaign in Friday's contest. The Orange jumped out in front first with a short-handed goal at the 5:19 mark of the second period. RMU answered a little more than nine minutes later when Ashley Vesci picked up her fourth goal of the season off assists from Brandi Pollock and Katie Fergus.
 
Jessica Dodds stoned a breakaway attempt and a two-on-one opportunity in the overtime period to keep the game at 1-1. The freshman goaltender finished the game with 25 saves.
 
The Colonials took the series with a 2-1 victory in Saturday's game. For the first time this season, RMU came back from a deficit to claim a victory, as they fell behind 13 minutes into the second period. Just 28 seconds later, the Colonials would tie it up thanks to Thea Imbrogno's sixth goal of the season.
 
With a minute and 13 seconds remaining, Rebecca Vint broke away from the Syracuse defense and corralled a pass from Fergus. Vint then beat Orange goaltender Kallie Billadeau for the game-winning goal.
 
Syracuse came into the series as one of the nation's top teams on the power play (13 goals), but RMU didn't allow a single goal in 12 attempts.
 
I'll Take The Saturday Special - The Colonials have enjoyed Saturdays moreso than Friday evenings in this early season, as they have won all seven games played on the weekend's first day.
 
Robert Morris has used Saturdays as bounce-back days this year, with three of those seven 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 3.29 goals per game on Saturdays, while allowing just 1.43 goals per game. On Fridays, the Colonials average just 2.25 goals per game and give up 2.13.
 
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 six of their conference in goals-against-average and save percentage.
 
Dodds leads the CHA in wins (9), winning percentage (.950), and goals-against average (1.48), and also is tied for first in save percentage (.934) and tied for second in shutouts (3). Meanwhile, Vinet ranks fourth in goals-against-average (2.00) and sixth in save percentage (.923). The junior also has a shutout to her name.
 
Know Your Enemy - Even though Robert Morris and Ohio State haven't met since 2010, four current Colonials have played against the Buckeyes in their careers.
 
Brandi Pollock is the lone player to record a point against Ohio State, as she picked up an assist in the Oct. 8, 2010 contest. Along with her, fellow defensemen Anneline Lauziere and Kylie St. Louis, and forward Thea Imbrogno are also familiar to the Buckeyes.
 
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 45. 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 and assists, and third in goals. 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)
99 – Thea Imbrogno (45g, 54a)
97 – Sara O'Malley (52g, 45a)
90 – Rebecca Vint (46g, 44a)
75 – Kelsey Thomas (32g, 43a)
75 – Kristen Miles (43g, 32a)
 
Career Goals
53 – Brianna Delaney
52 – Sara O'Malley
46 – Rebecca Vint
45 – Thea Imbrogno
43 – Kristen Miles
 
Career Assists
68 – Brianna Delaney
54 – Thea Imbrogno
45 – Sara O'Malley
44 – Rebecca Vint
43 – Kelsey Thomas
 
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 October with the conference lead in assists (13), points (17), power play points (6), and game-winning goals (2). The forward also ranked first, tied for first, tied for fourth, and tied for second in those respective categories, nationally.
 
After collecting her first career goal and assist in a 3-0 victory over RPI on Oct. 5, the freshman compiled a nine-game point streak and registered 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. In the month of October, the goaltender led the CHA in wins (6) and goals against average (1.49), was tied for first in shutouts (3), and slots third in save percentage (.932). Nationally, Dodds rankd 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 on Nov. 26 twice in their history, but lost both times.
 
On Nov. 26, 2010, the Colonials were defeated at Maine, 4-2, despite outshooting the Black Bears, 44-15.
 
RMU pulled in front early with a power play goal from Dayna Newsome, but Maine answered with goals in the first and second periods to take the lead. Sara O'Malley then tied it up with a power play goal off an assist from Thea Imbrogno, but the Black Bears came back with two goals in the final frame to win it.
 
Daneca Butterfield and Kristen DiCiocco combined to make 11 saves in the loss.
 
A year later, the Colonials' eight-game unbeaten and five-game winning streaks were snapped in a 3-2 loss at Quinnipiac.
 
The Bobcats scored the first two goals of the contest, but RMU cut the lead to one with 19 seconds left in the second period thanks to a power play strike from Imbrogno. Quinnipiac answered with their second power play goal of the game in the third period, but the Colonials inched back again with a Kylie St. Louis short-hander off a pass from Imbrgno. However, the Colonials couldn't tie it up in the remaining 1:16 and fell to 10-2-1.
 
DiCiocco stopped 20 of 23 shots.