Women's Hockey | 1/24/2018 10:39:00 PM
PITTSBURGH -- The
Robert Morris women's hockey team looks to retake the lead atop the College Hockey America (CHA) standings as it continues conference play versus Penn State at the RMU Island Sports Center Friday at 7:05 p.m. and Saturday at 3:05 p.m. in its annual Skate for the Cure series.
RMU (14-6-3, 8-2-2) is 14-4-4 all-time versus the Nittany Lions (6-11-8, 3-5-4), going unbeaten in nine of 12 meetings at Colonials Arena since 2012. Previously they tied 3-3 and 2-2 Oct. 28-29 at Pegula Ice Arena in the first CHA series of the season for both.
(RV)/(RV) Robert Morris vs. Penn State
Jan. 26 - LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
Jan. 27 - LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
A free, continuous student shuttle will run 6:00-10:00 p.m. Friday from Lexington/Concord Halls to the main doors of the RMU Island Sports Center. The first 200 fans to that game will receive a replica jersey compliments of Eat'n Park, and admission for Girl Scouts is only $1.00. A special pregame meet-and-greet for Girl Scouts will take place 6:00-7:00 p.m. in the Hat Trick Club.
Friday's contest is also the second of two "Skate with the Colonials" games this season. Fans can join the team on the ice after the game for free with their own skates, or for just $3.00 to rent from the Island Sports Center's front desk.
On Saturday the team will hold its annual Teddy Bear Toss, where fans are encouraged to bring new stuffed animals, with tags still intact, to throw on the ice when the Colonials score their first goal of the game. They will be collected and donated to UPMC Children's Hospital, while a concurrent cash fundraiser will benefit Our Clubhouse, a non-profit organization providing support to those affected by cancer.
In addition, fans can sign up for the Clearview Federal Credit Union Skill Shot Challenge prior to both games for a chance to win $500.
Call 412-397-4949 or visitÂ
rmutickets.com for tickets.
Key Notes
The Colonials split their last home series with PSU, including a 2-0 victory at the Island Sports Center Feb. 18, 2017.
Amanda Pantaleo scored a game-winning shorthanded goal, the only RMU shorthanded goal of last season.
Robert Morris is coming off a sweep at CHA rival RIT, its first series win since sweeping the Tigers Nov. 10-11. The Colonials equaled their largest victory margin in the
Paul Colontino era with a 12-1 rout Jan. 19, then
Maggie LaGue scored her third career game-winning goal, two of which have come at the Polisseni Center, to complete a come-from-behind 4-3 overtime triumph Jan. 20.
Saturday marks the second annual Teddy Bear Toss at Colonials Arena. On Jan. 13, 2017, fans threw 425 stuffed animals onto the ice for charity when eventual CHA scoring champion
Brittany Howard scored RMU's first goal, and over $1,600 was raised for cancer patients at UPMC Children's Hospital.
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Howard was named the NCAA's Third Star of the Week for registering a nation-best seven assists and four power play points Jan. 19-20. Previously, she was named No. 1 NCAA Star for putting up six points in RMU's initial sweep of RIT.
In addition, Howard got CHA Player of the Week for the 13th time in her career and fourth this year. On Jan. 19 she became the fifth player in RMU history with five assists in a game, matching her career single-game high in points.
With 19 assists on the season, Howard now shares the CHA lead. She leads all active Colonials with 16 career points against the Nittany Lions (5 G, 11 A).
Kirsten Welsh enjoyed her second career multiple-goal game at RIT Jan. 19. She earned CHA Player of the Week honors for her heroics at PSU Oct. 28-29, tying the opener with 1:37 left in regulation and the finale with 8:21 remaining. Dating back to last season, Robert Morris is unbeaten in 14 of the past 16 games in which Welsh has registered a point.
Elijah Milne-Price became the sixth goalie in RMU history to make 400 career saves. She made a career single-game high 32 stops at RIT Jan. 20, and she continues to lead the conference with her .725 winning percentage. Milne-Price was named CHA Goalie of the Week the last time she faced Penn State, making 22 of her 52 saves in the last two regulation periods of the series.
Emily Curlett was named CHA Rookie of the Week for the second time this season. She finished with five points (2 G, 3 A) and five blocked shots at RIT.
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Robert Morris received votes in the latest USCHO.com D-I Poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's Poll. The Colonials have received votes in 34 consecutive USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls, the longest streak in program history.
