Women's Hockey | 2/7/2018 11:49:00 PM

PITTSBURGH -- The No. 9/10 Robert Morris women's hockey team looks to take the College Hockey America (CHA) standings lead as it continues conference play against Lindenwood (8-15-1, 6-8-0) at the RMU Island Sports Center Friday and Saturday.

The Friday game has a special start time, 3:05 p.m., ditto the Saturday affair at 1:05 p.m., as part of a women's/men's team doubleheader. The men will take on RIT in a pair of 7:05 p.m. contests to follow.

In addition, Saturday is Senior Day for assistant captains Brittany Howard and Katherine Murphy, goaltender Elijah Milne-Price, defenders Leah Carey and Natalie Fraser, forward Jessica Gazzola and captain Amanda Pantaleo. That group has combined for 126 goals, 223 assists (349 points) and 512 saves with the program. They carry a 91-54-23 (.610) record into Friday, including a single-year record 24 wins last season and in 2013-14, and a 17-4-1 record versus LU.

The Colonials (15-6-4, 9-2-3), tied in CHA points (21) with Mercyhurst, are coming out of a bye week that followed a series win over CHA foe Penn State: a 2-2 tie and 4-2 victory at Colonials Arena Jan. 26-27.

#9/10 Robert Morris vs. Lindenwood
Feb. 9 - LIVE STREAM ($) | LIVE STATS
Feb. 10 - LIVE STREAM ($) | LIVE STATS



A free, continuous student shuttle will run between Lexington/Concord Halls and the front doors of the Island Sports Center 2:00-10:00 p.m. Friday. On Saturday, fans are encouraged to take part in a "Pink Out" 12:00-9:00 p.m. outside of Colonials Arena, sponsored by the Robert Morris University chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha.

In addition, fans can sign up for the Clearview Federal Credit Union Skill Shot Challenge prior to both games for a chance to win $500.

Call 412-397-4949 or visit rmutickets.com for tickets.

Key Notes

RMU is 24-7-1 all-time versus the Lions, including a 15-3-0 mark at home. One of those home wins, a 2-1, triple-overtime triumph in the CHA Tournament Mar. 2, 2013 decided by a Cobina Delaney goal, set a Colonials record for longest game and an NCAA mark for single-game saves, as Lindenwood rookie Nicole Hensley turned aside 90 pucks over all 108 minutes in defeat.

With its Nov. 3-4 sweep, Robert Morris has won eight of nine overall from the Lions. Brittany Howard leads all active Colonials with 18 career points (8 G, 10 A) against Lindenwood.

Amber Rennie scored 2:33 into the first period Jan. 27 to trigger RMU's second annual Teddy Bear Toss, part of its 12th annual "Skate for the Cure" weekend. A crowd of 624, plus staffers, threw 412 stuffed animals onto the ice for UPMC Children's Hospital and raised over $2,000 for Our Clubhouse.

Rennie's goal Jan. 27 was the first of three power play goals by Robert Morris, including Jaycee Gebhard's game-winner. The RMU power play is 10-for-27 (37.0%) the last four games, and Gebhard has registered nine points (5 G, 4 A) in her past five.

Emily Curlett was named CHA Rookie of the Month for January. She led all CHA novices with seven points (3 G, 4 A), 21 blocks and a plus-4 for the month.

Kirsten Welsh earned her second career CHA Player of the Week award Jan. 29 for finishing the Penn State series with three goals, two assists and eight blocked shots.

A shorthanded goal by Welsh with 3:03 remaining Jan. 27 was the eighth shorty of the season by Robert Morris, the most since the eight it scored in its inaugural 2005-06 campaign, and seven more than it scored last season.

Elijah Milne-Price made a career single-game high 36 saves Jan. 27, half coming on the PK, and she leads CHA with 14 wins and a .727 win percentage.

A viral video captured by student worker Molly Falcone Jan. 26 of goaltender Lauren Bailey playing the "circle game" on the RMU bench is up to 2.5K likes, 3.1K shares and 439K views on the NCAA Ice Hockey Facebook page. 

The Colonials are ranked in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Division I polls for the 14th time this season.



Resume Builder

Robert Morris is up to No. 11 in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and No. 10 in the PairWise Rankings. Both rankings, which account for strength of schedule, help determine NCAA Tournament seeding.

Achievement Unlocked

Brittany Howard is the first RMU student-athlete ever to be named Dapper Dan Charities Pittsburgh Sportswoman of the Year. 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.

"Skate for the Cure" is the second charity event to take place at the RMU Island Sports Center this season. During fall semester, Jessica Gazzola and Natalie Fraser, for their senior project for the student-athlete group Colonial Leadership Academy, raised $588 in a gift basket auction for the Children's Institute of Pittsburgh.

Kirsten Welsh's insurance goal against Penn State Jan. 27, her 12th goal of the season, set a new RMU single-year record for defenders. Mikaela Lowater '17 had 11 in her own junior campaign.

Chasing History

Howard, with 72 career goals, needs just two more to surpass Rebecca Vint '15 as RMU's all-time leader. They are the only two Colonials to ever top 70. Howard's 97 career assists are the third-most of any active NCAA player entering Friday. She hurdled Vint as the all-time points leader in Colonials history Oct. 8, and her 169 career points are the second-most in the NCAA. She is tied for tenth in D-I with 18 goals, sharing the NCAA lead in shorthanded goals with three. She leads CHA in points (37), points per game (1.61), plus/minus ( 22) and shots per game (5.57) and shares the lead in power play points (11) and game-winners (4).

