Women's Hockey | 12/7/2018 12:24:00 AM
MINNEAPOLIS -- The
Robert Morris women's hockey team concludes the fall portion of its 2018-19 season by visiting the second-ranked Golden Gophers of the University of Minnesota for the first time in ten years. The opening faceoffs from Ridder Arena in Minneapolis are scheduled for 8:07 p.m. ET Friday and 2:07 p.m. ET Saturday.
Both games can be seen live on Big Ten Network Plus and
FloHockey.tv (subscriptions required), and fans can also listen live, for free, on GopherSports.com.
Robert Morris (8-8-4, 6-1-1) at No. 2 Minnesota (15-2-1, 9-2-1) - Dec. 7-8
Fri., Dec. 7 (8:07 p.m. ET) - BTN PLUS ($) | FLOHOCKEY.TV ($) | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS
Sat., Dec. 8 (2:07 p.m. ET) - BTN PLUS ($) | FLOHOCKEY.TV ($) | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS
On Oct. 3, 2008, future U.S. Olympian, RMU Athletics Hall-of-Famer and Isobel Cup champ Brianne McLaughlin '11 set a school record with 63 saves in a 3-2 upset of No. 3 Minnesota at Ridder Arena. Defender Jacki Gibson scored the game-winning goal on one of ten Robert Morris shots on goal in the team's second win all-time versus a ranked foe.
This wraps up the non-conference portion of the season for RMU.
Jaycee Gebhard is tied for third in D-I with 19 points (5 G, 14 A) out of conference.
The Colonials have earned at least a point in four of their past five series with Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) teams.
Key Notes
• No. 2 Minnesota is planning a Teddy Bear Toss Friday to benefit the U of M's Masonic Children's Hospital. On Nov. 30, 672 fans, plus staffers, participated in the third annual Teddy Bear Toss at Colonials Arena, benefitting the Autism Society of Pittsburgh.
Amber Rennie triggered it with her goal 8:30 into the first period of a 3-2 win over Penn State.
•
Jaycee Gebhard was named the RMU Athletics Female Student-Athlete of the Week prior to earning her second career CHA Player of the Week Award (last: Oct. 23, 2017) and second straight CHA Player of the Month Award. She led CHA and tied for the NCAA lead with four goals on the weekend, including her first hat trick since Nov. 26, 2016 in a 4-1 win over PSU Dec. 1. Gebhard led CHA with 16 points in November, her second straight month leading the conference in points, and she led the conference and the country in power play points, with nine (3 G, 6 A) in November. She also ended November atop the NCAA leaderboard in faceoff wins with 268, including 129 last month.
• Gebhard has a point in 13 straight games dating back to the team's Oct. 20 victory at Mercyhurst, a new Robert Morris record. She is tied with Elizabeth Giguere (Clarkson) for the NCAA scoring lead with 32 points, and her 14 goals also tie her second in D-I with Giguere's Clarkson teammate, Loren Gabel.
•
Lauren Bailey earned her third CHA Goalie of the Week honor (last: Oct. 29, Nov. 5) after not allowing a single 5-on-5 goal during the team's sweep of Penn State Nov. 30-Dec. 1. She set new season highs in saves two nights in a row, with 30 and 34, respectively. Bailey led all CHA netminders with her 1.51 goals-against average and .955 save percentage for the weekend.
•
Emily Curlett, for the second time in as many Saturday games, set a new career high in blocked shots, with eight against the Nittany Lions Dec. 1. In that RMU victory,
Maggie LaGue also earned a new personal best, with nine.
• The Colonials have earned at least a point versus a ranked opponent 22 times in their history, most recently in a 3-3 tie with No. 7 Cornell Nov. 24. Their last win over a top-ten was Nov. 25, 2017, a 3-2 overtime rally past No. 5 Ohio State, which was also their last win over a WCHA squad.
• Rennie has earned a point in a career-high six straight games.
Natalie Marcuzzi also established a new career high by notching her fifth goal of the season to open the scoring versus Penn State Dec. 1.
• RMU has played 20 games this season, the most of any team in Division I.
