Women's Hockey | 11/23/2017 11:46:00 AM
PITTSBURGH -- The No. 9
Robert Morris women's hockey team plays the first of two non-conference series with No. 5 Ohio State University (10-2-2, 8-2-2-1) this season Friday at 7:05 p.m. and Saturday at 2:05 p.m. at the RMU Island Sports Center, its first meeting with a top-ten opponent since last season's NCAA Tournament quarterfinal game at top-ranked Wisconsin.
The Colonials (9-1-2, 4-0-2) are coming off a bye week that followed a sweep of College Hockey America (CHA) rival RIT Nov. 10-11 in their first home series of 2017-18. They are unbeaten in four of their last five games against Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) teams.
RMU last beat the Buckeyes Nov. 26, 2013 by a 2-1 score at OSU Ice Arena.
Brittany Howard provided the game-tying goal for then-No. 10 Robert Morris 8:36 into the second period and set up Rebecca Vint's game-winner 4:13 into the third.
#9/9 Robert Morris vs. #5/5 Ohio State - Nov. 24-25
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Key Notes
Robert Morris is riding an eight-game unbeaten streak (6-0-2). Last season the Colonials went unbeaten in 13 in a row (10-0-3) Oct. 22-Dec. 31 en route to their first-ever College Hockey America (CHA) regular-season championship, second-ever CHA Tournament crown and first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.
Top-line center
Brittany Howard was named CHA Player of the Week Nov. 13 for scoring two goals in each of the Colonials' victories over RIT. It was the third CHA honor for Howard, who was named CHA Player of the Week Oct. 9 and Player of the Month for October, this season. Overall, it was her 11th conference player-of-the-week nod at Robert Morris.
Howard was subsequently named NCAA First Star Nov. 14 for her success against the Tigers. She finished the series tied for the nation's most productive player that weekend with six points (4 G, 2 A) and a plus-5 rating, firing 21 total shots on goal. She now ranks second in the nation with 14 goals.
Amber Rennie scored a goal in the third period of each game versus RIT. She ranks second to Howard in non-conference points with eight (6 G, 2 A), and she also ranks right behind her linemate in third-period goals, with four.
Winger
Sarah Lecavalier notched her fourth goal of the season, an insurance marker, late in the 5-2 win over RIT Nov. 11. With that, the sophomore transfer matched her total from her freshman campaign at North Dakota in 2016-17.
Defender
Kirsten Welsh blasted a power-play goal in the 6-1 win over RIT Nov. 10 that held up as the game-winner, part of a four-point night (G, 3 A). Welsh became the seventh different Colonial to record a GW this season, and her nine points in CHA play (4 G, 5 A) ties her with Howard for the team lead. The Colonials set a new team record with 65 shots on goal that night, their most ever in a regular-season game in regulation time.
Robert Morris is No. 9 in the USCHO.com Division I Women's Poll and in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll. The Colonials have been ranked in at least one major poll in each of the last 23 sets released. RMU has received votes in 28 consecutive USA Today polls since Nov. 1, 2016.
The History Channel
Brittany Howard needs just two more goals to become only the second player in Colonials history to amass 70 for her career. Howard, who became the program's new all-time points leader Oct. 8, enters Friday with 68 goals as a collegian. Former RMU points queen Rebecca Vint holds its all-time goals record with 73. Â Howard leads the NCAA with an overall 1.17 goals-per game average, and her 1.50 goals-per-game clip in non-conference play is also tops in Division I.
With 48 career assists to
Maggie LaGue's 47,
Katherine Murphy continues to hold her fellow blue-liner at bay in the race for the all-time RMU lead in apples by a defenseman. In the home opener, for that matter, they both set up goals by defenders. LaGue had the primary helper on the opening goal by
Emily Curlett, and Murphy got the first assist on the ensuing goal by
Kirsten Welsh.
"The Third Period is Our Period!"
For the 2017-18 squad this commonly-used phrase by Colonials Arena P.A. announcer Larry Snyder has rung particularly true. Robert Morris combined for seven third-period goals during its home-opening series. It has outscored CHA opponents 13-2 in the final frame and outscored opponents 24-6 overall in third periods this season.
Brittany Howard has 12 of her conference-best 23 points (7 G, 5 A) in the last 20 minutes of regulation.
The RMU defense has been locking down games down the stretch. The Colonials are unbeaten in nine tries (8-0-1) when tied or ahead entering the third. Their six third-period goals allowed are the fewest by any CHA team and seventh-fewest nationally, and they lead the NCAA with a +18 goal margin in third periods.
Window of Opportunity
Robert Morris can clinch a second straight NCAA Tournament berth by defending its CHA Tournament title, but the Colonials can also improve their stead with a good showing against OSU. RMU, the CHA leader, sits tenth in the National Collegiate PairWise Rankings and 11th in the D-I/II Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). Both sets of rankings impact how NCAA Tournament teams are seeded.
RMU's last meeting with a No. 5 team was a 3-3 tie with eventual NCAA champ Clarkson in the Windjammer Classic at Burlington, VT Nov. 25, 2016.
Brittany Howard (G, 2 A) and
Kirsten Welsh (2 G, A) led the Colonials, with Welsh scoring 6-on-4 with :31 left to force OT. Howard is the only active player to get a point in their last win over a ranked team, at No. 10 Quinnipiac Jan. 18, 2014.
Worth the Wait
RMU defeated No. 9 Mercyhurst, its CHA rival, 3-2 on Nov. 9, 2013 for its most recent victory over a ranked team at home. Kelsey Gunn scored the winning goal with 3:15 left in the first period, and Jessica Dodds made 25 saves to earn the victory.
With 64 career points (25 G, 39 A),
Jaycee Gebhard needs two to pass Cobina Delaney for ninth in Colonials history. She leads CHA and is tied for fifth in Division I with 15 assists, and she is also second in CHA and tied for fifth nationally with a plus/minus of +18.
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