Buffalo, N.Y. –  Senior goaltender Jessica Dodds registered the second shutout in College Hockey America (CHA) Championship game history to help the No. 9 Robert Morris University women's hockey team to its second CHA Championship for the program and first ever berth to the NCAA Tournament with a 2-0 victory over the second-seeded Syracuse Orange Saturday evening in the HARBORCENTER in Buffalo, N.Y.
 
Dodds was named Most Valuable Player of the CHA Tournament, and was joined by junior forward Jessica Gazzola and redshirt junior forward Brittany Howard on the CHA All-Tournament Team.
 
Junior forward Jessica Gazzola tabbed her seventh goal of the year and second in the CHA Championship tournament. Redshirt junior forward Brittany Howard posted her second power-play goal of the tournament and 20^th of the season.  Junior defensemen Natalie Fraser and Leah Carey, and forwards freshman Jaycee Gebhard and sophomore Amber Rennie recorded an assist apiece. Senior goaltender Jessica Dodds made 32 saves.

 
Syracuse's best scoring chance occurred in the third, when Brooke Avery's shot on a two-on-one breakaway hit the post at 10:11. The Orange took a timeout following the play, and continued to pile the pressure on Dodds, but the Colonials never let up. Once they secured possession after the break, the puck spent little time in the Syracuse offensive zone.
 
"Personally I had a lot of confidence in our team," said head coach Paul Colontino following his second career CHA Championship victory, "in the sense that we've played so many tight games going into the third, and our team for whatever reason, be it our leadership, our captains, our seniors, is very resilient under pressure. They stick to what's simple and they stick to our game. Going into the third period with a two-goal lead, they knew exactly what they were going to do and they executed. When we had opportunities to be aggressive on the fore check we did that. Not to say it was a typical Colonial win, but we get a lead and we become very tough to play against. That's our style. We play tight defensively and this group executed it perfectly today. We're happy for them."
 
The Colonials had some early chances in the second period, but Syracuse goalie Abbey Miller denied a Howard shot from the right circle and a senior Maeve Garvey breakaway backhander on back-to-back RMU possessions. The period went back-and-forth through the middle of the frame, until the first penalty of the game was called against Syracuse. Howard mimicked the same play on the advantage that put the Colonials on the board against Lindenwood in the semifinals, and ripped a shot from the right wing that went sailing over Miller's shoulder to increase the Robert Morris lead to two at 17:07.
 
Robert Morris had to shift gears quickly, as the Colonials were charged with a two-minute minor for tripping shortly after Howard's goal, but Dodds and the penalty kill got the job done and held Syracuse scoreless for the second consecutive frame.
 
Syracuse opened the first period outshooting Robert Morris, 7-0, but the Colonials started to match their offensive pressure later in the frame, and it paid off. Fraser dumped the puck in the RMU offensive zone and it bounced back to Carey, who took a shot from the blue line. Gazzola found the puck right in front and crammed it home to give RMU an early, 1-0 edge with 3:10 to go in the first. Shots ended up in favor of the Orange, 14-10, after the first 20 minutes of action.
 
"Getting the first goal was huge," said Colontino. "I think in all honesty we came out with a little bit of pregame jitters. We were just a little jumpy, so getting the first goal did settle us down a bit. We got a little momentum going from that."
 
The NCAA Women's Frozen Four Selection Show is slated for this Sunday, March 5 at 9 p.m. (EST) on NCAA.com.
 
"We really need to thank the fans, the families, the band, the Ice Crew, and all the alumni who came out to support us this weekend," Colontino added. "They created an incredible and memorable atmosphere and we appreciate their dedication to our program."
 
 
Making History
Robert Morris claimed its second CHA Championship (first since 2011-12) and secured its first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Colonials finished first in the CHA standings (15-3-2) and achieved the second 20-win season in program history. They are now tied for the most wins by a Colonials squad on program record (24).
 
Goaltending Shines
Senior goaltender Jessica Dodds allowed just one goal throughout the CHA Tournament. Her shutout victory marked the first in a CHA Championship game since 2003, and the second all time in CHA finals history. Dodds' win against Lindenwood in the CHA Semifinals marked her first CHA Tournament victory.
 
Triple Threat
Top-line trio Amber Rennie, Brittany Howard and Jaycee Gebhard have combined for 121 points through 34 games, averaging 3.56 points per game.
 
Milestone Watch
Redshirt junior forward Brittany Howard sits in second place on the all-time individual career points (132) list. She is three points away from being crowned the new all-time points leader in RMU history. With her assist yesterday, freshman forward Jaycee Gebhard set a new RMU record for single-season points by a rookie. She is tied with Rebecca Vint for most goals scored by a rookie in her debut campaign (22). Gebhard was recently named WHCA National Rookie of the Month.
 
Trending
Redshirt junior Brittany Howard has posted a point in 28 of 34 games on the season. Freshman forward Jaycee Gebhard has points in her last nine outings to achieve a new career high point streak. Sophomore defenseman Kirsten Welsh has points in eight of her last 12 games played.
 
CHA Sweep
Robert Morris raked in multiple awards at the CHA Championship Awards Banquet Wednesday evening: Head coach Paul Colontino – CHA Coach of the Year; Brittany Howard – CHA Player of the Year (first in RMU history), CHA Scoring Trophy (first in RMU history), All-CHA First Team; Jaycee Gebhard – CHA Rookie of the Year (fourth in program history), All-CHA Second Team, All-CHA Rookie Team; Jessica Dodds – All-CHA First Team; Kirsten Welsh – All-CHA First Team
 
Making Their Mark
The 2017 squad is now tied for firsts all time in wins (22) in a season in RMU lore. They are the winningest team in CHA contests in program history (15-3-2).
 
National Radar
Robert Morris continues to earn top-10 recognition nationally at No. 9 in the USCHO.com Poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll. They are ranked ninth in the Women's Division I PairWise Rankings, a system that attempts to mimic the method used by the NCAA Selection Committee to determine participants for the NCAA Division I women's hockey tournament.
 
 
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