Moon Township, Pa. - Freshman forward Rebecca Vint (Caledon, Ontario / Brampton Junior Thunder) of the Robert Morris University women's hockey team became the second Colonial in as many weeks to earn College Hockey America (CHA) Rookie of the Week honors as recently announced in a league release.
Vint becomes the sixth active Colonial to have claimed a conference rookie honor as she continued her torrid offensive start to her collegiate career.
Robert Morris has now won five of the past six regular-season CHA Rookie of the Week awards as sophomore Thea Imbrogno (Etobicoke, Ontario / Mississauga Jr. Chiefs) won three of the last four to close the 2010-11 campaign before Katie Fergus (Oakville, Ontario / Burlington Jr. Barracudas) earned the honor after her first week of official collegiate competition. In an added twist, Fergus, Imbrogno and Vint have been line-mates in the opening stages of the season for RMU.
Vint has been on fire for the Colonials in the early season, which has aided the team in getting off to a strong start. Vint played a huge role in helping Robert Morris rally from a multi-goal, third-period deficit to capture an overtime victory over Minnesota State this past Friday, helping the Colonials move to 3-0-0 for the first time in program history. She played a part in each of the Colonials' first two scores Friday, but the Mavericks still led by one with the clock ticking down. With RMU trailing 3-2, Vint scored with just 2:11 remaining in regulation to force an overtime period in which the Colonials prevailed. Her game-tying score capped yet another strong performance as she notched her third-consecutive multi-point game to open her career, the first time any Colonial has ever registered multiple points in each of the first three games of a season. She tallied both her second multi-goal game and second three-point effort in a span of just eight days.
Vint continued her scorching start Saturday when she registered a third-period shorthanded goal. Vint's first-career shorthanded score gave her at least one goal in each of the four games thus far, allowing her to become the first RMU freshman since the 2007-08 season to notch goals in four consecutive contests. Vint already has six goals and nine points on the young season, both program records for any Colonial after the first four games of a season.
Although the season is still in its opening weeks, Vint is among the national leaders in multiple categories. She ranks second nationally in goals per game (1.5) and fourth nationally in points per game (2.25), a mark which is the best among all freshmen in the country. She has posted a .231 shooting percentage and a +6 plus/minus in her four games as a Colonial.
After opening the season at home, RMU will now hit the road for an extended, record-setting stretch. The Colonials will play a program-record nine consecutive games away from home, beginning this weekend with a two-game set at RPI. Robert Morris will meet the Engineers Friday, Oct. 21, at 7:00 p.m. before a rematch Saturday afternoon.
