Robert Morris Colonials (8-14-3, 5-5-2 CHA) vs. Mercyhurst Lakers (17-6-3, 8-3-1 CHA)
Friday, January 30, 2015 / 84 Lumber Arena – Pittsburgh, Pa. / 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, January 31, 2015 / 84 Lumber Arena – Pittsburgh, Pa. / 3:05 p.m.

Top Story – Robert Morris caps a six-game homestand this weekend by welcoming in-state rival Mercyhurst to 84 Lumber Arena. The Colonials are coming off their most impressive performance of the season, as they scored a school record-tying six goals in the second period en route to a 7-1 victory over Lindenwood. That win came after a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory the day before, giving RMU its first sweep of the 2014-15 campaign. The Colonials now sit in a tie with Syracuse for third place in the CHA standings, and trail the Lakers by five points with eight conference games to play. RMU has won at least two games over Mercyhurst in each season under Paul Colontino.


 
Series History – The Colonials are 7-36-1 in their history against the Lakers, but have had success recently with a 7-8-1 mark over the last three and a half seasons. Mercyhurst's sweep over RMU in November was the first of its kind since Jan. 21-22, 2011. The two teams split last season, each winning a game at home and on the road. The Colonials picked up their first win against their in-state rivals 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, RMU picked up its biggest win in program history, defeating the Lakers in the CHA Championship Game, 3-2. Kristen DiCiocco made 45 saves in the victory, 22 of which coming in the second period alone.
 
Scouting Mercyhurst – The Lakers enter this series holding a two-point lead on Penn State in the CHA standings. Mercyhurst recently dropped out of both national polls following a sweep at the hands of St. Lawrence, and have gone 1-4-1 in its last six games. Junior forward Emily Janiga leads the conference in goals and points with 19 and 32, respectively. Her classmate Jenna Dingeldein is second on the team with 12 goals and 23 points, while freshman Sarah Robello has tallied 21 points (7g, 14a) in her rookie campaign. The Lakers are led defensively by junior Lauren Kilroy and senior Amanda Makela. Kilroy paces the CHA with 78 blocks, while Makela has posted a 1.37 goals against average and a save percentage of .934 in 26 starts.
 
Last Time Out – Robert Morris earned its first sweep of the season with two crucial CHA victories over Lindenwood this past weekend.
 
The first win followed a theme from the first series between the Colonials and Lions as it needed overtime to decide. And like the opening game of that set, a freshman scored her first goal to win it for RMU as Amanda Panatleo's walk-off tally gave the home side a 2-1 victory.
 
Lindenwood jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 6:45 mark of the third period, but the Colonials came back less than six minutes later with a goal from Mackenzie Johnston.
 
Pantaleo's goal came with 21 seconds remaining in the extra frame off a perfect feed from Johnston.
 
Jessica Dodds made 32 saves on the evening.
 
Completing the sweep required a little less drama as a six-goal second period helped lead the Colonials to a 7-1 win.
 
Johnston and Rebecca Vint each scored twice in the middle frame, while Ashley Vesci and Rikki Meilleur added goals as well. Meilleur scored her second of the afternoon on a third-period five-on-three power play.
 
Dodds stopped 19 of 20 shots through 54:27, then gave way to Elijah Milne-Price for the freshman's debut. She made one save in the game's remaining five minutes and change.
 
Know Your Enemy – Rebecca Vint has saved some of her best performances for Mercyhurst, tallying seven goals and 10 assists in 14 meetings. Two of those games featured multi-goal performances from the senior captain, including a hat trick on Jan. 25, 2014.
 
Jessica Dodds is 2-2-0 against the Lakers in her career, stopping 110 of the 121 shots she's faced. Her best performance came on Jan. 24, 2014, when a six-on-four power play late proved to be the only blemish on a 22-save evening.
 
Brooms from the Conference Room – Robert Morris swept College Hockey America's weekly awards for the second time in as many seasons this Monday.
 
Mackenzie Johnston and Mikaela Lowater shared Player of the Week honors, while the Jessica duo of Dodds and Gazzola earned Goaltender and Rookie of the Week accolades, respectively.
 
Last season, the Colonials had four players claim weekly awards after a sweep at Penn State. This is the fifth time in total that RMU has claimed every weekly honor.
 
A Helping Hand – Mikaela Lowater dished out five assists in the Colonials' 7-1 victory over Lindenwood last Saturday, tying her with Chelsea Walkland for the second highest single-game total in program history.
 
Walkland's five-assist night came on Feb. 7, 2009 in a 12-0 win over Sacred Heart. Maria Olausson set the school record on Oct. 27, 2006 against Chatham with six helpers.
 
Six Goals of Separation – After scoring three or more goals just five times this season, Robert Morris exploded for six in the second period of its 7-1 win over Lindenwood last Saturday.
 
The six-goal middle frame tied a program record, set three other times: Oct. 27, 2006 vs. Chatham (1st), Feb. 7, 2009 vs. Sacred Heart (3rd), and Jan. 23, 2010 vs. Sacred Heart (2nd).
 
Return of the Mack – Mackenzie Johnston has been as steady as they come in CHA play, leading the Colonials with eight goals and 12 points. Her goal total is tied for the second highest mark in conference games.
 
The sophomore also is second in face-off percentage among players who have taken at least 30 draws, winning 62.8% of them.
 
Block Party – Robert Morris currently leads the nation in blocks per game and is tied for second in total blocks. The Colonials have stopped 461 shots from reaching their goaltenders and have blocked an average of 18.44 shots per contest, 0.76 more than second-place Bemidji State.
 
Mikaela Lowater leads the team with 58 blocks, ranking her in a tie for sixth nationally. Rebecca Vint and Rikki Meilleur are in a four-way tie for 12th with 30 blocks each.
 
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.
 
From One Rookie to Another – Amanda Pantaleo scored her first career goal with 21 seconds remaining in overtime last Friday, lifting the Colonials over Lindenwood, 2-1.
 
This has become somewhat of the norm lately for RMU rookies against the Lions. Natalie Fraser tallied a walk-off winner at the 2:25 mark of the extra frame on Nov. 7, 2014, while last season Mackenzie Johnston scored with 47 seconds left on Nov. 15, 2013 to give the Colonials a 3-2 win over their foes from the Show Me State.
 
Great Scott – Katelyn Scott is one of 15 candidates for the 2015 BNY Mellon Wealth Hockey Humanitarian Award, which is presented annually to college hockey's finest citizen.
 
This is the fifth consecutive year in which Robert Morris has had a student-athlete up for the award. Scott joins Whitney Pappas (2011), Brianna Delaney (2012), Cobina Delaney (2013), and Brandi Pollock (2014) as recent Colonial candidates. Pappas was eventually named a finalist for the honor.
 
Successful Seniors – With the Colonials' 2-1 overtime win over Lindenwood last Friday, the current senior class became the program's most successful as it was part of its 65th career win.
 
The record of 64 wins was previously held by last season's senior class, which is the only other group to finish their careers with a winning record. The current senior class holds a record of 66-46-13.
 
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 1,331.

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