Women's Hockey | 1/4/2018 10:39:00 AM
PITTSBURGH -- The No. 8
Robert Morris women's hockey team begins the 2018 portion of its regular season by resuming conference play against College Hockey America (CHA) rival Syracuse at the RMU Island Sports Center Friday at 7:05 p.m. and Saturday at 3:05 p.m. RMU (11-3-3, 5-1-2), coming off a 3-3 tie at No. 4/4 Colgate Dec. 9 in non-conference play, remains three points ahead of the third-place Orange (5-11-2, 4-3-1) atop the CHA standings.
This is the first meeting between these teams since Mar. 4, 2017, a 2-0 RMU victory at HarborCenter in Buffalo, New York that gave the Colonials their second CHA Tournament title in history and first NCAA Tournament trip. The Colonials went 3-1-1 against the Orange overall last season, including a 2-2 draw and a 2-1 triumph at Colonials Arena Nov. 4-5, 2016, respectively.
#9/8 Robert Morris vs. Syracuse - Jan. 5-6
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The first 200 fans to Colonials Arena for Friday's game get a beverage can koozie compliments of the Jailhouse Saloon. Fans can call 412-397-4949 or visit
rmutickets.com for tickets.
Key Notes
Robert Morris's tie at Colgate gave the team its first point against the nation's No. 4 team since a 2-1 win over Mercyhurst Dec. 8, 2012. With 5:46 left in regulation,
Natalie Fraser scored for the first time since Oct. 21 to force OT, where RMU ran its unbeaten streak against ECAC opponents to 5-0-3.
Elijah Milne-Price, the CHA leader in winning/points percentage (.767), made a season-high 29 saves at Colgate, including six in the extra session.
The Colonials are unbeaten in five of their last six home-ice meetings with Syracuse, with four of those games having gone to overtime.
Jaycee Gebhard and
Brittany Howard led all active Colonials with two goals and two assists apiece versus Syracuse last season.
Howard, the CHA Player of the Month for October and November, has been nominated for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Dapper Dan Sportswoman of the Year award. She is the third RMU women's hockey nominee and first since Brianna Delaney and Kristen DiCiocco in Jan. 2012. In the 2017 calendar year, Howard registered 43 points (24 G, 19 A) en route to the program's single-season assist record, its first-ever CHA scoring title, its first-ever CHA Player of the Year award and its first regular-season conference championship in history, as well as Robert Morris women's hockey's all-time scoring crown. Fans can vote at
promo.post-gazette.com/dapperdan through Jan. 10.
Lexi Templeman was named CHA Rookie of the Week Dec. 11. Templeman, also the CHA Rookie of the Month for November, enters January tied for the conference rookie lead in goals (6), assists (7) and points (13) and leads all CHA newcomers with four power play goals.
RMU was No. 9 in the last USCHO.com Division I Women's Poll of 2017 and No. 8 in the latest USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll, its highest ranking since the end of the 2016-17 season. The Colonials have been ranked in at least one major poll in each of the last 26 sets released.
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RMU sits No. 11 in the national Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and No. 10 in the PairWise Rankings after earning its tie at Colgate Dec. 9. Both sets of rankings impact NCAA Tournament seeding.
Thunder and Lightning
Thunder Bay, Ontario native
Jessica Gazzola scored her second consecutive game-winning goal in last year's CHA Tournament against the Orange, earning All-CHA Tournament Team honors. Her first two career goals against SU were game-winners.
Chasing History
Brittany Howard, with 71 career goals, needs just three 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 89 lifetime assists are the second-most career helpers of any active NCAA player entering Friday. Howard hurdled Vint as the all-time points leader in Colonials history Oct. 8, and her 160 career points are the second-most nationally entering Friday. She ranks fifth in D-I with 17 goals, topping D-I with three shorties and sitting second with four GW's, and her 28 points lead CHA.
The next goal by
Amber Rennie will make her the eighth player in team history to hit 30 for her career. Her pivotal tally in the Dec. 2 win over Mercyhurst put her past 2005-08 teammates Morgan Beikirch and Megan Picnic for eighth on the career chart.
An "A" for Effort
Jaycee Gebhard was named CHA Player of the Week for her game-winning goal at Brown Oct. 20 and six assists in the series. Gebhard leads CHA with 15 assists and also leads the conference with an average of 0.94 apples per game. She figured in on all six RMU goals at Mankato Oct. 8 to match a school single-game record that had been untouched since Maria Olausson had six helpers versus Chatham Oct. 27, 2006. With 65 career points in all (26 G, 39 A) entering January, her next one will put her past Cobina Delaney for ninth in Robert Morris history.
A League of Their Own
Brittany Howard shares the NCAA lead with three shorthanded goals, and Robert Morris ranks second in the nation with six as a team.
Jaycee Gebhard became the fourth different Colonial to collect a shorty this season with her breakaway goal at No. 4 Colgate Dec. 9.
Howard leads all CHA players with 5.50 shots per game in conference play and is tied for the CHA lead with five goals and 11 points against conference foes. She and
Kirsten Welsh share the lead with four power-play points in conference play, and Howard and
Amber Rennie each are a CHA-best +9 in conference games.
Jessica Gazzola's seven assists in CHA play are also the most.
Elijah Milne-Price has begun her senior campaign with a CHA-best five wins in conference play, and her .935 save percentage against conference competition ranks second.
In Our Defense...
The Robert Morris defense has combined for 12 goals and 52 points, ranking fourth 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 ranks eighth in the nation in points by defensemen with 15 (6 G, 9 A), also the third-most nationally 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, returning from injury, became the first defender in Robert Morris history to reach 50 career assists. Murphy is right behind her for the all-time blue-liner lead with 49.
"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 scored 11 third-period goals over its past seven games Nov. 10-Dec. 9, the most in CHA and tied for eighth-most in the NCAA over that span. It has outscored CHA opponents 14-2 in the third and outscored opponents 29-10 overall in third periods.
Brittany Howard has 15 of her conference-best 28 points (9 G, 6 A) in the last 20 minutes of regulation,
Amber Rennie nine of her 19 (5 G, 4 A) and
Kirsten Welsh nine of her 15 (3 G, 6 A).
RMU is unbeaten in 11 tries (9-0-2) when tied or ahead entering the third. Its ten third-period goals allowed are the fewest by any CHA team and are tied for seventh nationally, and the Colonials lead CHA (t-2nd NCAA) with a +19 goal margin in third periods.
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