Pittsburgh, Pa. – Three goals in the first period launched the No. 8 Robert Morris University women's hockey team to victory, 5-2, over RIT Saturday afternoon in 84 Lumber Arena.
 
With two victories this weekend to complete the regular-season series sweep of RIT (6-22-2, 4-10-2 CHA), RMU (19-3-6, 12-2-2 CHA) clinched a first-round bye in the College Hockey America (CHA) Tournament.
 
Redshirt junior forward Brittany Howard scored a goal and tabbed an assist to increase her 2016-17 point total to 45. In doing so, Howard set a new single-season points record. She also eclipsed her own records set in 2015 and 2013 to raise the bar in single-season assists to a program-record 27.
 
Five Colonials registered multi-point games in today's victory. Howard, junior forward Jessica Gazzola and freshman forward Jaycee Gebhard each tabbed a goal and an assist. Senior forward Maeve Garvey and junior defenseman Katherine Murphy both tallied two assists. Murphy also led the defense with three blocked shots. Senior goaltender Jessica Dodds made 24 saves.

 
Despite falling behind early, the Tigers kept the Colonials on their toes all the way through the third period. Senior defenseman Mikaela Lowater kicked off the final frame with a four-on-four goal just over two minutes into the third. Three minutes and 12 seconds later, RIT scored to make it a 4-2 game. RMU came up with some crucial kills late in the period, and gained a pivotal possession to set up an empty-net goal from Gebhard to secure the 5-2 win.
 
"You forget that you're playing another team that wants to win as well," said head coach Paul Colontino of RIT's admirable efforts to make a comeback. "They came back with some huge shifts that were very threatening. But this whole year we've had great leadership in the locker room and leadership on the bench. We're creating a sense of urgency where we have to be ready, but at the same time we're not in panic mode. There's a difference between those two things. In all honesty, that's our seniors and that's our captains that say 'Hey, let's going,' but also, 'Hey, we've got this.'"
 
Even after the Colonials compiled a significant lead in the first twenty minutes of action, RIT remained persistent and scored the lone goal of the second period in the hopes of surmounting RMU's hot start.
 
"That was probably the toughest part throughout the whole game was the fact that we got up with a 3-0 lead so early and then had to find ways, not to say to stay motivated, but sometimes young student-athletes have trouble seeing the full sixty-minute game," Colontino added. "And knowing the type of intensity RIT is going to come out with to battle back, it was a close game. As soon as they got the one [goal] it was a close game all the way through. We took penalties in the third, which wasn't good because obviously it opened up windows for RIT, but we had some great kills, which created a little bit of momentum for us. It was an up and down game after that first 10 minutes and it was a lot closer than what the scoreboard says at the end of the game. It was tough in all honesty."
 
Gazzola opened the flood gates for the Robert Morris offense in the first period, as the goals continued to pour in during the opening frame. The third-year forward caught a pass off the boards from Murphy, who was down ice in the Colonials zone, and skated straight to the net, where she ripped a shot that went five hole on RIT netminder, sophomore Jenna de Jonge. Five minutes later, junior defenseman Natalie Fraser scored her first goal of the season on an angled shot to the left of de Jonge to increase the Colonials lead to two. Howard capped the scoring surge at the eight-minute mark with a goal off her own rebound following another nice feed from Murphy.
 
Both teams were perfect on the penalty kill. RMU killed off five penalties, including four in the third period. The Colonials outshot the Tigers, 30-26, and blocked 10 shots to RIT's six.
 
Robert Morris will be back at 84 Lumber Arena next weekend to wrap up the home portion of the regular season schedule with a two-game series against in-state, CHA foe Penn State on Friday, Feb. 17 at 7:05 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 18 at 3:05 p.m.
 
 
The Final Stretch
As the postseason approaches, Robert Morris clinched a first-round bye in the CHA Tournament with this weekend's sweep of RIT.
 
Where They Stack Up
The Colonials currently lead the CHA standings by four points, ahead of Syracuse (11-12-5, 10-4-2) and Penn State (8-17-5, 7-7-2).
 
Leading the Way
Top-line trio Amber Rennie, Brittany Howard and Jaycee Gebhard have combined for 105 points through 28 games, averaging 3.75 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 (1.39).
 
Trending
Redshirt junior Brittany Howard has posted a point in 23 of 28 games on the season. She ranks second on the all-time individual career points (127) list. She is now tied with Sara O'Malley for third all time in goals (52). She is eight points away from being crowned the new all-time points leader in RMU history.
 
Milestone Achieved
With two points today, redshirt junior Brittany Howard set a new single-season points (45) record at Robert Morris. She also bested her previous single-season assist records set in 2013-14 (24) and 2015-16 (23) with 27 assists to date in 2016-17.
 
Making Their Mark
The 2017 squad is now tied for second place all time in wins in a season in RMU lore.
 
No. 100
Today's game marked career game No. 100 for redshirt junior forward Brittany Howard and junior defenseman Katherine Murphy. Friday's game was the 100^th appearance in a Colonials uniform for junior forward Jessica Gazzola and junior forward Amanda Pantaleo.
 
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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