Women's Hockey | 1/18/2018 9:09:00 AM

PITTSBURGH -- The No. 10 Robert Morris women's hockey team looks to retake the lead atop the College Hockey America (CHA) standings as it resumes conference play against RIT Friday at 2:00 p.m. and Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at the Gene Polisseni Center in Rochester, New York. It will finish the 2017-18 season with a winning non-conference record for the sixth time in seven years under Paul Colontino.

The Colonials (12-6-3, 6-2-2) swept the last series between the teams with 6-1 and 5-2 victories at the Island Sports Center Nov. 10-11, respectively. RMU is 15-10-3 all-time against the Rochester Institute of Technology, having won six straight meetings and nine of the last ten from the Tigers (4-17-3, 1-9-0).

Robert Morris is coming off a 46-shot effort at No. 8 Ohio State Jan. 13. On Nov. 10 they set a team regulation record by firing 65 shots on goal versus RIT.

No. 10 Robert Morris at RIT
Jan. 19 - LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
Jan. 20 - LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS

Key Notes

The Colonials' last visit to RIT also resulted in a sweep, as they posted 4-3 and 5-1 wins Nov. 11-12, 2016, respectively. Brittany Howard put up four points in that series (G, 3 A), and Amanda Pantaleo scored twice in the finale.

Howard had four goals and six points versus RIT Nov. 10-11. Tied for the most points in the NCAA that weekend, she was named its First Star of the Week Nov. 14.

Meanwhile, Howard was named the Dapper Dan Charities Pittsburgh Sportswoman of the Year for 2017, the first student-athlete in school history to win the award. In the 2017 calendar year, she registered 43 points (24 G, 19 A) en route to the program's single-season assist record, first-ever CHA scoring title, first-ever CHA Player of the Year award and first regular-season conference title, as well as Robert Morris women's hockey's all-time scoring crown. Howard will be recognized at the 82nd annual Dapper Dan Dinner & Sports Auction at Pittsburgh's David L. Lawrence Convention Center Feb. 21.

Pantaleo registered two assists at OSU last Saturday, her first multi-point game since Nov. 3 at Lindenwood, including her first shorthanded point since the Nov. 4 series finale, which concluded an unprecedented 7-1-2 road swing.

Kirsten Welsh scored her first career shorthanded goal Jan. 13, moving RMU into a tie for the second-most in the NCAA. The team's seven shorthanded goals are the most since the eight it scored in its inaugural 2005-06 season.

Welsh, with 65 points, has moved into a three-way tie for tenth on the Robert Morris all-time scoring list with Cobina Delaney (2009-2013) and Amber Rennie. She remains the program's all-time points leader among defenders.

Elijah Milne-Price will be the sixth goaltender in RMU history to record 400 career saves. She still tops all CHA netminders with her .694 win percentage.

Robert Morris was tabbed No. 10 in the latest USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's Poll. The Colonials have been ranked in at least one major poll in each of the last 28 sets released, the longest streak in program history.

Chasing History

Brittany Howard, with 72 career goals, needs just two more to surpass her former teammate, Rebecca Vint '15, as RMU's all-time leader. They are the only two Colonials to ever top 70. Howard ended November on a five-game goal streak, her longest since the six-game run on which she went to begin the 2017-18 season. Her 90 lifetime assists are the third-most of any active NCAA player entering Friday. Howard hurdled Vint as the all-time points leader in Colonials history Oct. 8, and her 162 career points are the second-most in the NCAA. She ranks fifth in D-I with 18 goals, sharing the D-I lead in shorties with three. She leads CHA in points (30), points per game (1.43), power-play points (7) and GWGs (4).

After notching her career-high 11th goal of the season Jan. 5, Amber Rennie needs just two more to catch Kelsey Thomas (2009-12) for seventh on the RMU career chart. Jaycee Gebhard is one assist from tying Kirsten Welsh (42) for ninth all-time.

