Women's Hockey | 2/22/2018 4:47:00 PM
PITTSBURGH -- The No. 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 at conference rival Syracuse in its final regular-season series of 2017-18. The opening faceoff from Tennity Ice Pavilion in Syracuse, New York is set for 7:00 p.m. Friday and 3:00 p.m. Saturday.
RMU (18-7-4, 12-3-3) split its initial series with the third-place Orange (12-18-2, 11-6-1) at the Island Sports Center, which included a 5-2 victory at Colonials Arena Jan. 5.
Amber Rennie scored the winning goal via the second assist of the game by
Jessica Gazzola, the game-winning goal-scorer in the CHA Tournament Final versus Syracuse Mar. 4, 2017 at the HarborCenter in Buffalo, New York.
#9/9 Robert Morris at Syracuse
Feb. 23 - LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
Feb. 24 - LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
The Colonials retook their two-point lead atop CHA with a series split at Mercyhurst last weekend, including a 3-2 win Feb. 17, that resulted in a season series split with the arch-rival Lakers. A result of any kind against Syracuse, which trails Robert Morris by four points, nets the Colonials a first-round bye when they begin their CHA Tournament title defense in Buffalo Mar. 1-3.
They are unbeaten in nine of ten conference road games (7-1-2) thus far.
Key Notes
Robert Morris split its last series at Tennity Ice Pavilion Jan. 27-28, 2017, including a 3-1 triumph Jan. 27. Five different players on the active roster, including goal scorers Gazzola and
Jaycee Gebhard, got a point in that series.
Gebhard assisted on the first RMU goal of the 2018 calendar year, which came versus Syracuse Jan. 5. On Jan. 6, rookie forward
Emilie Harley scored against her hometown team, assisting on the career-high fifth goal of the season by
Sarah Lecavalier.
One week after surpassing Rebecca Vint '15 as the Colonials' all-time top goal-scorer with her 74th career tally,
Brittany Howard hurdled Vint at Mercyhurst with her 19th game-winner all-time. In addition, she became just the third player in program history to amass 20 career power play goals at RMU.
With that 5-on-4 goal, the Colonials are 12 of their last 41 on the PP (.293), third in D-I since Jan. 19. Gebhard has six power play points (3 G, 3 A) in that span and eight goals overall in her last eight games after her two-goal outing at the MIC last Saturday, which brought Robert Morris to 14-0-4 this season when it scores first.
On Feb. 22 Howard was named a top-ten finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, given annually to the top NCAA Division I women's ice hockey player since 1998. The 75 career goals, 100 career assists and 175 career points notched by Howard are all second-most among finalists and active collegians.
Elijah Milne-Price, after being named CHA Goaltender of the Week, set a new RMU record Feb. 16 by going 181:09 since Jan. 27 without yielding a goal. From Jan. 28-Feb. 11, 2006, during the program's inaugural season, Brianne McLaughlin went 172:49 without giving one up as a rookie. Milne-Price leads CHA with four shutouts and got her CHA-best 17th win Feb. 17 with 31 saves.
Meeri Räisänen earned a bronze medal with Team Finland in this year's Olympic women's hockey tournament. The RMU alumna and Kangasala, Finland native played 15 games in goal for the Colonials during their 2010-11 season, collecting three wins and four ties and making 386 saves over 838:38 of action.
The Colonials are ranked in both major polls, the USCHO.com Division I Women's Hockey Poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's Hockey Poll, for the 16th time this season.
Achievement Unlocked
Brittany Howard became the first Robert Morris 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 RMU single-season assist record (30), first-ever CHA points crown (50), first-ever CHA Player of the Year award, first-ever regular-season CHA title and first NCAA Tournament berth.
Resume Builder
The Colonials are No. 10 in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and also No. 10 in the latest PairWise Rankings. Both sets of rankings, which account for strength of schedule, help determine NCAA Tournament seeding.
Thunder And Lightning
The first two career goals versus Syracuse for Thunder Bay, Ontario native
Jessica Gazzola were game-winners, including the GW in last year's CHA Tournament Final that led to her all-tournament team selection. Including her game-winning assist Jan. 5 against the Orange, her 13 helpers in conference play are tied for the second-most in CHA.
