Rochester, N.Y. – Redshirt junior forward
Brittany Howard tabbed career point number 100 in a season-high, three-point effort to help the No. 10
Robert Morris University women's hockey team to a 4-3 win over RIT in the Gene Polisseni Center Friday evening.
The nationally ranked Colonials (8-1-4, 4-0-1) remain unbeaten in College Hockey America (CHA) action.
Seven different Colonials recorded a point in the win. Howard and sophomore forward line mate
Amber Rennie each posted a season-best three points in the victory, with one goal and two assists apiece. Rennie's performance marks her third three-point effort on the year. Sophomore
Maggie LaGue scored her second power-play goal of the season, and freshman forward
Aneta Ledlova tabbed her second goal in two games. Seniors
Mackenzie Johnston and
Mikaela Lowater, and sophomore
Kirsten Welsh all added an assist. Sophomore goaltender
Lauren Bailey improved to 5-1-1 on the year and made 16 saves in net.
RMU carried a 3-2 lead into the third period, and went up by two after Rennie's goal at 9:12 in the frame. With 3:11 on the clock, it appeared as though RIT trimmed the Colonials lead to one goal on a shot from Cassie Clayton, but Robert Morris challenged the goal due to goalie interference. RMU's challenge was ultimately overturned, and the goal held.
The Tigers called timeout with less than a minute remaining in regulation to draw up one final strategy in the hopes of sending the game into overtime, but Howard won a crucial faceoff coming out of the break, which helped keep the puck out of the Colonials zone until the clock hit zero.
Each team scored once in the second period, which made it a one-goal affair heading into the third. Less than four minutes into the second, Howard tabbed her 100
th career point on a power-play goal with help from Rennie and Welsh to increase the RMU advantage to two goals. Then 18 seconds into an RIT power play, the Tigers responded with their second five-on-four tally of the night to keep the score close.
Four out of the six goals scored in tonight's game occurred on the power play. The Tigers struck first on the advantage to open the scoring at 6:03 in the opening frame. RIT's lead was brief, however, as LaGue stole one back on RMU's first power play of the game to tie it up at one goal apiece. With 47 seconds remaining in the first period, Ledlova cashed in on a pass from Johnston and the Colonials entered the locker room at first intermission with a one-goal lead.
"It was a great win as a team," Howard said of the victory, "and we received contributions across the board. We battled through adversity throughout the game and withstood the final push at the end to make sure RIT didn't make the comeback. It was a great team effort all around, and I wouldn't want to share this milestone with any other group of girls."
Robert Morris and RIT conclude the two-game series on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m.
Milestone Achieved
With the first of her two assists and her power-play goal in tonight's game, redshirt junior forward
Brittany Howard amassed 100-plus career points (42G-59A-101PTS) through 85 games played. She is the fourth player in program history to eclipse 100 points, and ranks fourth in all-time individual career points.
Trending
Redshirt junior
Brittany Howard has posted a point in 11 of 13 games on the young season, including eight of the Colonials' last nine. Sophomore
Maggie LaGue has posted a point for RMU in all but four outings. She ranks tied for fifth nationally in points per game among defensemen (0.77). Freshman
Aneta Ledlova has registered a point in four of the last five games, including a goal in each of Robert Morris' last two contests.
Power Up
Redshirt junior forward
Brittany Howard and freshman
Jaycee Gebhard are tied for the national lead in power-play goals with four apiece.
Milestone Watch
Head coach
Paul Colontino is six wins away from his 100
th career victory as head coach of the Robert Morris University women's hockey team.
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@rmuwhockey
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