Women's Hockey | 1/14/2015 1:24:00 PM

Robert Morris Colonials (6-12-3, 3-5-2 CHA) vs. No. 4 Quinnipiac Bobcats (18-1-3, 11-1-2 ECAC)
Friday, January 16, 2015 / 84 Lumber Arena – Pittsburgh, Pa. / 3:05 p.m.
Saturday, January 17, 2015 / 84 Lumber Arena – Pittsburgh, Pa. / 3:05 p.m.

Top Story – Robert Morris kicks off a six-game home stand this weekend by welcoming No. 4 Quinnipiac to the Steel City. The Colonials are coming off a series split at RIT last weekend, with both contests coming down to the final minute of play. A late empty-net goal on Friday gave RMU its second victory by two goals this season, while Saturday's result was the 11th one-goal game between the two teams in series history. The Colonials currently sit fifth in the College Hockey America (CHA) standings with eight points, one behind fourth-place Lindenwood. RMU is also three points behind Syracuse and Penn State for second place.


 
Series History – After dropping its first eight meetings against Quinnipiac, Robert Morris earned revenge last season by winning a series in Hamden. The Colonials and Bobcats skated to a 1-1 tie in the series' opening game, but RMU would get the last laugh with a dominating 5-1 victory in the rubber match behind a four point (2g,2a) performance by Rebecca Vint. This weekend will mark the fourth straight season that the Colonials have played Quinnipiac. Six of the previous 10 meetings have been decided by one goal, and only one of the games - last season's aforementioned 5-1 win - was won by more than two goals.
 
Scouting Quinnipiac – After narrowly missing the NCAA Tournament in 2013-14, Quinnipiac has done everything in its power thus far to be a part of this year's Big Dance. The Bobcats are No. 4 in both national polls at 18-1-3, having only lost to Harvard on Dec. 6. While the offensive balance of Quinnipiac is impressive, with nine different players in double-figures for points, its defense is what has led them to the top of the ECAC. Senior netminder Chelsea Laden has posted 11 shutouts in 21 starts, compiling a goals against average of 0.76 and a .946 save percentage. In seven of her appearances, Laden saw nine shots or less. As a team, the Bobcats are allowing an average of 14.36 shots per game, 5.28 less than second place Mercyhurst.
 
Last Time Out – Robert Morris returned to CHA play this past weekend against RIT, earning a split on the road.
 
Behind the strength of a 34-save shutout by Jessica Dodds, the Colonials opened up the series with a 2-0 win over the Tigers.
 
Rebecca Vint tallied the first goal at the 16:43 mark of the first period as she gathered a pass from Maeve Garvey before beating RIT goaltender Ali Binnington on her stick side.
 
The Tigers peppered Dodds with 18 shots in the closing frame, but the period's lone goal came with 17 seconds remaining as Mackenzie Johnston scored an empty-netter from the blue line.
 
RIT would rebound with a win of its own on Saturday, 3-2.
 
The Tigers scored the contest's first two goals before RMU could respond. With 7:44 remaining in the opening stanza, Katelyn Scott beat Binnington five-hole on the power play to cut RIT's lead to one.
 
That advantage would again grow to two in the third period, but the Colonials answered with a power-play tally from Maddie Collias to set the final.
 
Dodds made 24 saves in the defeat.
 
Know Your Enemy – Rebecca Vint is currently on a three-game point streak against Quinnipiac dating back to Jan. 19, 2013. In a 5-1 victory over the Bobcats last season, Vint was in a class of her own as she scored twice and added two assists.
 
Kelsey Gunn has also registered multiple points against Quinnipiac, dishing out assists on Jan. 19, 2013 and Jan. 18, 2014.
 
Other current Colonials who have tallied a point against the Bobcats include Maddie Collias, Katie Fergus, Brittany Howard, Rikki Meilleur, Katelyn Scott, and Ashley Vesci.
 
Jessica Dodds earned both starts between the pipes against Quinnipiac last season and stopped 52 of the 54 shots she faced.
 
Jessica Stops Them All – Jessica Dodds posted her first shutout of the season this past Friday at RIT, stopping all 34 shots she faced in a 2-0 victory.
 
The shutout was the sixth of Dodds' career, moving the sophomore past Kristen DiCiocco (2009-13) for sole possession of second place on the program leaderboard. She now sits two shy of tying the school record of eight, set by soon-to-be RMU Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Brianne McLaughlin (2005-09).
 
Return of the Mack – Mackenzie Johnston has been as steady as they come in CHA play, leading the Colonials with five goals and seven points. Her goal total is tied for the fifth highest mark in conference games.
 
The sophomore also is third in face-off percentage among players who have taken at least 30 draws, winning 59.8% of them.
 
Battling the Best – Robert Morris has gone 8-11-3 against nationally-ranked foes since Paul Colontino was hired as head coach prior to the 2011-12 season.
 
That record improves at the friendly confines of 84 Lumber Arena, as Colontino's Colonials have gone 5-4-1 at Neville Island when a top 10 team comes to town.
 
Block Party – Robert Morris currently leads the nation in blocks and is fourth in blocks per game. The Colonials have stopped 374 shots from reaching their goaltenders and have blocked an average of 17.81 shots per contest, 0.55 more than second-place Connecticut.
 
Mikaela Lowater leads the team with 41 blocks, ranking her in a tie for 11th nationally. Fellow defenseman Kelsey Gunn is also in the top 25 with 37 blocks.
 
Among forwards, Rikki Meilleur is in a three-way tie for ninth with 28 blocks.
 
This is familiar territory for RMU, as it has ranked in the top four nationally in blocks in 2012-13 and 2013-14. The Colonials slotted third two seasons ago with 489 blocks, and were fourth last season with 575.
 
Welcome Home – Robert Morris opens up its longest home stand of the season this weekend, as its next six games are at the friendly confines of 84 Lumber Arena.
 
The six-game home stretch is tied for the fourth longest in program history, just behind 2006-07 (7), 2008-09 (8), and 2012-13 (8). In all, eight of the school record 19 home contests remain on the 2014-15 regular-season schedule.
 
New Kid on the Block – The Colonials gained a new player over the holidays as freshman goaltender Elijah Milne-Price has joined the team.
 
Milne-Price played for the Mississauga Jr. Chiefs of the Provincial Women's Hockey League (PWHL) this fall, compiling a record of 7-4-3 in 14 appearances with a 1.40 goals against average and a save percentage of .942.
 
Every Game I'm Shufflin' – Listed as forwards on the opening day roster, Katelyn Scott and Katherine Murphy have both made the switch to defensemen.
 
Scott became a blueliner prior to the Colonials' series with Northeastern on Oct. 24. Since she made the move, the senior has blocked 27 shots - the second highest total on the team - and taken one penalty.
 
Katherine Murphy made the move last weekend at RIT. The rookie blocked a team-high four shots in the series split, and assisted on Scott's power-play tally this past Saturday.
 
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 1,301.

Tweet #ColonialPride