Pittsburgh, Pa. – With its first shutout victory of the season, the No. 8 Robert Morris University women's hockey team reached the 20-win plateau for the second time in program history, as the Colonials defeated Penn State, 2-0, on Senior Day Saturday in 84 Lumber Arena.
 
Robert Morris (20-4-6, 13-3-2 CHA) remains atop the College Hockey America (CHA) standings, while Penn State (9-18-5, 8-8-2 CHA) dropped one spot to fourth place.
 
Junior forward Amanda Pantaleo and freshman forward Aneta Ledlova scored for the Colonials. Redshirt junior forward Brittany Howard and freshman forward Jaycee Gebhard assisted on the Ledlova tally. Senior goaltender Jessica Dodds made 22 saves to earn her 12^th career shutout win.

 
Both teams earned two power-play opportunities in the third period, but neither were able to convert. Late in the frame, Penn State successfully killed off a penalty and looked to add an extra skater in an attempt to wage a comeback, but another costly penalty called on the Nittany Lions at 18:44 forced PSU to remain defensive before having a chance to generate a final offensive swing.
 
RMU increased its lead to two goals late in the second frame. Howard found Ledlova in front from behind the net, and Ledlova sent a one-timer past junior goaltender Hannah Ehresman to add to the Robert Morris advantage.
 
Penn State earned their first power-play chance of the game in the second period, but the Colonials were the ones to capitalize. Pantaleo and Garvey raced to the RMU offensive zone on a shorthanded breakaway. Pantaleo took it all the way to the net and ripped a shot top shelf on Ehresman to take a 1-0 lead. It was the first shorthanded goal for the Colonials this season.
 
"Shorthanded goals are nice to get," said head coach Paul Colontino after the win. "They're huge momentum swings. That was huge and the timing couldn't have been better. We had some great kills throughout the entire game. It was definitely nice, and in all honesty, it couldn't have come at a better time. We talked after the game, sometimes you have to work extremely hard to get your chances, to get your goals, and we did that. In this situation, one of our best chances came on the penalty kill and our players were smart enough to cash on it. It gave us a huge goal when we needed it."
 
The Colonials earned the first power-play chance of the game in the opening frame, and led the Nittany Lions in shots on goal through the first 20 minutes of action, 14-4, but the puck would not bounce for RMU. Robert Morris managed to keep the puck in its offensive zone through the majority of the first period, but the Colonials came up short.
 
Robert Morris concludes the 2016-17 regular season on the road at Lindenwood on Friday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m.
 
 
Where They Stack Up
The Colonials currently lead the CHA standings by two points, ahead of Syracuse (13-12-5, 12-4-2) and Mercyhurst (13-17-2, 9-8-1).
 
Leading the Way
Top-line trio Amber Rennie, Brittany Howard and Jaycee Gebhard have combined for 109 points through 30 games, averaging 3.63 points per game.
 
Senior Day Saturday
Seniors Jessica Dodds, Maeve Garvey, Mackenzie Johnston, Mikaela Lowater, and Rikki Meilleur were recognized prior to today's game.
 
Trending
Redshirt junior Brittany Howard has posted a point in 25 of 30 games on the season. She recently improved to second place on the all-time individual career points list. She is six points away from being crowned the new all-time points leader in RMU history.
 
Making Their Mark
The 2017 squad now ranks second all time in single-season wins in RMU lore. The Colonials are one conference victory from becoming the winningest team in CHA contests in program history. The 2013-14 squad currently holds the record with 13 league victories.
 
The Postseason Approaches
The Colonials secured a first-round bye in the 2017 CHA Tournament. The tournament central page includes a game schedule and link to ticket sales for the event, which is set to be held at the HarborCenter in Buffalo, N.Y., March 2-4.
 
 
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