Robert Morris Colonials (4-9-1, 1-3-0 CHA) @ Syracuse Orange (3-6-5, 2-1-1 CHA)
Friday, November 21, 2014 / 84 Lumber Arena – Pittsburgh, Pa. / 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, November 22, 2014 / 84 Lumber Arena – Pittsburgh, Pa. / 3:05 p.m.

Top Story – Robert Morris will host Alumni Weekend against Syracuse on Friday and Saturday as the program celebrates its 10th season of existence. The Colonials were off this past weekend after splitting a series at Lindenwood on Nov. 7-8. Both games needed overtime to settle them, marking the first time that has happened since Feb. 18-19, 2011 against the Orange. RMU took the first game from the Lions, 3-2, as Natalie Fraser tallied the walk-off with the first goal of her career. The following afternoon, Lindenwood gave RMU a taste of its own medicine with a 4-3 win. The Colonials held 2-1 and 3-2 leads in that contest, but were unable to seal the deal.


 
Series History – The term "even" might be an understatement when it comes to the all-time series between Robert Morris and Syracuse. The Colonials and Orange have met 24 times in their histories, with each team earning nine victories. The two programs have also tied six times. RMU and Syracuse kept with the common theme last season as they split their series at 1-1-2. The Colonials earned a 2-1 win on Nov. 23, 2013 in the Empire State after Rebecca Vint scored with 1:13 remaining, while the Orange tallied the first three goals en route to a 3-1 victory on Feb. 8, 2014 in the Steel City.
 
Scouting Syracuse – Syracuse currently holds an overall record of 3-6-5 and sits second in College Hockey America with a 2-1-1 mark. The Orange rattled off four straight ties in the early parts of the 2014-15 campaign, compiling the draws against Northeastern, New Hampshire, Providence, and Connecticut. Freshman forward Stephanie Grossi leads Syracuse in points with 13 (3g, 10a), while junior Melissa Piacentini is the team's leading goal scorer with seven. Junior netminder Jenn Gilligan has seen the majority of time between the pipes for the Orange, posting a record of 3-5-4 with a 3.22 goals against average and a save percentage of .879.
 
Last Time Out – Robert Morris completed its longest road-trip of the season on Nov. 7-8 as the Colonials split with Lindenwood to earn their first victory in CHA play.
 
That win came in the opening game of the series as RMU came back from a 2-0 deficit to tame the Lions in overtime, 3-2.
 
After Lindenwood's two goals, Rebecca Vint cut into the lead in the second period on the power-play for the 64th goal of her career. Mackenzie Johnston then tied it up early in the third frame with her second goal of the season.
 
With 2:35 remaining in overtime, Natalie Fraser redirected a shot from Katelyn Scott to give the Colonials the win.
 
Jessica Dodds made 23 saves in the win.
 
The Lions gave RMU a taste of its own medicine the following day with their own 4-3 overtime victory.
 
Lindenwood scored 30 seconds in to grab another lead, but the Colonials responded with goals from Kelsey Gunn and Fraser. 12 seconds after the Lions tied it up in the third period, Ashley Vesci found the back of the net to give RMU another lead.
 
However, Lindenwood would pot a power-play tally with 6:41 remaining and score with 2:07 left in overtime to stun the Colonials.
 
Dodds stopped 20 of 24 shots in the defeat.
 
Know Your Enemy – In 12 games against Syracuse, Rebecca Vint has compiled 13 points for an average of 1.08 per contest. Last season, Vint scored one of her five goals against the Orange with 1:13 remaining to push the Colonials to a 2-1 victory.
 
Katie Fergus and Maddie Collias have also tallied multiple points against Syracuse in their careers with seven and four, respectively. Fergus has two goals and five assists to her name, while Collias has lit the lamp three times and helped on another.
 
Jessica Dodds made four starts versus Syracuse last season, going 1-1-2 with a 1.93 goals against average and a save percentage of .927. Dodds stopped 101 of 109 shots, with a career-high 43 of those saves coming in a 3-3 tie on Feb. 7, 2014.
 
Another Day, Another Record? – The program's record holder for four career marks, six single-season standards, and two single-game milestones is on the cusp of claiming sole possession of another record.
 
After a two-point weekend at Lindenwood on Nov. 7-8, Rebecca Vint needs just one more to overtake former linemate Thea Imbrogno as the program's top point scorer. She tied Imbrogno in the second game against the Lions with an assist, giving her 122 points for her career.
 
Vint broke the program record for career goals on Jan. 25, 2014 at Mercyhurst and her own single-season goal mark on Feb. 22, 2014 against Penn State.
 
Remember the First – Natalie Fraser made her first career goal memorable, scoring off a redirection in overtime to give Robert Morris a 3-2 victory over Lindenwood on Nov. 7.
 
Fraser becomes the fifth different Colonial to score their first career goal this season, joining fellow defensemen Erin Staniewski (Sept. 26 vs. Bemidji State) and Mikaela Lowater (Nov. 1 @ Mercyhurst) as well as classmates Jessica Gazzola (Oct. 3 at Maine) and Katherine Murphy (Oct. 10 vs. Colgate).
 
Six players scored their first career goals last season: Anissa Gamble (Oct. 26 vs. Vermont), Maeve Garvey (Oct. 11 at Bemidji State), Brittany Howard (Oct. 5 vs. RPI), Mackenzie Johnston (Nov. 15 vs. Lindenwood), Rikki Meilleur (Jan. 18 at Quinnipiac), and Ashley Vesci (Oct. 19 vs. Boston University). A seventh, Kelsey Gunn, tallied her first in a Colonial uniform on Nov. 9 against Mercyhurst.
 
Block Party – Robert Morris currently leads the nation in total blocked shots and is second in blocked shots per game. The Colonials have stopped 236 shots from reaching their goaltenders, seven more than second place, and average 16.8 blocked shots per contest.
 
Erin Staniewski and Kelsey Gunn both rank within the top 10 in this department, individually. Gunn sits in a three-way tie for seventh at 27, while Staniewski's 26 blocked shots tie her for 10th.
 
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 R Stands for Resilient – Robert Morris battled back from a two-goal deficit to earn a 3-2 victory at Lindenwood on Nov. 7.
 
Not only is this the Colonials' first comeback after this season, but it's the first time RMU has won a game after facing a two-goal climb since Oct. 14, 2011.
 
In that contest against Minnesota State Mankato, the Colonials fell behind 2-0 and 3-1 before tallying two goals in the third period to knot it up. RMU completed the comeback with 1:33 remaining in overtime as Cobina Delaney potted the game-winner.
 
Welcome Home – After embarking on a four-game road swing, Robert Morris is returning home for the remainder of the fall semester.
 
The Colonials will play their next five regular-season games and an exhibition at the friendly confines of 84 Lumber Arena before hitting the road to take on RIT on Jan. 9-10, 2015. RMU will settle in the Steel City once again after that series as its next six contests will be on home ice.
 
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 1,220.

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