Pittsburgh, Pa. – The No. 8 Robert Morris University women's hockey team opened a showcase weekend for women's hockey in Pittsburgh with a 4-1 College Hockey America (CHA) victory over the RIT Tigers Friday afternoon in 84 Lumber Arena.
 
Redshirt junior forward Brittany Howard registered her 14^th multi-point effort of the year with two goals and two assists for a season-high and career-high-tying four points.  Freshman forward Jaycee Gebhard scored two goals and dished an assist to match her career-best three points. Sophomore defenseman Maggie LaGue also tabbed a multi-point game with two helpers. Sophomore defenseman Kirsten Welsh and junior defenseman Leah Carey each added an assist. Senior netminder Jessica Dodds made 21 saves.
 

RMU (18-3-6, 11-2-2 CHA) entered the third period with a 3-1 lead over RIT (6-21-2, 4-9-2 CHA) and increased its lead to three goals via Gebhard's second power-play tally of the game. Howard took a shot that bounced off Tigers goaltender sophomore Jenna de Jonge's pad, and Gebhard finished on the rebound to secure the 4-1 win for the home team. The Colonials fended off two Tigers power plays in the final frame, and held RIT scoreless on the advantage on the day.
 
Howard found a sweet spot on the ice and scored twice from the right wing. Her wrist shot in the second period put Robert Morris up by two goals, 3-1. Dodds helped protect the two-goal lead, when she denied a breakaway chance for the Tigers following a successful penalty kill by the Colonials.
 
The Colonials immediately capitalized on their first power-play opportunity of the game. LaGue passed the puck to Howard at the right circle. Howard buried a slap shot to knot the game at 1-1 after the Tigers opened the scoring earlier in the frame.
 
RIT took an early lead just over one minute into the first on a bouncing puck that ricocheted off a Colonials defender, and hit the back of the net from an angle that was out of Dodds' line of sight.
 
Special teams helped lift RMU to victory. The power play and the penalty kill clicked for the Colonials, as Robert Morris went 3-5 on the advantage, and 5-5 on the kill.
 
"We got shots through," Howard said of the power play in particular. "We weren't as stagnant, we got shots through and there were a couple screens in front, which was nice to see."
 
Howard, Gebhard, and Dodds spoke highly of the team chemistry after the game, which the three agreed has been one of the biggest keys to this squad's success. "I think it's our chemistry on and off the ice," Howard stated. "It takes a lot for us to get on one another's nerves," Dodds added jokingly.
 
Head coach Paul Colontino and his coaching staff helped their squad make the necessary adjustments to the power play during the bye week, and it paid dividends in today's victory. "Keeping it simple and shooting the puck," Colontino preached to his power-play unit. "We've tried to make some really 'pretty' plays I'd say in the past two to six games, where instead of just pulling the trigger and taking what's right in front of us, we've been trying to make three passes. I think that was the difference. People were just rolling off and we had good screens in front and that was it. Keep it simple and shoot the puck."
 
The Colonials outshot the Tigers overall, 38-22, and scored three power-play goals on seven shots taken while on the advantage.
 
Robert Morris and RIT complete their regular season series on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 1:05 p.m. in 84 Lumber Arena.
 
 
Where They Stack Up
The Colonials currently lead the CHA standings by four points, ahead of Syracuse (10-11-5, 9-3-2) and Mercyhurst (10-16-2, 6-7-1).
 
Hold 'Em
Today's 4-1 win marked the ninth time this season that the Colonials held their opponent to one goal or less.
 
Leading the Way
Top-line trio Amber Rennie, Brittany Howard and Jaycee Gebhard have combined for 101 points through 27 games, averaging 3.74 points per game.
 
Freshman Phenom
Freshman forward and CHA Rookie of the Month (Oct., Nov., Dec., Jan.) Jaycee Gebhard leads the nation in power-play goals (nine) and ranks first in points per game among rookies (1.37). With two power-play goals in today's win, Gebhard cracked the top 10 in individual career power-play goals at Robert Morris. She is tied for ninth with sophomore defenseman Kirsten Welsh.
 
Trending
Redshirt junior Brittany Howard has posted a point in 22 of 27 games on the season. With four points in today's game, she surpassed Thea Imbrogno, and now ranks second on the all-time individual career points (125) list. She is now tied with Imbrogno for fourth all time in goals (51). She is 10 points away from being crowned the new all-time points leader in RMU history.
 
Milestone Watch
Redshirt junior Brittany Howard is two points away from setting a new single-season points record at Robert Morris. Rebecca Vint currently holds the record with 44 points (2011-12).
 
Making Their Mark
Another victory this weekend would propel the 2017 squad to a tie for second place all time in wins in a season in RMU lore.
 
Women's Hockey Weekend
RMU alumna Brianne McLaughlin and current Director of Operations Kelley Steadman will compete in this weekend's 2017 NWHL All-Star Weekend in Pittsburgh.
 
Olympic Ambitions
Freshman Aneta Ledlova is currently competing with her national team for a chance to represent the Czech Republic in the 2018 Olympic Games. On Thursday, she recorded a goal and an assist to help the Czech Republic to a 5-0 win over Norway.
 
 
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