Women's Hockey | 12/19/2018 9:05:00 AM
PITTSBURGH -- One of the top defenders in the history of the
Robert Morris women's hockey team has parlayed her breakout season into an exciting opportunity to extend her playing career.
With the 22nd overall pick in the fifth round of the 2018 National Women's Hockey League Draft,
Maggie LaGue was selected by the Connecticut Whale Thursday. The senior tri-captain joins former teammate
Brittany Howard '18 as the second NWHL draftee in as many years the program has produced.
Howard was picked tenth overall by the Buffalo Beauts in August of 2017, prior to the start of her own senior campaign, before instead signing with the CWHL's Toronto Furies Aug. 26, 2018. On Dec. 1 LaGue earned her 72nd career assist in a 4-1 win over Penn State, passing Thea Imbrogno '14 and moving behind Howard for second in Robert Morris history.
LaGue entered the 2018-19 season number one for the Colonials in all-time assists by a defender. When Robert Morris resumes regular season play Jan. 18-19 at Syracuse, the North American Hockey Academy product will sit ninth in school history with 84 career points, needing four to match fellow senior defender
Kirsten Welsh, with whom she shares the captaincy.
"We are very excited for Maggie, what a great honor! Maggie's career here at RMU has been outstanding. She continues to grow as a person and player each day," said head coach
Paul Colontino, who named the 5'8" Barre, Vermont native one of the first tri-captains of his tenure in September. "Her skill sets and leadership qualities will be a huge asset for Connecticut."
That win over Penn State was preceded by the third annual Robert Morris women's hockey Teddy Bear Toss, which LaGue organized with help from the rest of the team's six-person senior class. On Nov. 30, in a 3-2 victory over the Nittany Lions, a crowd of 672 fans, plus staffers, threw 332 stuffed animals onto the Colonials Arena ice at the RMU Island Sports Center following the first Robert Morris goal to benefit the Autism Society of Pittsburgh. The Colonials also collected $300 in ticket sales for the organization.
LaGue scored a goal in four straight games Nov. 3-16 to set a personal single-season high. That included her first career short-handed tally, the only one notched by RMU in 2018-19 thus far, at RIT Nov. 3. LaGue ended the fall semester of her senior season third on the team and in College Hockey America with her 11 assists and fifth in the conference with her 15 points in 22 games played.
Through Wednesday, those 15 points are tied for fourth among NCAA defenders, and LaGue leads all Division I blue-liners with her nine power play assists and 11 power play points. Meanwhile, she has blocked 56 shots this season, good for a second-place tie nationally.
In 32 games as a junior, LaGue set career highs with 22 assists and 25 points, good for third and fifth on the team, respectively. She helped RMU capture its second straight CHA regular-season crown while finishing with a plus-28 rating, achieving a new team record for single-season plus/minus by a defender. Her 64 blocked shots ranked fifth in the conference.
Entering the holiday break, LaGue ranked sixth in program history with an all-time plus/minus rating of plus-33.
Her sophomore season culminated in the second CHA Tournament championship in Robert Morris history, as well as the first-ever NCAA Tournament trip for the Colonials. LaGue appeared in all 35 games in 2016-17, recording three goals and 22 points and tying for third in CHA with 60 blocked shots. Her 12 power play points tied for the second-most in the nation.
She made an immediate impact at RMU, garnering 2016 All-CHA Rookie Team honors after finishing fifth in the conference with 20 assists and ending her '15-'16 campaign with 22 points. LaGue ranked eighth in the NCAA with her 80 blocked shots, playing in all 38 games for the Colonials that year.
Before her collegiate career, LaGue participated in USA National Player Development Camp 2010-13, and in the 2014 Junior Women's Hockey League (JWHL) All-Star Game.
LaGue will have the chance to become the seventh RMU player to skate in the NWHL. Goaltender Meeri Räisänen, a 2018 Olympic bronze medalist for Team Finland who backstopped the Colonials during their 2010-11 season, signed with the Whale as a free agent Oct. 1.
Previously, RMU Athletics Hall-of-Famer Brianne McLaughlin '11 and former operations director Kelley Steadman played together as charter members of the Beauts, winning an Isobel Cup championship with the team in March of 2017. Joining them for the title run were Morgan Beikirch '09, an original Colonial, like McLaughlin, and Pittsburgh-raised Ashley Vesci '15.
Rebecca Vint '15, second overall in career points at Robert Morris, signed with the Beauts Aug. 22, 2017 and debuted for Buffalo Oct. 28, 2017.
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