Women's Hockey | 2/15/2018 10:22:00 AM
PITTSBURGH -- The No. 9/9
Robert Morris women's hockey team can clinch its second consecutive regular-season College Hockey America (CHA) title with a series win and concurrent season series win over arch-rival Mercyhurst. Opening faceoff from the Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie, Pennsylvania is set for 7:00 p.m. Friday and 2:00 p.m. Saturday.
#9/9 Robert Morris at (RV)/(RV) Mercyhurst
Feb. 16 - LIVE STREAM ($) | LIVE STATS
Feb. 17 - LIVE STREAM ($) | LIVE STATS
The Colonials (17-6-4, 11-2-3) retook the conference lead with a home-ice sweep of Lindenwood Feb. 9-10 and two simultaneous Mercyhurst ties with visiting Penn State. RMU is 4-1-1 in its last six meetings with the Lakers (13-13-4, 10-3-3), its best run since going 4-0-1 against Mercyhurst Feb. 18, 2012-Feb. 8, 2013, including its first CHA Tournament championship victory Mar. 3, 2012.
Amber Rennie scored with 6:07 left in regulation Dec. 2 for a 2-1 win and split of their initial series. The last three Colonials victories over Mercyhurst have been 2-1 results.
Key Notes
Kirsten Welsh leads all active Colonials with 12 career points (5 G, 7 A) against Mercyhurst, including a power play goal Dec. 2 and the only RMU goal in regulation time (8:00 remaining) in its last win at the MIC Jan. 20, 2017.
Brittany Howard was named CHA Co-Player of the Week, her 14th career conference player-of-the-week nod, and the NCAA's Second Star of the Week after tying and breaking the RMU career goals record set by Rebecca Vint '15 with her 73rd and 74th all-time. She also tied another of Vint's school records with her 17th and 18th career game-winning goals, and with two assists Feb. 10, she tied common linemate
Jaycee Gebhard for the CHA lead, with 21. In addition, Howard finished an NCAA-best 12-for-13 (.923) on faceoffs versus LU.
Across the board, the 74 career goals, 99 career assists and 173 career points amassed by Howard at RMU are the second-most among all active NCAA players. She has seven points (2 G, 5 A) all-time versus Mercyhurst after her two assists Dec. 2.
Howard's historic marker with :41 left in the first period Feb. 10 reignited the Robert Morris power play. With that 5-on-4 goal, the Colonials are 11 of their last 34 on the PP (.324), second in D-I during their six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1). Gebhard has gotten six of the 11 points (3 G, 3 A) during her seven-game point streak on the power play.
Elijah Milne-Price, the reigning CHA Goaltender of the Week, leads CHA with 16 wins and a .750 win percentage. She joined Brianne McLaughlin (Feb. 4-5, 2006) and
Jessica Dodds (Oct. 31-Nov. 6, 2015) as the only other RMU goalie to post back-to-back shutouts. Milne-Price has gone the last 153:31 without yielding a goal, edging the streak of 153:01 established by Dodds Oct. 31-Nov. 7, 2015. From Jan. 28-Feb. 11, 2006, during the program's inaugural season, McLaughlin went 172:49 without giving one up as a rookie.
Emily Curlett blasted her eighth goal of the season Feb. 10, setting a new RMU record for a rookie defender.
Kirsten Welsh compiled seven in 2015-16.
The Colonials are ranked in both major polls, the USCHO.com Division I Women's Hockey Poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll, for the 15th time this season.
Resume Builder
Robert Morris is now No. 10 in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and also No. 10 in the PairWise Rankings. Both sets of rankings, which account for strength of schedule, help determine NCAA Tournament seeding.
Signature Wins
On Nov. 25 RMU earned its first win over a ranked opponent since Jan. 18, 2014. Previously, six of its wins versus top-ten teams were against Mercyhurst, all during the
Paul Colontino era. Before Nov. 25, its last such win on home ice was a 3-2 decision over the No. 9 Lakers Nov. 9, 2013. Its tie at No. 4 Colgate Dec. 9, 2017 was its best result versus a No. 4 team since a 2-1 win over No. 4/5 'Hurst Dec. 8, 2012. Colontino earned his 50th victory behind the RMU bench against Mercyhurst Dec. 7, 2012.
Worth The Wait
RMU is 3-0-4 in overtime this season. Two of the OT winners belong to
Brittany Howard, the first two of her career. The Colonials are unbeaten in their last 12 sudden-death appearances (4-0-8), including a 2-1 win at the MIC Jan. 20, 2017 (GWG:
Maeve Garvey from
Amanda Pantaleo,
Jessica Dodds at 1:04), followed by a 3-3 tie Jan. 21.
Achievement Unlocked
Brittany Howard will be the first RMU student-athlete named Dapper Dan Charities Pittsburgh Sportswoman of the Year Feb. 21. In the 2017 calendar year, she put up 43 points (24 G, 19 A) en route to the program's single-season assist record (30), first-ever CHA points crown (50), first-ever CHA Player of the Year award, first-ever regular-season conference title and first NCAA Tournament berth.
Chasing History
Howard is in hot pursuit of another CHA scoring title. She leads CHA in goals (20; t-7th, NCAA) and points (41; 9th, NCAA) while also topping the conference in points per game (1.64), shots per game (5.68), plus/minus (+25), power play assists (9) and game-winning goals (6). She shares the CHA lead in power play points, with 12. Those six GW's are tied for the second-most in the NCAA, as are her three shorthanded goals.