Chasing History
Brittany Howard, with 72 career goals, needs just two more to surpass Rebecca Vint '15 as RMU's all-time leader. They are the only two Colonials to ever top 70. Howard's 97 lifetime assists are the second-most of any active NCAA player entering Friday. She hurdled Vint as the all-time points leader in Colonials history Oct. 8, and her 169 career points are the second-most in the NCAA. She is tied for sixth in D-I with 18 goals, sharing the NCAA lead in shorthanded goals with three. She leads CHA in points (37), points per game (1.61), power play points (11), game-winning goals (4), plus/minus (+22) and shots on goal per game (5.57).
With her career-high 12th goal of the season at RIT Jan. 19,
Amber Rennie needs just one more to catch Kelsey Thomas '12 for seventh all-time at Robert Morris (32). On Jan. 20
Jaycee Gebhard became the ninth in team history to score 30 career goals when she buried her second power play goal of the game to force OT with 1:52 to play in the third period. She now has seven points (4 G, 3 A) over her past three games.
Meanwhile,
Kirsten Welsh tied Megan Picinic '08 for sixth on the school's all-time chart with her 13th career power play goal last Friday, also the game-winner.
An "A" for Effort
Gebhard leads the conference with an average of 0.86 apples per game, also ranking 11th in Division I. Now tied for eighth in career assists at RMU (43), she is one of only three NCAA players to have recorded four or more assists in two or more games this season.
Resume Builder
Robert Morris sits No. 13 in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and No. 12 in the PairWise Rankings. Both rankings, taking strength of schedule into account, help determine NCAA Tournament seeding.
2 Woke Girls
Skate for the Cure is the second charity event to take place at the RMU Island Sports Center this season. During fall semester,
Jessica Gazzola and
Natalie Fraser, for their senior project for the student-athlete group Colonial Leadership Academy, raised $588 in a gift basket auction for the Children's Institute of Pittsburgh.
Worth the Wait
Robert Morris improved to 3-0-3 in overtime last Saturday. The other two OT winners belong to
Brittany Howard, the first two of her career. The Colonials are unbeaten in their last 11 sudden-death appearances (4-0-7) dating back to 2016-17, and Howard's 16 lifetime GW's are the second-most in program history to Rebecca Vint's 18.
In Our Defense...
The Robert Morris defense has combined for 21 goals and 74 points, ranking third in the NCAA and making it the top-scoring defensive unit in CHA.
Kirsten Welsh is seventh in the nation in points by defenders with 19 (9 G, 10 A), and she has the third-most in Division I by an underclassman at her position.
Katherine Murphy matched her career best by blocking a game-high eight shots versus Mercyhurst Dec. 2, the most by any RMU player in a single game this season. The previous high was the seven blocked by
Maggie LaGue at Penn State Oct. 29.
On Dec. 9 at Colgate, LaGue became the first defender in Colonials history to register 50 career assists. In addition, LaGue's +19 rating is on track for an RMU single-season 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 foes 20-6 in third periods, and its 35 third-period goals overall are the second most in the nation.
Brittany Howard has an NCAA-best 19 of her CHA-best 37 points (10 G, 9 A) in the third period.
Jaycee Gebhard (4 G, 6 A),
Kirsten Welsh (3 G, 7 A) and
Amber Rennie (5 G, 5 A) each have ten.
RMU is unbeaten in 13 tries (11-0-2) when tied or ahead entering the third. Its six third-period goals allowed in conference play are tied for fourth-fewest in the nation. The Colonials lead CHA with their +18 goal margin in third periods, which ranks fifth nationally.
Elijah Milne-Price has a 1.34 goals-against average in third periods that ranks second in CHA and sixth among all NCAA goaltenders.
New Kids on the Block
Emily Curlett leads all CHA defenders with 61 blocked shots, and her plus-18 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, shares the CHA rookie scoring lead with Curlett, who has an identical seven goals and 16 points, and Natalie Heising of PSU. Her first career power play goal came at Penn State Oct. 29.
Thunder and Lightning
Thunder Bay, Ontario native
Jessica Gazzola finished with two assists, one on the power play and one on the game-tying goal by
Kirsten Welsh, at Penn State Oct. 29. Gazzola leads CHA with 11 assists in conference play and has a plus-4 rating in those games.
A Call to the Hall
One of the most notable members of
Paul Colontino's first Robert Morris team, Stittsville, Ontario native Brianna Delaney will be inducted in the RMU Athletic Hall of Fame Feb. 2. In the championship game of the 2012 College Hockey America (CHA) Tournament at the RMU Island Sports Center, Delaney scored the game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory over Mercyhurst. The goal helped snap a streak of nine consecutive CHA Tournament championships by the Lakers and also earned Delaney a spot on the 2012 All-CHA Tournament Team.
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