PITTSBURGH -- The
Robert Morris women's hockey team showed how eager it was to prove its respectable showing at No. 1 Clarkson last weekend was no accident, but fate conspired against the Colonials in the form of another Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) opponent.
Goaltender and team captain Lovisa Selander made 58 saves for her first win of the season, and RPI rope-a-doped Robert Morris for a 1-0 win at the RMU Island Sports Center Friday afternoon. At the other end, Jamie Grigsby put a wrist shot off the leg of Selander's senior counterpart,
Lauren Bailey, to give the Engineers (1-2-1) the lone goal with just under four minutes to play in the second period.
The 58 shots on goal set a new RMU single-game record for the most against a non-conference opponent. Previously, the Colonials (1-4-0) had fired 56 at Brown in an 11-0 win over the Bears Oct. 20, 2017. Overall, they are the sixth-most in a single game in program history.
For Bailey, who finished with 17 stops, it was her best start, statistically speaking, since allowing only one goal on 18 shots faced in a 6-2 win at Minnesota State Oct. 8, 2017. Last season, she allowed only one goal as a backup in a Jan. 12 loss at No. 8 Ohio State that saw her make 22 saves.
Previously, Bailey's last start on home ice in which she allowed only one goal was a 2-1 decision over Mercyhurst Oct. 28, 2016 in which she stopped 30 shots. The Colonials visit the Lakers next weekend to open College Hockey America play, their first meeting since the 2018 CHA Tournament Final.
Her only other career start against Rensselaer had come in a 6-3 RMU victory at Colonials Arena Oct. 7, 2016, a 27-save effort in which
Jaycee Gebhard and
Amber Rennie had combined for five points (three goals, two assists).
The top-line duo from Saskatchewan certainly had their chances Friday, combining for nine shots on goal, including six in the third period alone. Gebhard also won a team-high 11 faceoffs.
Robert Morris played a strong puck possession game as a whole, with fellow centers
Lexi Templeman and
Emilie Harley going a combined 16-for-18 from the dot.
Furthermore, RMU gave itself plenty of chances to generate offense from its defense. Sophomore blue-liner
Emily Curlett, in a harbinger of poor puck luck to come, rang one off the corner of the cage from the left side 2:10 into the game, and she finished the first period with a team-leading five shots and three blocked shots.
Senior tri-captain
Kirsten Welsh, who got the equalizer in a 1-1 tie when last these teams had met, Oct. 8, 2016 in Pittsburgh, got a couple good looks at Selander late. The Colonials earned a power play with 1:41 remaining and eventually pulled Bailey for a 6-on-4 advantage.
Not for nothing, none of them could solve the Swede on this particular Friday, even after the Colonials outshot RPI 26-5 in the final frame. Two of Welsh's five third-period shots on goal came on that late PP, and a third attempt from up high was blocked in the waning moments.
On the other side of the special teams battle, the RMU penalty kill continued to be an early-season bright spot. That unit went 3-for-3, allowing four total shots on net, and gutted out a two-player advantage for the Engineers with 48 seconds left in the second period to keep it a one-goal game.
The opening faceoff of Saturday's rematch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. EDT at the Island Sports Center. Fans can visit the ISC front desk for ticket information.
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