PITTSBURGH -- You could say the
Robert Morris women's hockey team did something truly "special" at the RMU Island Sports Center Saturday afternoon. Additionally, you could say it won a College Hockey America (CHA) game.
Special teams prowess powered a 4-2 triumph over Penn State (6-12-9, 3-6-5) that allowed the Colonials (15-6-4, 9-2-3) to keep pace with Mercyhurst for the CHA lead. More importantly, RMU made its 12th "Skate for the Cure" weekend a rousing success by collecting money and toys for UPMC Children's Hospital and the local chapter of Our Clubhouse, a non-profit that provides support to those affected by cancer.
A ceremonial puck drop by the DeLuca family that featured team captain and event organizer
Amanda Pantaleo preceded a second annual Teddy Bear Toss planned to take place upon the Colonials' first goal of the game. The DeLucas' youngest daughter, Madelina, an avid Robert Morris fan, is winning her battle with acute myeloid leukemia thanks to the work of both aforementioned organizations.
This time, the Colonials seized the moment early.
Amber Rennie made it rain just 2:33 into the contest, getting the last stick on a
Kirsten Welsh blast from center point for her career-high 13th of the year and the first of four special teams goals on the day by RMU, three of which came on the power play.
A rapt crowd of 624 fans, plus some staff and game administrators, promptly showered the ice at Colonials Arena with new stuffed animals.
"As a player, you're on the ice, playing, or on the bench, you're a coach, you're all into it, and you score a goal, and all these teddy bears get thrown onto the rink. And the truth is, I think, for everybody, for just a few minutes, you think differently," head coach
Paul Colontino said. "You think differently about what's happening, and how lucky we all are to be playing, to be coaching, to be competing, and just what a great cause it is.
"The players do an awesome job setting it up and putting things on. It's fun to see, and, more importantly, it'll be a lot better when those teddy bears reach their homes."
Seven minutes later, Pantaleo channeled her karma into the primary assist on a beautiful go-ahead goal by
Jessica Gazzola. The Thunder Bay, Ontario product dragged around a defender and flipped the puck through a small opening above the shoulder of Hannah Ehresmann for a 2-1 Robert Morris advantage.
"Pants and 'Crash' (
Sarah Lecavalier) did a really good job down low tying up, and we caught a few of their players deep. I saw the lane, just kind of took it to the net and shot," said Gazzola, who would later add an assist of her own for her 12th helper in conference play, the second-most this season of any CHA player.
Welsh wasn't done either. With 7:06 to go until the second ice cut, she rifled a shot from the right point that
Jaycee Gebhard tipped past Ehresmann and, after withstanding official review, put the Colonials ahead to stay.
When Penn State ramped up its pressure in the third period, the junior defender put the game out of reach. A Herculean effort by the Robert Morris penalty kill, which staved off three Nittany Lion power plays in the period, saw
Sarah Quaranta carry the puck deep to finish off the second one, then make a perfect centering feed to Welsh, who buried it from between the circles with just over three minutes left.
"Everyone's stepping up to the plate and doing their role," Welsh said of Quaranta's crucial play. "That's how we get better as a team."
The 12th goal of the season by Welsh, the program's all-time points leader among defenders with 72 (28 G, 44 A), is a new RMU defensive record. Furthermore, it was the eighth shorthanded goal of the year for RMU, matching the school-record eight scored in its seminal 2005-06 campaign.
"I couldn't do it without my teammates, and today's game was huge for us as a team," Welsh remarked after putting up a team-leading five goals against PSU for the season series. "We worked off each other and we kept progressing. It's the best game I've seen from our team all season, and we just have to keep working that hard if we want to place first in our [conference]."
Gebhard, meanwhile, has eight points (5 G, 3 A) over her last five games, including three power play tallies. Over its past four games, RMU has converted a staggering ten of 27 power play chances (37.0%).
Dating back to its 2016-17 CHA regular- and postseason title run, it has gone unbeaten in 16 of the last 18 games in which Welsh has recorded a point.
"I think we've had a lot of patience and really good communication," Gazzola said of the recent outburst. "Knowing where each other [is] has a lot to do with it, and just going to the net. When Welshy's shooting, we're all just eager to get there, she has such a nice shot. It worked out really well."
"I don't know that I can explain it, to be honest," Colontino said with a smile. "For a long time, we felt like we were doing things right on the power play, and we just weren't finding the back of the net. But I think the girls have persevered, and when you get a player like Welshy who's working hard during the week, putting the extra work in, it pays off, without a doubt."
Penn State put her and the rest of the RMU defense to work in the final twenty, outshooting the hosts 17-4 in search of an equalizer that the Colonials, as one, worked to prevent, and
Elijah Milne-Price made half of her career-high 36 saves on the PK to nail down her CHA-leading 14th win as a senior.
Robert Morris now heads into a bye week with a chance to rest, recuperate and reflect upon not only a four-game unbeaten streak and another action-packed weekend against visiting CHA rival Lindenwood Feb. 9-10, but also upon how it made a difference this weekend.
"I think it adds to the excitement," Gazzola said. "Of course our main focus is winning the game, but to have a good turnout, with everyone in the stands and all those teddy bears on the ice, it's kind of rewarding, scoring that goal with all those fans there to support us. It's awesome."
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