North Andover, Mass. – At the conclusion of the second consecutive overtime affair between the two squads, the Robert Morris University women's hockey team and the Merrimack Warriors tied, 3-3, on Saturday afternoon in Lawler Rink.
 
Redshirt junior Brittany Howard scored a power-play goal and added an assist in her fourth consecutive multi-point effort. Sophomore Amber Rennie posted a career-high three assists for a career-best three points. Freshman Jaycee Gebhard scored to extend her current point streak to four games. For the fourth time in five games, sophomore defenseman Kirsten Welsh scored a goal. Sophomore Maggie LaGue posted a power-play assist, and senior goaltender Jessica Dodds made 23 saves through 65 minutes of action.
 
Neither Robert Morris (4-1-3) nor Merrimack (3-4-1) could cash in on its two power-play opportunities apiece in the third period, which led to another afternoon of bonus hockey in North Andover, Mass. RMU managed to take just one shot in overtime, but defended well against Merrimack's three shots on goal, and closed the two-game series with a 3-3 tie.
 
At 9:02 in the second period, Merrimack's game-winning goal scorer in yesterday's overtime decision, Mikyla Grant-Mentis, positioned herself in front of Dodds and helped poke through a teammates' wrist shot to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead. Less than two minutes later, Welsh sent the puck all the way from the blue line on a clear path to the net to tie the score, 2-2.
 
Howard's slap shot on the power-play earned the Colonials their second unanswered goal and a 3-2 lead at 14:50 in the second period. The Warriors, however, would have the last word before heading into the locker room for second intermission. Merrimack sophomore Allison Sexton wove through multiple Colonials defenders straight to the Colonials zone and snuck one past the left pad of Dodds to score her first goal of the season and tie the game.
 
Gebhard wasted no time putting the Colonials on the board. The rookie from Plenty, Saskatchewan, caught the puck on her stick as it wrapped around the boards behind the Colonials' net, and sped down the ice as a three-on-one odd-man rush ensued.  Gebhard passed the puck to Rennie in front to lure the goalie to one side, and Rennie passed it right back to Gebhard who shot the puck into a wide open corner, just one minute into the game. The next goal did not occur until Merrimack captain Jessica Bonfe evened the score on a put back with two minutes and 10 seconds left in the frame.
 
Robert Morris returns to home ice to open College Hockey America (CHA) action against in-state rival Mercyhurst on Friday, Oct. 28 at 3:05 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 29 at 2:05 p.m. in 84 Lumber Arena.
 
 
Freshman Phenom
Freshman forward Jaycee Gebhard leads the Colonials with 13 points (tied with Amber Rennie), and ranks second in the nation in power-play goals (3) and points per game among rookies (1.62).
 
Trending
Sophomore defenseman Kirsten Welsh has scored a goal in four of the last five games. Redshirt junior Brittany Howard and freshman Jaycee Gebhard are currently riding a four-game point streak. Gebhard has recorded multi-point efforts in six of eight games on the season.
 
National Radar
Robert Morris is currently receiving votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll and the USCHO.com Poll.
 
 
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