Pittsburgh, Pa. –  Penalties took center stage and kept both squads off their game plan as the Robert Morris University women's hockey team and Syracuse ended the first night of a two-game series tied, 2-2, Friday evening in 84 Lumber Arena.
 
Sophomore defenseman Kirsten Welsh scored the late third period goal that sent the game into overtime. Redshirt junior forward Brittany Howard put the Colonials on the board in the second period. She recorded her sixth multi-point effort of the season with an assist in addition to the goal, and added four blocked shots. Freshman Jaycee Gebhard, sophomore Maggie LaGue, and senior Mikaela Lowater all chipped in with an assist.  LaGue blocked a team-leading five shots. Sophomore goaltender Lauren Bailey made 32 saves.
 
Despite two respective power-play chances for both squads, neither the Colonials nor the Orange could find the back of the net during the five-minute overtime period.

 
With time winding down in the third period, Robert Morris (6-1-4, 2-0-1) finally managed to cash in on one of its 12 total power-play opportunities on the evening, and just in the nick of time. With 8.1 seconds left on the clock, Welsh remained persistent with the puck as she and fellow teammates Howard and sophomore Amber Rennie crowded the front of the Syracuse net, until Welsh was able to jam the puck through and tie the game, 2-2.
 
Just as a Syracuse (2-4-3, 2-0-1) penalty expired, the Colonials capitalized as the Orange had not yet regrouped after the kill, and Howard took a shot near the faceoff circle to the right of Syracuse goaltender Abbey Miller. The puck went sailing past Miller's left pad and into the net to tie the game, 1-1.
 
Syracuse's Emily Costales scored her first goal of the season to open the scoring at 8:30 in the first period. She would later account for the Orange go-ahead, power-play goal at 18:03 in the third period.
 
The teams combined for 22 penalties through 65 minutes of action.
 
"It was a roller coaster," head coach Paul Colontino said of the game. "A lot of penalties, odd-man situations on both sides of play, on the penalty kill and the power play. It's a tough game to play I think, where players have a tough time getting a feel for what's being called and what's not being called in a game. It puts our players in a tough situation from a lack of flow, because you don't have a lot of five-on-five hockey."
 
Heading into tomorrow's Game 2, Colontino mentioned his strongest message to his team is to stick to the game plan.
 
"Let's play our game, and let's play our game within the rules," stated Colontino. "I think tomorrow, if anything, our focus is to get a feel for what's within the rules and what's not, and let's play. Both teams are playing very hard, and when you have that, there are going to be some bumps and some collisions. We just need to figure out how to stay on the right side of that. Tomorrow's a new day, and you've just got to play the game."
 
RMU went 1-for-12 on the advantage, while SU went 1-for-10. Syracuse just barely edged Robert Morris in shots on goal, 34-31. Both teams blocked 17 shots.
 
The Colonials and the Orange return to the rink on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 3:05 p.m. for Game 2 in 84 Lumber Arena.
 
 
Home Ice Advantage
Robert Morris remains undefeated on home ice this season (4-0-3).
 
Getting It Done
Sophomore defenseman Maggie LaGue leads the nation in power-play assists (six), and blocked shots (37), and ranks second in power-play points (seven). Junior defenseman Katherine Murphy fills the No. 3 spot with 32 blocked shots.
 
Trending
Sophomore defenseman Kirsten Welsh has scored a goal in six of the last eight games, including a team-leading two game-winning tallies. Redshirt junior Brittany Howard has posted a point in nine of 11 games on the young season, including six of the Colonials' last seven. Freshman Jaycee Gebhard and sophomore Maggie LaGue have posted a point for RMU in all but three outings.
 
Milestone Watch
Head coach Paul Colontino is eight wins away from his 100^th career victory as head coach of the Robert Morris University women's hockey team.
 
 
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