Robert Morris Colonials (8-2-0) vs. No. 9 Mercyhurst Lakers (5-3-1)
Friday, Nov. 8 / 84 Lumber Arena - Pittsburgh, Pa. / 3:05 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 9 / 84 Lumber Arena - Pittsburgh, Pa. / 3:05 p.m.
Top Story - Robert Morris carries a five-game winning streak into their first home CHA series this weekend, as they face familiar foe Mercyhurst at 84 Lumber Arena. The Colonials have swept their last two series and scored 10 goals in each set, marking the first time that the team has compiled a double-digit goal amount in consecutive series. Last week in their CHA opening series at Penn State, RMU set even more records as they blanked the Nittany Lions in each game - another first for the program. At 8-2-0 overall, and 2-0-0 in the CHA, the Colonials hold the best record in conference and are tied with North Dakota and Wisconsin for second in the nation in overall wins.
Series vs. Mercyhurst - RMU is 5-32-1 against Mercyhurst in their history, but have held the upper hand against the Lakers recently, as the Colonials are 5-4-1 against their in-state rivals over the last two seasons. RMU has also won their last three home match-ups with the Lakers. Last season, the Colonials won their first three meetings (3-1, 2-1, 4-2) with Mercyhurst, but dropped the last two - including a loss in Erie, Pa. during the CHA Semifinals. RMU's biggest win against their in-state rivals happened in the 2012 CHA Championship Game, as the Colonials upset the Lakers, 3-2, to win their first-ever conference title.
Scouting Mercyhurst - Mercyhurst is the second nationally-ranked opponent that RMU will face this season, as they slot in as the 9th team in both the USCHO and USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine polls. The Lakers are 5-3-1 and hold wins over No. 6 Clarkson and Providence, who were in the 'receiving votes' category of the USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine rankings. Junior goaltender Amanda Makela was named CHA Goaltender of the Month for October after shutting out three opponents in seven contests, and senior forward Christine Bestland is tied for the conference lead in goals (5), and second in assists (9) and points (14).
Last Time Out - The Colonials traveled to Penn State last week for their first CHA series of the 2013-14 season, and came back to the Steel City with their second-straight sweep of an opponent.
Robert Morris and Penn State came into the first match-up as the only teams in college hockey (men's or women's) to be playing on Halloween. However, it was the Colonials who haunted the Nittany Lions on Thursday, defeating them 4-0.
RMU struck first a little more than two minutes into the game. Freshman forward
Mackenzie Johnston hauled in a pass from senior assistant captain
Thea Imbrogno, and then found junior forward
Katie Fergus skating towards the net. Fergus deflected the puck past Penn State goaltender Nicole Paniccia for her first goal of the season.
Junior
Rebecca Vint then made it 2-0 to start the second period, after batting in a rebound from fellow classmate
Kelsey Gunn. Freshman forward
Maeve Garvey extended the lead to 3-0 three minutes later off a pass from senior captain
Kristen Richards.
NCAA scoring leader
Brittany Howard picked up her fourth goal of the season in the third period to set the final. Junior goaltender
Courtney Vinet made 18 saves to earn her second career shutout.
The Colonials then broke out the brooms in Friday's 6-0 victory over the Nittany Lions. The win gave the team consecutive shutouts for the first time in program history.
Richards collected the first goal less than six minutes into the game off a shot attempt from senior defenseman
Anneline Lauziere. Four and a half minutes later, sophomore forward
Anissa Gamble gathered a pass from Fergus and pushed it past Penn State netminder Celine Whitlinger.
Imbrogno made it 3-0 in the second period with a goal on a 5-on-3 power play. Five and a half minutes afterward, Vint scored her 11th goal in six games against the Nittany Lions, and her fifth of the season.
In the third period, sophomore forward
Ashley Vesci would pick up her second goal of the season off assists from senior defenseman
Kylie St. Louis and Lauziere. Richards then finished it off with 1:35 left in the game with her second goal of the contest.
Freshman goaltender
Jessica Dodds stopped 22 shots en route to her third shutout of the campaign.
Knocking on Top 10's Door - The Colonials earned votes in both the United States Collge Hockey Online (USCHO) and USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey polls this week, marking the second week in a row that RMU has been recognized in both national rankings.
Robert Morris received a record-breaking 10 votes in the USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll, and five in the USCHO.com Poll.
