CHA Weekly Preview
RIT Game Notes
Live Stats
Live Video

No. 9 Robert Morris Colonials (21-6-3, 10-4-2 CHA) @ RIT Tigers (13-14-3, 8-6-2)
Friday, February 14, 2014 / Ritter Arena – Rochester, N.Y.  / 2:00 PM
Saturday, February 15, 2014 / Ritter Arena – Rochester, N.Y. / 2:05 PM

Top Story – No. 9 Robert Morris hits the road for the final time in the 2013-14 regular season with a trip to Rochester, N.Y. to face RIT. The Colonials are in the midst of their first winless streak of the season, as they went 0-1-1 against Syracuse this past weekend to extend it to three games. Despite the tough weekend with the Orange, a bit of history was made as Thea Imbrogno and Brittany Howard broke respective career and single-season assist records.



Series vs. RIT – With Robert Morris' sweep of RIT in December, the Colonials evened up the all-time series with the Tigers to 4-4-1. RMU used the strength of two power play goals en route to a 2-1 victory in the series opener with RIT, then completed the sweep thanks to two unassisted tallies by Maeve Garvey in a 4-2 win. Last season, the Colonials went 0-3-1 against the Tigers, with two of those defeats coming by one goal each.

Scouting RIT – At 13-14-3 overall and 8-6-2 in conference, RIT currently sits in third place of the CHA and is four points behind Robert Morris for second. Behind the Tigers is Syracuse, who trail RIT by just one point. Junior forward Marissa Maugeri paces the team in points (9-15-24), while classmate Kolbee McCrea is the Tigers' leading goalscorer (15). Junior goaltender Ali Binnington has been one of the conference's best between the pipes, sporting a record of 9-8-2 with a goals-against-average of 2.10 and .930 save percentage. However, Binnington hasn't dressed in the last three games, leaving freshman Brooke Stoddart and sophomore Jetta Rackleff to shoulder the load. The two have combined for a record of 4-6-1 in 14 appearances, 10 of which being starts.

Last Time Out – Robert Morris returned home after a six-game road trip that saw the Colonials go 3-2-1. However, the friendly confines of 84 Lumber Arena were anything but, as RMU could only gain points in the CHA standings against Syracuse via a tie.

The Colonials managed that 3-3 tie in the series opener, despite holding leads of 2-0 and 3-2.

Sporting pink tape and laces for "Skate for the Cure" weekend, RMU got off to a fast start with two goals within a minute of each other. On the Colonials' second power play of the evening, Katie Fergus found the loose puck in the crease and batted it in for her fifth goal of the season. A minute later it was Brittany Howard lighting the lamp off passes from Thea Imbrogno and Kylie St. Louis to make it 2-0.

However, the Orange struck back to tie it up with two goals from Melissa Piacentini.

Less than six minutes after Piacentini's second goal, it was Howard's turn to become the game's second multi-goal scorer. Imbrogno was credited with the secondary assist on the tally, giving her the 69th helper of her career - which broke Brianna Delaney's (2008-12) record for career assists.

RMU seemed like it would hold onto that lead, but with 9:32 remaining in regulation, Brittney Krebs fired a shot from the right circle that trickled past Jessica Dodds.

Dodds set a new career-high in saves, making 43 stops in the tie.

The Colonials outshot Syracuse in the second game, 38-19, but couldn't figure out Jenesica Drinkwater in a 3-1 loss.

Just 26 seconds in, the Orange's Jessica Sibley put in a rebound to make it 1-0. Julie Knerr then notched two goals in the second frame to extend Syracuse's lead to 3-0.

RMU pulled within two early in the third period. On the power play, Imbrogno gathered a pass from Rebecca Vint and set the horn off for her 12th goal of the season. Howard registered a secondary assist on the goal, giving her a single-season record 23rd on the campaign.

Dodds stopped 16 of 19 shots in the loss.

Among the Elite – For the 10th straight week, Robert Morris found itself in both the USCHO.com and USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine polls.

The Colonials slotted in at No. 9 in both the USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com polls. RMU received 31 points from USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine and 24 from USCHO this week, down from 48 and 35 from last week's respective releases.

Prior to their first appearance in the national Top 10, the Colonials spent four consecutive weeks in both polls' 'receiving votes' category.

Bracketology – The Pairwise Rankings attempt to mimic the method used by the NCAA Selection Committee to determine participants for the eight-team NCAA Division I women's hockey tournament. The criteria that PWR uses include record against common opponents, record against teams under consideration, head to head competition, and the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI).

According to the latest version of the rankings, the Colonials are currently in a three-way tie for seventh. RMU has a lower RPI than North Dakota, but holds an advantage over Mercyhurst in that department.

