ERIE, Pa. -- Head coach
Paul Colontino had something to say to the
Robert Morris women's hockey team, coming off a hard-fought loss, that resonated throughout the visitors' locker room at the Mercyhurst Ice Center, perhaps, more than the average pre-game chat.
"The world is full of average people; we don't have any in this room."
The Colonials responded with a performance that was anything but average in a 5-1 rout of College Hockey America arch-rival Mercyhurst that silenced the mostly hostile crowd of 1,405 at the MIC on Saturday. It began with another early barrage of offense, and this time, RMU (3-5-0, 1-1-0) drained the Lakers (3-5-0, 3-1-0) with strong team defense and timely execution on special teams.
Among the masses were the U14 Pens Elite Girls team, coached by Robert Morris alumna Cobina Walkland (née Delaney), and the Colonials gave the few friendly faces plenty to smile about in the first period. They rung up five of the game's first seven shots on goal and finally put one on the board that counted with 6:49 left in the opening frame.
After setting up teammates willing to stand in the path of her ferocious slap shot on countless occasions, senior tri-captain
Kirsten Welsh reversed roles for a change. She drifted between the circles and deflected in a
Jaycee Gebhard snap shot from up high for her third goal of the season with Maggie Knott in the box for tripping.
The 16th power play tally in the career of Welsh put the veteran blue-liner in charge of fifth place on the program's all-time chart, passing original Colonial Kristin Miles '09. Robert Morris, dating back to the 2016-17 season, is now unbeaten in 22 of the past 26 games in which she has registered a point.
Less than two minutes later,
Natalie Marcuzzi gave RMU a 2-0 lead. The alert junior forward and two-time CHA Student-Athlete of the Year stole the puck after a sloppy play at the Mercyhurst blue line, swooped in through the right wing circle ahead of her defender and wristed a beautiful backhander past Sarah McDonnell, the reigning CHA Goalie of the Week, for her second goal in three games.
Early in the second period, the Robert Morris penalty kill returned to its early-season form after a rough Friday night. The Colonials battled through a truncated two-player advantage with help from senior goaltender
Lauren Bailey, who made 20 saves in victory, and her supporting cast.
Welsh and rookie defender
Wasyn Rice both blocked shots along the way, and the former went on to register three on the afternoon. One of the guilty parties, sophomore defender
Emily Curlett, would redeem herself with a team-high four blocks, plus a pair of assists.
The real watershed moment of the period came at the 10:31 mark and started when Curlett hit a wide-open
Anjelica Diffendal for a virtually uncontested breakaway during a bad line change.
McDonnell denied the Pittsburgh native, but she stayed with the play and pushed the rebound to an uncovered
Sarah Quaranta at the side of the net for an easy three-goal cushion. It was the first for Quaranta since the senior forward scored against visiting Lindenwood Jan. 19, 2016, during her All-CHA Rookie Team campaign.
Curlett found Gebhard for another breakaway in the third period, and the junior assistant captain converted hers on a hard wrist shot with 13:25 to go, taking back the team lead from Welsh with her fourth goal of the season.
The only blemish on Bailey's sheet was a power play deflection by Alexa Vasko that broke up her shutout bid five minutes later, and
Amber Rennie answered it with a second PPG for the Colonials with 2:49 remaining in regulation. The senior tri-captain capped off her team's first conference win by redirecting a
Maggie LaGue shot from the point through McDonnell.
Robert Morris, which has now earned points from Mercyhurst in seven of their last ten regular-season matchups (6-3-1), returns to Colonials Arena to continue CHA play versus the aforementioned Lions of Lindenwood University.
For the second straight home series, the Colonials will take part in a women's/men's doubleheader, as the
Robert Morris men's hockey team hosts Atlantic Hockey rival RIT for a pair of 7:05 p.m. EDT contests.
The opening faceoffs against Lindenwood are scheduled for 3:05 and 1:05 p.m. EDT on Oct. 26-27, respectively, at the RMU Island Sports Center. Fans can call 412-397-4949 or visit
rmucolonials.com for tickets.
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