The Colonials are at the doorstep of the Top 10 in the USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine rankings, slotting in as the first team in the 'receiving votes' category. RMU is 18 points behind No. 10 Boston University, a team which received its only loss to the Colonials last month.
This is the third time this season that the Colonials have been recognized by a national poll. RMU received votes in the USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine rankings after their 6-2 exhibition victory over the Toronto Jr. Aeros at the end of September, and then respectively picked up one and two votes in the USCHO.com and USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine Polls following a sweep of Vermont on Oct. 25-26.
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 Tuesday.
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.
Know Your Enemy - Senior assistant captain has given Mercyhurst coaches and players nightmares over her career as a Colonial. In 15 games against the Lakers, the forward has tallied eight goals and 10 assists.
Imbrogno has a four-game point streak against RMU's in-state rivals, and has picked up a point in six of the last seven contests with Mercyhurst. The Etobicoke, Ontario native began her career with another four-game point streak against the Lakers, including a goal and an assist in her first game.
As a sophomore, Imbrogno scored with 53 seconds remaining in a Jan. 21 match-up at Mercyhurst to give the Colonials their first-ever win against their in-state rivals. She also assisted on the first goal and scored the second one in RMU's 3-2 win against the Lakers in the 2012 CHA Championship Game.
All The Awards - After a sweep of Penn State, the Colonials took home all three of the CHA's weekly awards.
Senior captain
Kristen Richards was named CHA Player of the Week for the first time in her career. Richards came out of the series with the Nittany Lions with two goals, an assist, and a plus-minus of +3.
Splitting CHA Goaltender of the Week were netminders
Courtney Vinet and
Jessica Dodds. Vinet, a junior, made her first start since Oct. 18 in the opener and rewarded RMU with her second career shutout thanks to 18 saves. Dodds, a freshman, moved to 6-0-0 in the series finale as she stopped 22 shots to pick up her third shutout of the seasn.
Freshman forward
Brittany Howard earned her second-straight CHA Rookie of the Week award after collecting four points (1 goal, 3 assists) against Penn State.
For Dodds, this is the goaltender's third CHA weekly award as she was named co-Goaltender of the Week on Oct. 14 and Rookie of the Week on Oct. 21. Howard has earned three CHA Rookie of the Week awards, including one on Oct. 14 following a sweep of Bemidji State.
Storming Out of the Gates - A start of 8-2-0 means this is the third straight season in which the Colonials compiled a winning record in their first 10 games. Â
RMU's best start through 10 games came in the 2011-12 CHA Championship year, as the Colonials began that campaign 8-1-1. RMU started with victories in their first three games before dropping the final game of a series to Minnesota State. The Colonials bounced back with a sweep at RPI, took a two-game set with St. Cloud State with a win and a tie, and broke out the brooms against future CHA member Lindenwood.
RMU ended up winning two more games following the series with the Lions, compiling a record of 10-1-1 before falling at Quinnipiac in the Nutmeg Classic, 3-2.
The Colonials started last season with a mark of 6-2-2 and kicked off conference play by winning three of their first four games.
Record Watch - Senior assistant captain
Thea Imbrogno ranks in the career top five in Robert Morris program history for points, goals and assists. 10 games into 2013-14 season, Imbrogno ranks tied for second in career points and second in career assists. Imbrogno also ranks third 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. Imrbrogno 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. 10 games into the 2013-14 season, Vint ranks fourth in career points, tied for fourth in goals, and fifth 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.
Looking Back - The Colonials have played on Nov. 8 once in program history, and have also competed on Nov. 9 once.
On Nov. 8, 2008, RMU dropped a 5-2 decision to Providence, despite taking 1-0 and 2-1 leads. Kristen Miles scored to begin the game, but the Friars answered to tie it. The Colonials pulled back in front with a goal from Sara O'Malley, but Providence scored four unanswered to set the final.
Brianne McLaughlin took the loss despite stopping 35 of 39 shots.
RMU has had better luck on Nov. 9, as they took a 2007 contest against Maine on that date by the score of 3-2. Alissa Dorman scored on the power play to push the Colonials out in front, but the Black Bears answered in the second period with two goals to take a lead. O'Malley tied it up 29 seconds after the last Maine goal, then Mallory Giambra scored on the man advantage in the third period to win it for RMU.
McLaughlin made 31 saves in the win.