A League of Their Own

Brittany Howard and Amber Rennie share the CHA lead in plus/minus with matching 21 ratings entering Friday. Both are on pace for a team single-season record. With 21 points each, Rennie (11 G, 10 A) and Jaycee Gebhard (4 G, 17 A) are in a three-way tie for second in the conference in overall scoring behind Howard.

Howard leads the conference with 13 points in CHA competition, and her six goals in conference play are tied for the most. She is also tied for the lead in power play assists (4) and points (5) against CHA opponents. Kirsten Welsh is the conference's top-scoring defender in CHA play with 11 points (5 G, 6 A).

Howard (1.27) and Gebhard (1.22) are the front-runners in the race to set the new program record for career points per game. At the other end, Elijah Milne-Price leads all RMU goalies in career GAA (1.94) and ranks third in career save percentage (.917).

In Our Defense...

The Robert Morris defense has combined for 15 goals and 59 points, ranking sixth in the NCAA and making it the top-scoring defensive unit in CHA. The 50th point was a secondary assist by Leah Carey, while playing in her 100th career game, on the winning goal vs. Mercyhurst Dec. 2. Kirsten Welsh is tied for seventh in the nation in points by defensemen with 17 (7 G, 10 A) and also tied for third-most in Division I by an underclassman at her position.

On Dec. 9 Maggie LaGue became the first Colonials defender with 50 career assists. Katherine Murphy enters Friday with 49. In addition, LaGue enters Friday a career 19, on track for an RMU defensive record.

"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 has outscored CHA opponents 17-5 in third periods and its 32 third-period goals overall are tied for second-most in the nation. Brittany Howard has 17 of her CHA-best 30 points (10 G, 7 A) in the last 20 minutes of regulation, Amber Rennie ten of her 21 (5 G, 5 A) and Kirsten Welsh ten of her 17 (3 G, 7 A).

RMU is unbeaten in 12 tries (10-0-2) when tied or ahead entering the third. Its 16 third-period goals allowed are tied for the second-fewest by a CHA team, and the Colonials lead CHA with their 16 goal margin in third periods, which is tied for fourth nationally. Elijah Milne-Price has a 1.32 GAA in third periods that leads CHA and ranks seventh among all NCAA goaltenders.

An "A" for Effort

Jaycee Gebhard leads CHA with 17 assists and also leads the conference with an average of 0.85 apples per game, also ranking 14th in Division I. Gebhard is one of only two players in the nation to have recorded four or more assists in two or more games this season.

Resume Builder

RMU sits No. 13 in the national Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and No. 12 in the PairWise Rankings as it resumes CHA play. Both sets of rankings help determine NCAA Tournament seeding.

You Can Go Home Again

Pittsburgh native Anjelica Diffendal scored her first NCAA goal in her second-ever home game Nov. 11 vs. RIT after appearing in seven road contests. On Nov. 4 she had the honor of skating on a line with former Pittsburgh Penguins Elite teammate Morgan Schauer in the latter's RMU debut. Diffendal joins Chelsea Burdzy (2011-12) and current Pens Elite assistant coach Ashley Vesci (2012-16) as the third "Steel City" citizen to play for the program.

Thunder and Lightning

Thunder Bay, Ontario native Jessica Gazzola assisted twice, including a game-winning helper, versus Syracuse Jan. 5, against whom she scored her CHA Tournament-winning goal Mar. 4, 2017. Gazzola leads CHA with nine assists in conference play.

New Kids on the Block

Emily Curlett blocked a series-high eight shots vs. Syracuse Jan. 5-6. She leads all CHA defenders with 56 blocks, and her plus-14 rating this season is tops among all first-year players in the conference.

Lexi Templeman, CHA Rookie of the Month for November, and Rookie of the Week Dec. 11, is one shy of the CHA rookie lead in goals, with six, and assists, with seven. Her 13 points are tied for second among CHA rookies, and she leads CHA rookies with four power play goals.

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