Women's Hockey | 10/19/2018 5:17:00 AM
PITTSBURGH -- The
Robert Morris women's hockey team visits the arch-rival Lakers of Mercyhurst University in its first College Hockey America (CHA) series of the 2018-19 season Friday and Saturday. This is their first meeting since Mercyhurst dethroned RMU in the 2018 CHA Tournament Final with a 5-3 win Mar. 3.
The opening faceoffs from the Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie, Pennsylvania are scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. EDT, respectively. Both games can be seen live on the CHA Digital Network (subscription required).
Robert Morris (2-4-0, 0-0-0) at (RV/RV) Mercyhurst (2-4-0, 2-0-0) - Oct. 19-20, 2018
Fri., Oct. 19 (6:00 p.m.) - LIVE STREAM ($) | LIVE STATS
Sat., Oct. 20 (3:00 p.m.) - LIVE STREAM ($) | LIVE STATS
The Colonials split their 2017-18 regular-season series with the Lakers (2-2-0), allowing them to hold off Mercyhurst by two points for their second straight CHA regular-season championship. A 3-2 Robert Morris triumph at the Mercyhurst Ice Center Feb. 17, its last outing there, preserved the lead.
RMU has earned points from the Lakers in six of eight prior regular-season matchups (5-2-1). Its last six wins in the rivalry have been one-goal games.
Key Notes
• Robert Morris is coming off a split with RPI at the Island Sports Center, the third consecutive ECAC opponent to face the Colonials at the start of their '18-'19 campaign. RMU dropped the opener 1-0 despite firing 58 shots on goal, setting a new team single-game record for shots on a non-conference foe.
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Jaycee Gebhard scored a power play goal with 9:25 left in regulation that proved to be the game-winner in the 3-1 series finale, and her four power play points (2 G, 2 A) tie her for the national lead. This marked the third straight game in which the Robert Morris power play converted at least once after being blanked in its first three regular-season contests. Gebhard was also credited with a shot block during a pivotal third-period penalty kill.
• Gebhard scored the first two goals of the game for Robert Morris in its last visit to the MIC. The assistant captain enters Friday with five career points (3 G, 2 A) in four career road games against Mercyhurst.
Kirsten Welsh, who assisted on the first of those two Gebhard tallies, leads all active Colonials with 13 career points (5 G, 8 A) against the Lakers.
• Gebhard has maintained the overall Division I lead with her 90 faceoff wins. Her .612 faceoff win percentage ranks fourth in College Hockey America entering Friday. Including the CHA Tournament, Gebhard's 27 faceoff wins in her last three matchups with Mercyhurst are the most of all active Colonials. RMU enters Friday with the most team faceoff wins in the nation (193).
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Arielle DeSmet was named the CHA Rookie of the Week after picking up both her first win and her first assist as a collegian Oct. 13. DeSmet, who had made a team-leading seven saves in preseason action versus Ontario Tech Sept. 22, recorded eight in the victory. She helped provide the final margin by kicking a puck out to
Natalie Marcuzzi that the latter buried into an empty net with 58 seconds left in regulation.
• The two goals allowed by the Robert Morris defense to RPI Oct. 12-13 equal the amount it conceded to Mercyhurst Dec. 1-2, 2017. When the teams played to a scoreless first period Feb. 17, it allowed
Elijah Milne-Price to set the RMU goaltending mark for longest shutout streak, which eventually grew to 181:09.
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Amber Rennie scored the game-winning goal versus Mercyhurst Dec. 2, 2017. Her next point will put her in eighth place in program history, with 76.
Resume Builder
• RMU currently sits No. 27 in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and PairWise rankings. Six of its eight remaining non-conference foes finished 2017-18 in the final NCAA Division I women's hockey polls, and Mercyhurst finished in the national top ten as well.
Chasing History
• With her third-period goal at No. 1 Clarkson Oct. 6,
Jaycee Gebhard moved past longtime teammate and fellow Saskatchewanian
Amber Rennie for the lead in their career goals race. Gebhard's 38 goals put her alone in seventh place in Robert Morris history, leaving Rennie in eighth, with 36, entering Friday. In addition, Gebhard took sole possession of seventh place all-time from Megan Picinic '09 with her power play goal last Saturday, the 14th of her career.
Achievement Unlocked
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Natalie Marcuzzi was hailed as a CHA Student-Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row in 2018, leading a conference-best group of 20 Colonials who made the CHA All-Academic Team this past off-season.
Signature Wins
• On Nov. 25, 2017 (3-2 over No. 5 Ohio State) RMU earned its first win over a ranked team since Jan. 18, 2014. Previously, six of its wins versus top-ten teams were against Mercyhurst, all under Colontino. Before that game, its last such win on home ice was a 3-2 win over the No. 9 Lakers Nov. 9, 2013. Its tie at No. 4 Colgate Dec. 9, 2017 was its best result against a No. 4 team since a 2-1 win over No. 4/5 'Hurst Dec. 8, 2012. Colontino earned his 50th win as head coach versus Mercyhurst Dec. 7, 2012.
All's Well That Welsh Ends
• With her goal 2:51 into overtime versus St. Lawrence Sept. 29,
Kirsten Welsh took sole possession of tenth place on the all-time RMU goals chart. Dating back to the 2016-17 season, Robert Morris is unbeaten in 21 of the past 24 games in which Welsh has recorded at least one point.
What's In A Name?
• Before
Leah Marino joined the Colonials, her No. 12 jersey was worn by Class of '18 defender
Leah Carey, who assisted on the CHA title-clinching goal in 2017, as well as Rennie's aforementioned game-winner against Mercyhurst. Marino is the first Californian to play at RMU and its westernmost U.S.-born player since another Leah, Leah Carlson '16, joined the program from Copper Center, Alaska.
They Are "Soph"
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Emily Curlett matched her career high with six blocked shots versus St. Lawrence Sept. 29 and fell just shy with five versus RPI Oct. 12. Curlett led all CHA defenders in 2017-18 with 70 blocks and now ranks third in D-I with 20.
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Lexi Templeman finished the 2017-18 season with a .559 faceoff win rate that ended up third among CHA rookies. She went 15-1 from the dot against RPI Oct. 12-13, and her .688 faceoff win percentage is tied for eighth in D-I and ranks second in CHA. After tying for the team lead with five power play goals as a rookie, her first two power play points this season were assists on
Jaycee Gebhard goals.
You Feel Shame For Two Minutes, And Then You Get Free
• Robert Morris killed off all five penalties taken against RPI Oct. 12-13, and it also went 5-for-5 on the PK in its most recent series at Mercyhurst. In 2017-18 the Colonials reached an 88.5% success rate on the penalty kill in regular-season conference games, which was good for ninth in the NCAA.
A Call To The Hall
• One of the most notable members of
Paul Colontino's first Robert Morris team, Stittsville, Ontario native Brianna Delaney was 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.
Take Your Pick
• Robert Morris was picked second to Mercyhurst in the 2018-19 College Hockey America Preseason Poll. The Colonials, the two-time CHA regular-season champs, received one of six possible first-place votes. This marked the sixth time in the
Paul Colontino era that RMU was tabbed to finish within the conference's top three in its annual preseason poll.
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