Know Your Enemy – Unlike most CHA opponents, Robert Morris has only faced RIT six times over this season and last, and eight times overall. Despite the smaller sample size, there have been a few Colonials who have done a good job at taming the Tigers during their careers.

Kristen Richards is RMU's active leading scorer against RIT with two goals and three assists. The senior captain notched a multi-point game in the Colonials' 2-2 tie with the Tigers on Jan. 26, 2013, then nabbed her second in a 4-2 victory on Dec. 7, 2013.

Both Brittany Howard and Maeve Garvey enjoyed their first meetings with RIT earlier this season. Howard tallied three points (2g, 1a) in the two victories, while Garvey's two unassisted goals were the difference in the 4-2 win on Dec. 7.

Jessica Dodds stopped 45 of 48 shots in her two starts between the pipes.

Ridiculous Rookies – From the moment they made their debuts, Brittany Howard and Jessica Dodds have cemented themselves as two of the nation's best freshmen.

Howard leads all rookies in assists (23), points (38), game-winning goals (5), power play assists (10), and power play points (14). She also is tied with Minnesota's Dani Cameranesi for the rookie lead in goals (15). When taking into account all classes, she is tied for second in game-winning goals, and 10th in assists and points.

Dodds leads all freshmen in wins (18) and shutouts (4), and is second in winning percentage (.812), goals-against-average (1.68), and save percentage (.932). Nationally, she is tied for third in wins, tied for eighth in shutouts, and 10th in goals-against-average and save percentage.

Streakin' – Thea Imbrogno carries a seven-game point streak into this weekend's series at RIT, tallying a total of 13 points (4g, 9a) during that stretch. Before her one-goal performance in RMU's 3-1 loss to Syracuse this past Saturday, Imbrogno had tallied more than one point in four straight games.

As a team, the Colonials have registered a power play goal in each of their last five games, tallying nine overall.

Rebecca Vint's 12-game point streak came to an end in RMU's 3-3 tie with the Orange this past Friday, but she tallied an assist the following day to give herself a point in 13 of the last 14 games (13g, 11a).

Two's More Fun Than One – Brittany Howard's two-goal effort in a 3-3 tie against Syracuse this past Friday was just one of 10 Colonial multi-goal performances this season.

Vint leads the team with three multi-goal performances, tallying them all in a five-game stretch. The junior forward notched back-to-back hat tricks in a 5-3 loss at Mercyhurst on Jan. 25 and in a 6-1 victory at Lindenwood on Jan. 31, and also tallied two goals in a 5-1 win at Quinnipiac on Jan. 18.

Maeve Garvey is the only RMU player other than Vint and Howard to register two multi-goal games. Garvey tallied two goals in a 4-3 win over Vermont on Oct. 25, 2013 and in a 4-2 victory against RIT on Dec. 7, 2013.

The most notable multi-goal performance this season is Brittany Howard versus Maine. The rookie forward registered all four Colonial goals in a 4-2 win over the Black Bears.

Anissa Gamble (Oct. 26, 2013 vs. Vermont), Thea Imbrogno (Feb. 1, 2014 at Lindenwood) and Kristen Richards (Nov. 1, 2013 at Penn State) also have recorded multi-goal performances for RMU - Gamble's being the first two goals of her career.

A Special Month – For the third time this season, the Colonials were recipients of multiple CHA monthly awards.

Rebecca Vint won her second CHA Player of the Month this season and the fourth of her career after tallying 15 points (11 goals, 4 assists) in seven games.

Vint broke the program record for career goals with a hat trick at Mercyhurst, then became the first player in school history to record back-to-back hat tricks with a second at Lindenwood. The junior forward also became the first player to eclipse the 100-point barrier after compiling two goals and two assists in a 5-1 win at Quinnipiac on Jan. 18.

Jessica Dodds won her third-straight CHA Goaltender of the Month and the fourth CHA monthly honor of the season.

Dodds went 5-1-1 in January with a save percentage of .947 and a 1.56 goals-against-average. The rookie blanked St. Lawrence on Jan. 5 for her fourth career shutout and set a career-high in saves with 36 in a 1-1 tie at Quinnipiac on Jan. 17.

Selected for Sochi – Former Colonial goaltender Brianne McLaughlin was selected for the U.S. women's national team that is competing in the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

This is McLaughlin's second Olympic appearance, as she was part of the 2010 U.S. team that won silver in Vancouver. The netminder has won gold medals in the 2011 and 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Women's Championships, and took home silver in the 2012 competition.

McLaughlin was a four-time All-CHA selection for Robert Morris from 2005-09 and still holds numerous program records, including the top spot in shutouts (8), saves per game (31.74), and saves (3,809) - the latter of which also being an NCAA record.

Delayne On Fire – Former Robert Morris goaltender Delayne Brian was taken in the second round of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CHWL) Draft by the Calgary Inferno in August.