Worth The Wait
Robert Morris is 3-0-4 in overtime this season. Two 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), dating back to last year's CHA title run. Nine of its 39 all-time meetings with the Orange have gone to extra time, and at least one has in each of the last four seasons.
Chasing History
Brittany Howard is on track for back-to-back CHA scoring titles. She leads CHA in goals (21; t-8th, NCAA) and points (43; 9th, NCAA), while also topping it in points per game (1.59), shots per game (5.52), plus/minus (+27) and her CHA-best seventh game-winning goal Feb. 17 tied an RMU single-year mark. Those seven game-winners are tied for the second-most in the NCAA, and her three shorthanded goals are tied for third. She also shares the CHA lead in power play points (13).
The 103 goals produced by the Robert Morris offense thus far put the 2017-18 squad in elite company. The Colonials rank ninth in the nation in total offense, and they are on pace to break the team record of 108 goals set in the 2015-16 season.
In Our Defense...
The Robert Morris defense has combined for 25 goals and 89 points, making it the second-highest scoring defensive unit in the NCAA.
Leah Carey, who assisted on the CHA Tournament-clinching goal against Syracuse assisted on the game-winning goal versus Mercyhurst Dec. 2 in her 100th career game, and she added a helper on Senior Day versus Lindenwood Feb. 10.
Kirsten Welsh remains fifth in the nation in points by defenders with 26 (12 G, 14 A), and she has the second-most in Division I by an underclassman at her position. Dating back to last season, Robert Morris is unbeaten in 18 of the past 20 games in which Welsh has registered a point.
On Dec. 9 at No. 4 Colgate,
Maggie LaGue became the first defender in Robert Morris history to reach 50 career assists. LaGue remains tied for sixth nationally among blue-liners with her 20 assists this season.
You Feel Shame For Two Minutes, And Then You Get Free
Robert Morris killed off all five of its penalties at Mercyhurst Feb. 17, limiting the Lakers power play to nine shots on goal. Since Jan. 19, the RMU penalty kill is 36-for-40, a .900 success rate that tops CHA over that span and ranks 11th in the nation. When the Colonials defeated Syracuse Jan. 5, it was their first win in program history that came without committing a penalty.
New Kids On The Block
Emily Curlett blocked a series-high eight shots against the Orange Jan. 5-6, finishing the series a plus-1 and adding a power play goal in the finale. She leads all CHA defenders with 66 blocks, second among NCAA rookies, and her +20 entering Friday tops the plus/minus ratings of first-year players in the conference. Her eighth goal of the season Feb. 10 set a new RMU single-year record for rookie defenders.
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. Her .536 faceoff win rate is third among CHA rookies, and she is second in rookie power play points, with seven.
Take My Puck, Please
Jaycee Gebhard went 14-for-16 (.875) on faceoffs Jan. 6 against Syracuse. It was one of the best single-game efforts by a Robert Morris player from the dot this season.
Brittany Howard won 12 of 13 draws (.923) on Senior Day versus Lindenwood Feb. 10, and Howard holds the season single-game high in faceoff wins: 24, versus No. 5 Ohio State Nov. 24.
"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 23-11 in third periods, and its 37 third-period goals overall are the fifth-most in the nation.
Brittany Howard has 21 of her 43 points (11 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, and
Amber Rennie (5 G, 5 A) has ten.
RMU is unbeaten in 18 tries (15-0-3) this year when tied or ahead entering the third. Its 11 third-period goals allowed in conference play are tied for sixth-fewest in the NCAA. The Colonials lead CHA with their +16 goal margin in third periods, which ranks eighth in D-I.
Elijah Milne-Price has a 1.64 GAA in third periods that ranks second in CHA and 12th among all NCAA goalies.
Paying The Price
Milne-Price has lowered her overall GAA to 1.77, which is now up to second in the conference, 11th in the nation and second in the NCAA among seniors. Her .927 save percentage is fifth-highest among Division I upperclassmen.
An "A" For Effort
Jaycee Gebhard is second in CHA with an average of 0.75 assists per game, also tied for 15th in Division I. Now eighth in career assists (45) and sixth in career points (79) at Robert Morris, she is one of only four NCAA players to have recorded four or more assists in two or more games this season.
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