With her "Teddy Bear goal" Jan. 27, Amber Rennie tied Kelsey Thomas '12 for 7th all-time at RMU (32), surpassing common linemate Jaycee Gebhard (31), who now has sole possession of ninth all-time. Also that day, Kirsten Welsh tied Class of '08 teammates Morgan Beikirch and Megan Picinic for tenth all-time, with 28.

In Our Defense...

The Robert Morris defense has combined for 24 goals and 81 points, ranking second in the NCAA and making it the top-scoring defensive unit in CHA. 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 24 (12 G, 12 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 eight shots versus Mercyhurst Dec. 2, the most by any RMU 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 Colgate, LaGue became the first defender in Robert Morris history to reach 50 career assists. In addition, LaGue's 22 rating is on track for an RMU single-season defensive record.

A November to Remember

The Robert Morris sweep at Lindenwood that began November for the Colonials concluded the longest and most successful road swing of the Paul Colontino era, which ended with a 7-1-2 record. Kirsten Welsh became the program's new career points champ among defenders Nov. 3.

On Nov. 4, Anjelica Diffendal had the honor of skating on a line with former Pittsburgh Penguins Elite teammate Morgan Schauer in the latter's RMU debut. Diffendal joins Chelsea Burdzy (2011-12) and current Pens Elite assistant coach Ashley Vesci (2012-16) as the third "Steel City" citizen to play for the program.

Thunder And Lightning

Thunder Bay, Ontario native Jessica Gazzola has 14 career points versus LU, including 11 assists and the game-winning goal in the CHA Semifinal Mar. 3, 2017. Gazzola ranks second in CHA with 12 assists in conference play and has a plus-5 rating in those games.

Worth The Wait

Caitlyn Sadowy, in her first game since missing 2016-17 with upper-body injuries, opened the scoring in a 4-1 preseason win over Ryerson Sept. 23, and Lexi Templeman had the game-winner. On Nov. 3 at Lindenwood, Templeman set up Sadowy on an RMU power play for the latter's first official goal since 2015-16 and first-ever game-winning goal.

Oh Captain, My Captain

Amanda Pantaleo became the seventh different captain of the Paul Colontino era at Robert Morris Sept. 18. On Nov. 4 she scored a game-winning shorthanded goal at Lindenwood, her first shorty since Feb. 18, 2017--the team's only one last season.

Drama Queens

Pantaleo and Natalie Fraser each have the distinction of scoring their first career goals in overtime against Lindenwood. Fraser gave the Colonials a 3-2 triumph at LU 2:25 into the sudden-victory period Nov. 7, 2014 after also setting up Mackenzie Johnston's tying goal 4:20 into the third, and Pantaleo won a 2-1 contest at the RMU Island Sports Center Jan. 23, 2015, her first career "Skate for the Cure" game, with :21 left in the extra frame.

Paying The Price

Elijah Milne-Price made 20 saves for her second career shutout, a 6-0 decision at LU Nov. 3. Her next will tie her with Courtney Vinet '15 and Daneca Butterfield '11 for fourth in RMU history. Her 1.91 GAA is second among D-I seniors, and her .922 save percentage ranks fifth nationally among upperclassmen.

Take My Puck, Please

Jaycee Gebhard was 14-for-16 on faceoffs vs. Syracuse Jan. 6, the best single-game effort by a Colonial since Nov. 3-4, when Jessica Gazzola won 15 of 20, then Natalie Marcuzzi 5 of 5 at Lindenwood. Brittany Howard won an RMU season-high 24 draws vs. Ohio State Nov. 24, followed closely by her 18 wins at Lindenwood Nov. 4.

New Kids On The Block

Emily Curlett blocked a series-high eight shots versus Syracuse Jan. 5-6. She leads all CHA defenders with 62 blocks, also good for second among all NCAA rookies, and her plus-18 rating entering Friday is tops among all first-year players in the conference.

Lexi Templeman, CHA Rookie of the Month for November, and Rookie of the Week Dec. 11, is tied for second in CHA rookie scoring with Curlett, who has an identical seven goals and 16 points. She earned the first of her two CHA Rookie of the Week awards for notching back-to-back game-winning assists at Lindenwood Nov. 3-4. Templeman also finished that initial series with the third goal of her young RMU career, with all three coming on the power play.

"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 21-8 in third periods, and its 36 third-period goals overall are tied for fourth-most in the nation. Brittany Howard has 19 of her 37 points (10 G, 9 A) in the final frame, second-most in D-I. Kirsten Welsh has 11 (4 G, 7 A), while Jaycee Gebhard (4 G, 6 A) and Amber Rennie (5 G, 5 A) each have ten.

RMU is unbeaten in 15 tries (12-0-3) when tied or ahead entering the third. Its eight third-period goals allowed in conference play are tied for fifth-fewest in the nation. The Colonials lead CHA with their 17 goal margin in third periods, which is also tied for sixth nationally.

Elijah Milne-Price has a 1.51 GAA in third periods that ranks second in CHA and ninth among all NCAA goaltenders.

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.

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