Women's Hockey | 11/1/2017 12:24:00 PM
PITTSBURGH -- The No. 10
Robert Morris women's hockey team has gotten its College Hockey America (CHA) title defense off to a flying start, and two of its seniors were recognized by the conference for their superb play in the first month of the 2017-18 season.
Assistant captain
Brittany Howard and goaltender
Elijah Milne-Price were named CHA Player of the Month and CHA Goalie of the Month, respectively, for October, it was announced Tuesday. This is the sixth monthly award Howard has collected with the Colonials and the first ever for Milne-Price.
Howard has not missed a step since taking home both the CHA scoring title and CHA Player of the Year honors in 2016-17. The London Jr. Devilettes product and Buffalo Beauts (NWHL) draftee from St. Thomas, Ontario led the conference with nine goals and 15 points through the first month of play while centering head coach
Paul Colontino's top line.
Her final NCAA campaign began in dramatic fashion, as she notched the first overtime goal of her collegiate career and 13th game-winner all-time in a season-opening win over Minnesota State Oct. 7, the first of her CHA-best two GW's this past month. The next day, in a 6-2 victory at Mankato, she recorded two first-period assists to become the new RMU career points leader and followed that promptly with a natural hat trick. That series sweep touched off a goal-scoring streak of six games, a new career high.
Howard enters November with 63 goals and 84 assists for 147 lifetime points in 115 games with Robert Morris. Furthermore, her two shorthanded tallies, making her the only Division I player through October with so many, are one more than the Colonials scored all of last season.
The first of those shorties, which came at Maine Oct. 14, made her just the second RMU player in history to score 60 career goals.
While the Colonials, thanks in large part to Howard, boast the top offense in CHA at 31 goals scored, they also have the stingiest defense in the conference at 16 goals allowed, thanks in large part to Milne-Price stepping out of the shadow of graduated all-conference netminder
Jessica Dodds and stepping up for RMU.
The Mississauga, Ontario native concluded October on a personal, season-opening six-game unbeaten streak (4-0-2). Most recently, Milne-Price was hailed CHA Goalie of the Week for the second time in three weeks after combining for 52 saves in consecutive ties at Penn State Oct. 28-29 in the opening CHA series for both teams.
Her first weekly honor came after she turned aside 15 quality shots in a hard-fought 2-1 win at Maine Oct. 13. She was also between the pipes for Howard's aforementioned sudden-victory goal, a 23-save effort at MSU-Mankato.
"EJ" finished the month with a 1.16 goals-against average and .947 save percentage that are tops in CHA, and her four wins also led the conference in October. One of those triumphs, an 11-0 decision at Brown Oct. 20, was her first collegiate shutout.
Milne-Price was also the goaltender of record the next day, when RMU rallied to defeat Brown, 3-2, on a last-second goal by defender
Natalie Fraser.
The Colonials (5-1-2, 0-0-2) continue conference play at Lindenwood, the last of five season-opening road series, with a 6:00 p.m. game Friday and 1:00 p.m. contest Saturday.
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