Box Score

Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's hockey team returned to the ice for the first time in the 2014 calendar year, hoping to continue a nine-game unbeaten streak. Behind multi-point performances from three upperclassmen, the Colonials did just that, defeating the St. Lawrence Saints in non-conference play, 4-2, this evening.

With the victory, No. 10 Robert Morris (17-3-1) remained undefeated on Saturdays this season and moved its aforementioned unbeaten streak to double-digits.

After going nearly a month without a game, it didn't take long for the Colonials to get back into the swing of things. Just one minute after the opening face-off, freshman forward Brittany Howard (St. Thomas, Ontario / Burlington Jr. Barracudas) gathered a rebound off a shot from senior assistant captain Brandi Pollock (Virden, Manitoba / Westman Wildcats) and passed it to junior forward Rebecca Vint (Caldeon, Ontario / Brampton Junior Thunder). Vint then fired a shot from in front of the crease and it made its way past St. Lawrence (6-10-1) goaltender Carmen MacDonald for the junior's 10^th goal of the season.

The Saints answered with less than three minutes remaining in the period. St. Lawrence would earn its third power play of the period after Vint was caught for body-checking, and Mel Desrochers made the most of it, corralling a pass from the point before rifling a slap-shot over freshman goaltender Jessica Dodds' (London, Ontario / London Jr. Devilettes) right shoulder.

The score would remain knotted up at one until the 16:14 mark of the second period. Senior defenseman Anneline Lauziere (St. Thomas, Ontario / London Jr. Devilettes) forced a turnover in the RMU offensive zone and found fellow classmate Kristen Richards (Toronto, Ontario / Niagara University) in front of the right face-off circle. Richards deked two Saints defenders before lofting a backhander from the left side of the crease to put the Colonials back in front. The goal was Richards' sixth of the campaign.

RMU would extend its lead to 3-1 with just 12.9 seconds remaining in the frame. With Kayla Raniwsky in the penalty box for checking, Lauziere lit the lamp from the left circle after gathering a pass from Richards. The goal was Lauziere's second of the season, while a secondary assist was credited to Vint.

St. Lawrence looked to pull within one at the 13:52 mark after Pollock joined freshman forward Maeve Garvey (Oakville, Ontario / Burlington Jr. Barracudas) in the penalty box. The Saints pulled their goaltender to make their five-on-three power play essentially a six-on-three, but after the Colonials won the face-off, senior defenseman Kylie St. Louis (Windsor, Ontario / Southwest Wildcats) fired a shot from the circle that found the empty net.

Playing with an empty net again, St. Lawrence cut the RMU lead to two goals when Alex Moore redirected a shot from Rylee Smith with 4:17 remaining in regulation. However, that was all St. Lawrence could muster with an extra skater, as the Colonial defense stiffened and kept the Saints from getting back into it.

Dodds moved to 14-0-1 in her rookie season after making a career-high 28 saves.

With her multi-point effort, Vint moved into a tie with Sara O'Malley for third place overall in career points with 97.

Robert Morris returns to the ice tomorrow afternoon as they close out their next-to-last non-conference series of the season. Tomorrow's contest with the Saints is scheduled for a 3:05 p.m. puck drop.