Robert Morris Colonials (3-8-1, 0-2-0 CHA) @ Lindenwood Lions (2-5-1, 1-0-1 CHA)
Friday, November 7, 2014 / Lindenwood Ice Arena – Wentzville, Mo. / 8:00 p.m. [EST]
Saturday, November 8, 2014 / Lindenwood Ice Arena – Wentzville, Mo. / 4:00 p.m. [EST]

Top Story – Robert Morris stumbled to begin College Hockey America play this past weekend, falling victim to a sweep at the hands of No. 7/8 Mercyhurst. This marked the first time since 2010-11 that the Colonials were swept by their in-state rivals. They'll look to rebound this weekend with a series at Lindenwood, which completes their longest road-trip of the season of two weekends / four games. The Lions, under the direction of former RMU assistant coach Scott Spencer (2006-10), went 1-0-1 against defending CHA champion RIT last weekend in Rochester.


 
Series History – The Colonials have gotten the better of Lindenwood since the Lions moved up to NCAA Division I in 2011-12, going 10-4-0 against the lone D-I hockey program from Missouri. RMU went 3-1-0 versus Lindenwood last season, sweeping the Lions at home and splitting on the road. The Colonials' most memorable series against Lindenwood came in the 2013 CHA Tournament, when RMU defeated the Lions in two games. The notable game of that tilt came on March 1, 2013, when the Colonials knocked off Lindenwood, 2-1, in three overtimes. Cobina Delaney's game-winning goal came 48 minutes and four seconds after regulation, spoiling opposing goaltender Nicole Hensley's NCAA record 90-save effort.
 
Scouting Lindenwood – The Lions enter this matchup with an overall record of 2-5-1 and 1-0-1 in the CHA. Along with the aforementioned series victory over RIT this past weekend, Lindenwood also earned a win over St. Cloud State on Oct. 11. Junior forward Shara Jasper, the reigning CHA co-Player of the Week, leads the team in goals and points with five and seven, respectively. Her classmate Nicole Hensley has started every game between the pipes for the Lions, posting a goals against average of 3.31 and a .917 save percentage. She has stopped 286 shots so far this season, which is the third highest mark in the nation, but first on a per-game scale at 35.8.
 
Last Time Out – Robert Morris lost its first CHA opening series under Paul Colontino this past weekend, dropping a pair to in-state rival No. 7/8 Mercyhurst in Erie.
 
The Lakers haunted the Colonials on Halloween evening, knocking them off 3-0 in the series opener.
 
Jessica Dodds made 32 saves in the loss.
 
Mercyhurst completed the sweep the following day with a 4-1 victory over RMU.
 
The Colonials couldn't muster up a goal in the first period, despite outshooting the hosts, 15-4. A tally would come early in the middle frame, however, as Mikaela Lowater scored the first goal of her career off passes from Rebecca Vint and Maddie Collias.
 
The Lakers responded with two tallies in the second period and two in the third stanza to secure the victory. The last of the goals came with the net empty.
 
Courtney Vinet stopped 31 of 34 shots in the defeat.
 
Know Your Enemy – Rebecca Vint and Katie Fergus have been thorns in the Lions' paws over their careers, each averaging over a point per contest against Lindenwood.
 
Vint has compiled 12 goals and eight assists in 14 games. She has scored multiple goals against the Lions three times, with a hat trick on Jan. 31, 2014 being the most notable of those.
 
Fergus has tallied six goals and 11 assists in 14 meetings with Lindenwood. In her first career series against the Lions, the forward collected six points (3g,3a) en route to earning CHA Rookie of the Week honors.
 
Both Courtney Vinet and Jessica Dodds have seen significant time against Lindenwood while donning the Colonial colors.
 
Vinet has compiled a 3-0-0 record versus the Lions in four starts, posting a goals against average of 1.50 and a .939 save percentage. On Nov. 13, 2011, she posted the first shutout of her career with 31 saves.
 
Dodds is 2-1-0 against Lindenwood in three appearances, compiling a 1.90 goals against average and a .911 save percentage.
 
Remember the First – Mikaela Lowater became the fourth different Colonial to score their first career goal this season, lighting the lamp in RMU's 4-1 loss to No. 7/8 Mercyhurst this past Saturday.
 
Lowater joined fellow defenseman Erin Staniewski (Sept. 26 vs. Bemidji State), and freshmen Jessica Gazzola (Oct. 3 at Maine) and Katherine Murphy (Oct. 10 vs. Colgate) as those who have potted their first goal in 2014-15.
 
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 blocked shots, both in total and per-game values. The Colonials have stopped 201 shots from reaching their goaltenders, 28 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. Staniewski is sixth with 23, while Gunn is tied for seventh with 22.

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 12 games.
 
Meilleur sits in a tie for third in goals among her counterparts in the CHA. Nationally, she is in a five-way tie for 16th.
 
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 1,203.

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