PITTSBURGH -- On a weekend when the Robert Morris women's hockey team needed all the help it could get on the back end, sophomore defender Emily Curlett simply couldn't avoid becoming its center of attention.

First, she got the grand prize in Chuck-A-Puck while watching the men's team compete. Next, she got heckled by a rival fan after being assessed a third-period slashing minor. Then, in that same period, she got the last word.

Showing resolve in the absence of another key blue-liner, Curlett scored twice on a pair of power plays in the final frame to help the Colonials (6-8-4, 4-1-1) collect one of their hardest-earned points of the season in a 3-3 tie with No. 7 Cornell at the RMU Island Sports Center Saturday.

Meanwhile, she supported goaltender Lauren Bailey, who made 24 saves in her 14th start as a senior, by blocking a career-high seven shots. Curlett leads Division I with 70 blocks, the same total with which she finished second among NCAA newcomers in 2017-18.

In earning at least a point from a nationally ranked opponent for the 22nd time in team history, the Colonials also extended their unbeaten streak in overtime games to 17 (5-0-12), which dates back to a 3-3 finish at Merrimack Oct. 22, 2016.

"We really showed what we have, especially, like Coach says, with our backs against the wall," Curlett said. "We've had an extremely short bench, and it takes a lot of character to come out and battle as hard as we did. We didn't get it easily. They were hard-fought goals."

Robert Morris was missing 2018 College Hockey America Defender of the Year Kirsten Welsh due to a lower-body injury suffered during the series opener, while rookie Gillian Thompson was sidelined with one of her own. Still, the Colonials mitigated damage against the hard-charging Big Red (6-1-4, 4-1-1) long enough for their special teams to extend the finale.

Sophomore forward Lexi Templeman, who joined Curlett on last season's All-CHA Rookie Team, drew a holding call on Devon Facchinato by driving the net on a contested breakaway with a little more than nine-and-a-half minutes left in regulation.

The RMU power play wasted little time. Senior defender Maggie LaGue set up Curlett for a one-timer that the Lapeer, Michigan native buried from the edge of the left wing circle to make it a one-goal affair with 9:33 remaining.

A seemingly perfunctory faceoff win by Jaycee Gebhard made the sequence possible. The junior assistant captain maintains a comfortable lead atop the national chart with 253 of those after she went 18-10 (.643) from the dot Saturday.

"You never really know when you're going to get the chance. Even if it's not what you're going for, you've got to be ready for it," said Curlett. "I'm just really proud of our whole team and power-play unit for capitalizing when we had the chance. Against a team like this, it's huge."

She continued to be a pest in Cornell territory, pinching to keep a Colonials cycle alive and, in the process, frustrating Jaime Bourbonnais into a tripping infraction with just over five minutes to play. That terrific trio would hook up once more to tie the game.

Floating around center point, LaGue sailed the puck to Gebhard. Gebhard drifted between the circles and connected with Curlett as she cut toward the net from the right side, and a perfect snap shot gave her her fourth goal of the season with 4:04 to go.

"Sometimes ties feel like a loss, and sometimes they feel like a win. Today is one of those days when it definitely feels like a win," said head coach Paul Colontino. "We battled hard, and the players that played, played a ton. We liked our game today, and we thought we played with more discipline than we've played with in a while."

The penalty against Curlett with almost five minutes gone by in the third was the only power play opportunity of the day for the Big Red. Bailey hung tough through a late flurry in her own zone, turning aside all five shots she faced with Robert Morris down a player.

Curlett's fellow Michigander made some quality stops early in the game as well, including a flashy glove save on Sewickley, Pennsylvania native Maddie Mills with 12:35 left in what would end up a scoreless first period. The two kept it that way by teaming up on a desperation play with a little under three minutes left, hugging the far post with a loose puck perilously close to the goal line.

Both teams settled into a nice rhythm defensively, which changed on a dime when they combined for four goals in a span of 2:14 in the second period. Kristin O'Neill beat Bailey with a wrist shot from the right circle 12:51 into the middle frame before Amber Rennie cracked the other goose egg for RMU just 39 seconds later.

Gebhard found her former Notre Dame Hounds teammate for a backdoor play. Marlene Boissonnault appeared to make the initial stop, but Rennie went short side on the rebound for her sixth goal of the year and second in as many games.

The senior tri-captain, who, on Friday, became the eighth player in program history to 40 career tallies, now has a point in four straight games and five of her past six outings.

"[It's about] being ready for the opportunities there, and it's good work by my linemates for getting it there," Rennie said. "They're working hard in the corners to get the puck in front of the net, and the 'D' are getting shots through. I'm just working on getting in front with that heavy stick."

Not quite a minute later, O'Neill got behind the Colonials defense and polished off a rebound to restore the lead for the Big Red. They padded that lead when Willow Slobodzian went five-hole on Bailey on a deflection 36 seconds afterward.

The two goals by Curlett give the Robert Morris defensive corps a combined 13 on the season, which ranks first in the NCAA. The seven total PPG's from its defenders are tied for the most as well.

"One of the key points we wanted to stress with our 'D,' because we were so short-bodied, is to really just play efficiently," Colontino said. "Move the puck forward, play as little D-zone as possible and then pick your opportunities to be offensive, not to force them. To our credit, as a unit, we didn't force too much, and it just took two opportunities, and us going 2-for-2 on them, for the game to be tied up.

"It was a heck of a job by our 'D' to find a way to contribute--a difference maker."

Gebhard has taken sole possession of third in the national scoring race with 27 points (10 G, 17 A), just three behind front-runner Elizabeth Giguere (Clarkson). Her three assists on Saturday extended her point streak to 11 games, prolonging her longest such run as a collegian, and her 15 power play points (4 G, 11 A) top the D-I chart.

LaGue, with her secondary helper on Curlett's tying goal, surpassed 2018 RMU Athletics Hall-of-Famer Brianna Delaney for third in school history, with 69--still the most career assists by a Colonials D-man. Gebhard, now with 66 career apples, has climbed to fifth in program lore.

Currently, the CHA leaderboard has Gebhard on top with her 17 assists, and Templeman a solid second after picking up her 13th on Rennie's goal.

Robert Morris hosts conference rival Penn State on the final leg of its nearly month-long homestand Nov. 30-Dec. 1. The opening faceoffs from the Island Sports Center are scheduled for 7:05 and 5:05 p.m. ET, respectively.

Fans are invited to "Skate with the Colonials" after next Friday's game. A post-game public skate at Colonials Arena with RMU players is free to those who bring their own skates, or skates can be rented from the ISC front desk for only $3.00.

Call 412-397-4949 or visit the lobby on gameday for tickets, or click the Ticketmaster link at rmucolonials.com Monday-Thursday.

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