PITTSBURGH -- The Robert Morris women's hockey team showed poise to begin its penultimate non-conference series of the 2018-19 regular season, but they could not regain it after a second period that saw No. 7 Cornell turn the tide for a 5-2 win at the RMU Island Sports Center Friday afternoon.

Four unanswered goals in the middle frame, followed by an empty-netter with 2:11 to play in the third, carried the Big Red (6-1-3, 4-1-1) to victory in their first-ever visit to Colonials Arena and just the fourth meeting all-time between the teams.

First-year goalie Arielle DeSmet, despite taking the loss in her fourth career start, made a season-high 32 saves for RMU, including 14 in the first period. Grace Graham finally beat her on a penalty shot that got the guests on the board with 11:14 left in the second.

Willow Slobodzian tied the game with 5:43 remaining, moments before a slashing penalty to Jaycee Gebhard expired, and she scored what proved to be the deciding tally just 49 seconds later.

Gebhard helped Robert Morris (6-8-3, 4-1-1) draw first blood after it weathered an early storm by Cornell. With Micah Zandee-Hart in the box for interference, she set up Maggie LaGue in the high slot area for a shot that Amber Rennie deflected. Goaltender Lindsay Browning tried to swipe away Rennie's redirect, but it dribbled over the line in the nick of time for the senior tri-captain's fifth goal of the year with 5:22 left in the first.

Rennie, who became the eighth player in RMU history to reach the 40-goal plateau for her career, concurrently moved into a ninth-place tie with Sara O'Malley '11 with her 12th PPG all-time.

It was the fourth power play strike of the season by Rennie, tying her with longtime linemate and fellow Saskatchewan native Gebhard for the most in College Hockey America. The erstwhile Notre Dame Hounds duo are only one behind Morgan Wabick (Connecticut) for the NCAA lead.

Furthermore, Gebhard has now recorded a point in ten consecutive games. The streak, which began Oct. 20 at Mercyhurst, is her longest such run as a collegian.

The 5'3" assistant captain briefly tied Elizabeth Giguere (Clarkson) and Emma Maltais (Ohio State) for the Division I scoring lead with her 24th point (10 G, 14 A) as a junior. She now sits in a third-place tie after the remainder of Friday's D-I results, just three off the pace.

LaGue, while sharing the captaincy with Rennie, has also picked up her front-end productivity of late. The second-leading scorer among defenders in program history has earned a point in six of her last seven outings (4 G, 3 A).

Meanwhile, Paul Colontino, desirous of secondary offense, reunited the forward line of Caitlyn Sadowy, Natalie Marcuzzi and Sarah Quaranta entering Friday. The blue-collar unit vindicated their head coach with 14:22 to go in the second.

Their diligent cycle in the Big Red zone culminated in a shot from the right point by sophomore defender Emily Curlett that went off Marcuzzi in traffic and landed at the feet of Sadowy. The senior, under duress, put just enough muscle into the loose puck to push it past Browning for her third goal of the season and a 2-0 Colonials advantage.

Curlett, like Marcuzzi, has a point in three of her last four, and the sophomore blue-liner also blocked a team-high five shots, doing so on home ice for the fourth time this season. The 2018 All-CHA Rookie Team selection continues to hold a commanding lead atop the NCAA leaderboard with 63 blocks.

Gebhard also maintained Division I supremacy, in the faceoff circle. She went 16-9 from the dot Friday and leads the nation with 235 total faceoff wins.

Sophomore forward Maddie Mills, from nearby Sewickley, Pennsylvania, scored for Cornell on a power play with three minutes left in the second period. Mills is a product of the same Pittsburgh Penguins Elite amateur program that developed RMU teammates Anjelica Diffendal and Morgan Schauer.

Robert Morris begins its rematch with No. 7 Cornell at 3:05 p.m. ET Saturday. Once again, the game can be seen live on the CHA Digital Network (subscription required), and fans can visit the Island Sports Center lobby for tickets.

For the second day in a row, the Colonials are offering special $1.00 admission to all fans wearing a jersey. In addition, the first 200 to arrive will receive a free RMU Santa Claus hat, courtesy of Sewickley Savings Bank.

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