After playing in just four of the Inferno's first 11 games, Brian has started five of the last six games for Calgary.

In those games, Brian has compiled a record of 4-1-0. She has allowed just seven goals and has stopped 94.9% of the shots she's faced.

Brian has compiled a record of 4-4-1 on the season and leads the team in goals-against-average (2.62) and save percentage (.903). The Inferno are currently 7-10-1, good enough for fourth in the CWHL.

Record Watch – Not only has Robert Morris broken a single-season record for wins this season, but a different individual program record has seemed to fall every weekend - this past weekend against Syracuse not being an exception.

Senior assistant captain Thea Imbrogno became the program leader for career assists with two in the Colonials' 3-3 tie with the Orange this past Friday. Imbrogno now sits two points away from breaking the last of Brianna Delaney's (2008-12) program records, as Delaney still holds the top spot for career points with 121.

Freshman forward Brittany Howard also broke the first of what could be many records in her RMU career. With an assist on Imbrogno's goal in the Colonials' 3-1 loss this past Saturday, Howard notched her 23rd helper of the season, surpassing the previous mark of 22 set by Rebecca Vint in 2011-12.

Vint is creeping up on one of her own records. With three more goals, she will break the single-season record of 22 in that department.

Imbrogno became the fourth player in program history to hit the 50-goal plateau with two in a 4-2 loss at Lindenwood on Feb. 1. The senior forward moved into a tie for third in single-season assists (20) this past weekend against Syracuse.

Howard moved into second place in single-season points this past weekend and now trails Vint's record of 44 by six. Vint needs two points to hold the first, third, and fifth spots in that department.

Career Points
121 – Brianna Delaney (53g, 68a)
120 – Thea Imbrogno (51g, 69a)
112 – Rebecca Vint (58g, 54a)
97 – Sara O'Malley (52g, 45a)
75 – Kelsey Thomas (32g, 43a)
75 – Kristen Miles (43g, 32a)

Career Goals
58 – Rebecca Vint
53 – Brianna Delaney
52 – Sara O'Malley
51 – Thea Imbrogno
43 – Kristen Miles

Career Assists
69 – Thea Imbrogno
68 – Brianna Delaney
54 – Rebecca Vint
45 – Sara O'Malley
43 – Kelsey Thomas

Single-Season Points
44 – Rebecca Vint – 11-12
38 – Brittany Howard – 13-14
36 – Thea Imbrogno – 11-12
35 – Rebecca Vint – 13-14
33 – Rebecca Vint – 12-13

Single-Season Goals
22 – Rebecca Vint – 11-12
20 – Rebecca Vint – 13-14
18 – Brianna Delaney – 08-09
18 – Sara O'Malley – 09-10
16 – Rebecca Vint – 12-13
16 – Thea Imbrogno – 11-12

Single-Season Assists
23 – Brittany Howard – 13-14
22 – Rebecca Vint – 11-12
20 – Thea Imbrogno – 13-14
20 – Thea Imbrogno – 11-12
19 – Brianna Delaney – 10-11

Looking Back – Robert Morris has played three times on Valentine's Day weekend, holding a record of 1-2 on the 14th and 15th of the month.

The Colonials earned their first win over a ranked opponent on Feb. 15, 2008, when they defeated No. 10 Wayne State, 2-1, in Detroit.

After a scoreless first period, the Warriors struck first with a goal 34 seconds into the second frame. However, RMU would answer four and a half minutes later when Jessica Riley lit the lamp off passes from Ali Proodian and Mallory Giambra.

The game-winner was scored at the 8:34 mark of the period, when Megan Picinic set the horn off on the power play. Giambra and Jacki Gibson were credited with the assists.

Brianne McLaughlin made 26 saves, including 12 in the final 20 minutes to earn the win.

Valentine's Day 2009 wasn't so sweet for the Colonials, as they fell 8-1 to the hands of their in-state rival Mercyhurst.

RMU took an early lead thanks to a goal from Sara O'Malley, but the Lakers answered with two power play tallies to make it 2-1 after one. Mercyhurst would add two more in the second frame and finish the game with four in the final stanza to set the final.

McLaughlin stopped 28 of 35 shots and Daneca Butterfield gave up a goal in relief.

Last season, the Colonials lost an overtime heartbreaker at Lindenwood, 3-2.

RMU jumped out front with goals from Maddie Collias and Katie Fergus, but the Lions cut the lead to one with 12 seconds left in the second period. With 41 seconds left in regulation, Lindenwood would tie it up with a short-hander.

55 seconds into the extra frame, the Lions earned a penalty shot and made the most of it, burying the puck into the net for the game-winner.

Kristen DiCiocco made 26 saves in the loss.