With her "Teddy Bear goal" Jan. 27,
Amber Rennie tied Kelsey Thomas '12 for seventh all-time at RMU (32). Frequent linemate
Jaycee Gebhard caught up to her with her third-period marker Feb. 10. Also on Jan. 27,
Kirsten Welsh tied Class of '08 teammates Morgan Beikirch and Megan Picinic for tenth all-time, with 28.
The 100 goals produced by the Robert Morris offense thus far put the 2017-18 squad in elite company. The Colonials are on pace to break the team record of 108 set in the 2015-16 season.
In Our Defense...
The Robert Morris defense has combined for 25 goals and 87 points, making it the top-scoring defensive unit in both CHA and the NCAA. The 50th point was a secondary assist by
Leah Carey, while playing in her 100th career game, on the winning goal vs. Mercyhurst Dec. 2.
Kirsten Welsh is up to fifth in the nation in points by defenders with 25 (12 G, 13 A), and she has the second-most in Division I by an underclassman at her position.
Katherine Murphy matched her career best by blocking a game-high 8 shots vs. Mercyhurst Dec. 2, the most by any Robert Morris player in a single game this season. The previous high was the seven blocked by
Maggie LaGue at Penn State Oct. 29.
On Dec. 9 at No. 4 Colgate, LaGue became the first defender in RMU history to reach 50 career assists. LaGue is now tied for sixth nationally among D-men with her 19 helpers this season.
An "A" For Effort
Jaycee Gebhard is second in CHA with an average of 0.81 assists per game, also ranking 14th in Division I. Gebhard, tied for eighth in career assists at RMU (45) with
Kirsten Welsh, is one of only four NCAA players to have recorded 4+ assists in 2+ games this season.
Apple Fest
Kirsten Welsh chipped in four assists at Brown Oct. 20, a personal single-game high. That was her best effort since her three assists in a 3-3 tie with Mercyhurst Jan. 21, 2017. Dating back to last season, Robert Morris is unbeaten in 17 of the past 19 games in which Welsh has registered a point.
You Feel Shame For Two Minutes, And Then You Get Free
Robert Morris killed off all eight penalties against Lindenwood Feb. 9-10, limiting the Lions power play to seven shots on goal. During its six-game unbeaten streak, the RMU PK is 29-for-31, a .935 success rate that is tied for sixth in the NCAA over that span. The Colonials killed six of seven penalties versus Mercyhurst Dec. 1-2.
Once More, With Feeling!
Behind
Brittany Howard's RMU record 13 career multi-goal games, Rebecca Vint's 12 and Class of '12 Brianna Delaney's ten,
Jaycee Gebhard is next in line with seven, and
Amber Rennie has four, including her first career hat trick Oct. 8. Rennie, in all, has set a new career high in goals (13) this season, while Howard matched hers (20) back on Feb. 10.
Paying The Price
Elijah Milne-Price, in capturing CHA Goaltender of the Week honors, has lowered her GAA to 1.74, which is now up to second in the conference, tenth in the nation and second in the NCAA among seniors. Her .927 save percentage is fifth-highest among D-I upperclassmen. "E.J." won four straight starts after earning CHA Goalie of the Week/Month Oct. 30-31. She also earned Goalie of the Week for making 15 saves at Maine Oct. 13.
New Kids On The Block
Emily Curlett blocked a series-high eight shots vs. Syracuse Jan. 5-6, matching her series total Dec. 1-2 against the Lakers. She leads all CHA defenders with 63 blocks, second among NCAA rookies, and her plus-20 entering Friday tops the plus/minus ratings of first-year players in the conference.
With an assist on
Brittany Howard's record-breaking goal Feb. 10,
Lexi Templeman (7 G, 10 A), CHA Rookie of the Month for November, and Rookie of the Week Dec. 11, tied Curlett (8 G, 9 A) for second in CHA rookie scoring. She has made the most of her recent time at center, ranking third among CHA novices with her .540 faceoff win rate, and is second in rookie power play points, with seven.
Thunder And Lightning
Thunder Bay, Ontario native
Jessica Gazzola has four career points against Mercyhurst, including three assists, and she has heated up in conference play this season. Her 13 helpers against CHA foes are second-most, and she has finished a plus-6 over those games.
A Call To The Hall
One of the most notable members of
Paul Colontino's first Robert Morris team, Stittsville, Ontario native Brianna Delaney was inducted in the RMU Athletic Hall of Fame Feb. 2. In the championship game of the 2012 College Hockey America (CHA) Tournament at the RMU Island Sports Center, Delaney scored the game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory over Mercyhurst. The goal helped snap a streak of nine consecutive CHA Tournament championships by the Lakers and also earned Delaney a spot on the 2012 All-CHA Tournament Team.
"The Third Period Is Our Period!"
For the 2017-18 squad this commonly-used phrase by Colonials Arena P.A. announcer Larry Snyder has rung particularly true. Robert Morris has outscored CHA foes 22-8 in third periods, and its 37 third-period goals overall are tied for fifth-most in the nation.
Brittany Howard has 20 of her 41 points (10 G, 10 A) in the third, tied for second-most in D-I.
Kirsten Welsh (4 G, 7 A) and
Jaycee Gebhard (5 G, 6 A) each have 11, while
Amber Rennie (5 G, 5 A) has ten.
RMU is unbeaten in 17 tries (14-0-3) when tied or ahead entering the third. Its eight third-period goals allowed in conference play are tied for fourth-fewest in the nation. The Colonials lead CHA with their +18 goal margin in third periods, which also ranks eighth nationally.
Elijah Milne-Price has a 1.37 GAA in third periods that ranks second in CHA and seventh among all NCAA goaltenders.
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