An "A" For Effort
•
Jaycee Gebhard led College Hockey America with her 25 assists in 2017-18, tying for 14th nationally. She is in a second-place tie on the NCAA chart with her 18 apples this season. Gebhard, with her 62nd career helper on
Kirsten Welsh's third-period equalizer versus Minnesota State Nov. 16, passed Rebecca Vint '15 for fifth-most in RMU history. With 67 career assists, she needs two more to surmount Brianna Delaney for fourth. She recorded one in six of the eight games during the team's Nov. 9-Dec. 1 homestand.
Resume Builder
• Robert Morris is up to No. 20 in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and the PairWise rankings that affect NCAA Tournament seeding. Ten of its 14 non-conference games this season have come against teams that ended 2017-18 in the final D-I polls.
Chasing History
• Gebhard became the fifth Robert Morris player to amass 100 career points with her power play goal Nov. 9. Now with 49 goals all-time, Gebhard needs just one more to become the sixth player in program history to reach 50, and two to match Thea Imbrogno '14 on the all-time chart.
Amber Rennie became the eighth player in RMU history to hit the 40-career goal mark versus No. 7 Cornell Nov. 23.
•
Lauren Bailey has climbed into fifth place in program history, past Daneca Butterfield '11, with 17 career victories. The next target for Bailey will be
Elijah Milne-Price, her former teammate, who sits fourth in Robert Morris history with 21 wins all-time.
Iron Sharpens Iron
• The Colonials' Oct. 5-6 series at No. 1 Clarkson proved to be a showdown of three of the NCAA's top scorers entering December:
Jaycee Gebhard and Golden Knights teammates Elizabeth Giguere and Loren Gabel. Gebhard finished the series with two goals and two assists, while Giguere and Gabel had three points (2 G, A) apiece.
Oh Captain, My Captain
•
Amber Rennie,
Kirsten Welsh and
Maggie LaGue are the first tri-captains in program history. Ten different players have now worn the "C" under
Paul Colontino, while
Jaycee Gebhard was named the lone assistant captain. The '18-'19 leadership group has combined for 72 (30 G, 42 A) of the team's 136 points (52.9%) entering Friday.
They Are "Soph"
•
Emily Curlett set a career high with her seven blocked shots against No. 7 Cornell Nov. 24. The 2018 All-CHA Rookie Team selection led all CHA defenders in 2017-18 with 70 blocks and she now leads the NCAA with 83 after finishing second in D-I in blocks as an RMU newcomer.
•
Lexi Templeman finished the 2017-18 season with a .559 faceoff win rate, third among CHA rookies, and also made the All-CHA Rookie squad. Templeman has maintained the CHA lead (.672) through Thursday and is now fifth in the NCAA. Templeman has a .564 win percentage on the road, which is good for fourth in CHA, and the Colonials, together, are .513 as the visiting team, ranking tenth in D-I.
The Third Period Is Our Period
• Robert Morris rallied from three goals down in the third period to tie Minnesota State Nov. 16, and from two down to tie No. 7 Cornell Nov. 24. The Colonials had not previously erased a multi-goal, third-period deficit to earn at least a point since Nov. 26, 2016 (Windjammer Classic vs. St. Cloud State). Their 23 third-period goals are the third-most in the NCAA, and their +11 goal margin in thirds ranks fifth in D-I.
In Our Defense...
•
Wasyn Rice earned her first career goal 6:08 into the second period of the team's 3-2 win over Penn State Nov. 30, the seventh time in nine November games RMU got a goal from a defender. Entering Friday, the 2018-19 squad has combined for 14 goals from its defensive corps, which puts it in the Division I lead. Individually,
Kirsten Welsh is tied for second among NCAA defenders with her five goals, as is
Maggie LaGue with her 15 points (4 G, 11 A).
Once More, With Feeling!
•
Emily Curlett enjoyed her third career multi-goal game in the Colonials' come-from-behind tie with No. 7 Cornell Nov. 24. Behind the 13 by
Brittany Howard '18, the 12 by Rebecca Vint '15 and the ten by Brianna Delaney '12, Gebhard is next in line in Robert Morris history with eight all-time, and Rennie has four.
Follow the Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Snapchat
