Robert Morris Colonials (3-6-1, 0-0-0 CHA) @ No. 7/8 Mercyhurst Lakers (6-1-1, 0-0-0 CHA)
Friday, October 31, 2014 / Mercyhurst Ice Center – Erie, Pa. / 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, November 1, 2014 / Mercyhurst Ice Center – Erie, Pa. / 2:00 p.m.

Top Story – Robert Morris opens up College Hockey America play upstate this weekend with a series against Mercyhurst. The Colonials are coming off a strong weekend at home with Northeastern, earning a victory and a tie for their first series victory of the season. The Lakers have won three straight games, including a sweep of Minnesota State Mankato, 5-1 and 2-1, last weekend. This series between the co-favorites in the CHA Preseason Coaches' Poll marks the first time RMU has opened up the conference slate of its schedule with its in-state rivals since 2010-11.


 
Series History – The Colonials are 7-34-1 in their history against the Lakers, but have held the upper hand lately with a 7-6-1 record over the last three seasons. The two teams split last season, each winning a game at home and on the road.  RMU picked up its first win against Mercyhurst on Jan. 21, 2012 by a 3-2 score, as Thea Imbrogno tallied the game-winning goal with 53 seconds remaining. On March 3, 2012, the Colonials picked up their biggest win in program history, defeating the Lakers in the CHA Championship Game, 3-2.  RMU received 45 saves from Kristen DiCiocco in that contest, while Imbrogno tallied two points in the first period.
 
Scouting Mercyhurst – The Lakers enter this series ranked seventh in both national polls, compiling a 6-1-1 record through their first eight games. Mercyhurst has played two of the same opponents as Robert Morris this season, earning a win and tie at Maine, then splitting a series with Northeastern. Junior forward Emily Janiga leads the Lakers in goals (5) and points (9), while freshman Sarah Robello and junior Jenna Dingeldein have tallied eight points each. Senior netminder Amanda Makela has started every game between the pipes, posting a goals against average of 1.12 and a .941 save percentage. She has posted shutouts this season against Providence twice and Maine.
 
Last Time Out – On the weekend before Halloween, Robert Morris treated itself to its first series victory of the season with a win and tie against Northeastern.
 
The Colonials took the opening game of the series, 3-2.
 
Ashley Vesci scored twice for the victors, while Maeve Garvey added a goal and an assist. The junior assistant captain tallied her goals on a second period power-play and an even-strength opportunity in the third stanza.
 
Jessica Dodds allowed two goals in the closing frame, but earned her first win of the season behind a 39-save performance.
 
RMU tied the Huskies in the second game, 2-2.
 
Rikki Meilleur potted both goals for the Colonials, scoring one in the first period and one in the second. Both tallies were assisted by Katherine Murphy and Katie Fergus.
 
Despite Northeastern tying it with two goals in the third period, Courtney Vinet was phenomeonal with a career-high 43 saves in the draw.
 
Know Your Enemy – Rebecca Vint has been a thorn in Mercyhurst's side in her career, tallying seven goals and nine assists. Vint has put up those numbers in just 12 games, averaging 1.33 points per contest against the Lakers. Two of those games featured multi-goal performance from the senior captain, including a hat trick on Jan. 25, 2014.
 
Katie Fergus has collected three goals and two helpers in 14 games against Mercyhurst. Her best performance came in a 4-2 victory over the Lakers on Feb. 8, 2013, as she tallied a goal and an assist.
 
Both Jessica Dodds and Courtney Vinet have seen extended time against Mercyhurst in their careers. Dodds is 2-1-0 versus the Lakers and has stopped 78 of the 86 shots she's faced. Vinet in 0-1-1 in three appearances against Mercyhurst, stopping 59 of 63 shots.
 
Two is Better Than One – After going its first eight games without a multi-goal performance, Robert Morris received two last weekend.
 
Ashley Vesci registered the first multi-goal game of her career in the Colonials' 3-2 win over Northeastern this past Friday. The following day, Rikki Meilleur accomplished the same feat with two goals in RMU's 2-2 tie with the Huskies.
 
Last season the Colonials received 11 multi-goal performances from seven different players: Rebecca Vint (3), Maeve Garvey (2), Brittany Howard (2), Anissa Gamble, Thea Imbrogno, Mackenzie Johnston, and Kristen Richards.
 
Start Me Up – Since Paul Colontino took over as head coach prior to the 2011-12 season, the Colonials have opened up conference play with a bang, going 5-0-1 in their last three CHA opening series.
 
This will mark the third consecutive season in which RMU has started conference play on the road. The Colonials are undefeated in those contests, having defeated Penn State 4-0, 6-0 last season and 7-1, 4-1 in 2012-13.
 
In Colontino's first season, RMU took a series from Syracuse with a 2-1 victory and a 1-1 tie.
 
Prior to 2011-12, the Colonials had gone 2-7-1 in their opening CHA series.
 
Block Party – Robert Morris currently leads the nation in blocked shots, both in total and per-game values. The Colonials have stopped 175 shots from reaching their goaltenders, 31 more than second place, and average 17.5 blocked shots per contest.
 
Erin Staniewski, Kelsey Gunn, and Rikki Meilleur all rank within the top 10 in this department, individually. Staniewski is third with 22, Gunn is tied for fifth with 18, and Mellieur is tied for seventh with 17.

This is familiar territory for RMU, as it has ranked in the top four nationally in blocked shots in 2012-13 and 2013-14. The Colonials slotted third two seasons ago with 489 blocked shots, and were fourth last season with 575.
 
The Meilleur's New Role – After compiling a single goal and assist as a freshman, Rikki Meilleur has flourished in her sophomore campaign thus far, leading the team with five goals through 10 games.
 
Meilleur, who has scored in four consecutive weekends, sits in a tie for second in goals among her counterparts in the CHA. Nationally, she is in a five-way tie for 12th.
 
If the sophomore forward continues her offensive turnaround, she could become the sixth player in program history to increase her point total at least 10 points between her first and second seasons.
 
The five to accomplish that feat are listed below:

• Alissa Dorman: 5 (2g, 3a) in 05-06, 23 (13g, 10a) in 06-07 / +18
• Megan Picinic: 4 (2g, 2a) in 05-06, 21 (11g, 10a) in 06-07 / +17
• Kristen Miles: 11 (8g, 3a) in 05-06, 24 (15g, 9a) in 06-07 / +13
• Ashley Vesci: 1 (0g, 1a) in 12-13, 14 (6g, 8a) in 13-14 / +13
• Maddie Collias: 5 (4g, 1a) in 11-12, 15 (6g, 9a) in 12-13 / +10

 
Networking with the Colonials – Fans can follow the Colonials on Twitter @RMUWHockey to get updates on the team throughout the season. The account has the 16th most followers among NCAA Division I women's hockey teams at 1,191.

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