Women's Hockey | 9/28/2018 1:42:00 AM
PITTSBURGH -- The
Robert Morris women's hockey team begins its 14th season in NCAA Division I when it hosts the Saints of Saint Lawrence University Friday and Saturday. The opening faceoffs are scheduled for 7:05 and 3:05 p.m. EDT, respectively, at the RMU Island Sports Center.
Robert Morris (0-0-0) vs. St. Lawrence (0-0-0) - Sept. 28-29, 2018
Fri., Sept. 28 (7:05 p.m.) - LIVE STREAM ($) | LIVE STATS
Sat., Sept. 29 (3:05 p.m.) - LIVE STREAM ($) | LIVE STATS
Ten of the team's 14 non-conference games in 2018-19 feature opponents who were nationally ranked in the final polls of the 2017-18 season, starting with this series. The Colonials are unbeaten in their last three home-opening series (5-0-1).
Both wins over St. Lawrence in program history have come at the Island Sports Center. Kristen Richards and Rebecca Vint scored game-winning goals in 4-2 and 3-0 victories Jan. 4-5, 2014, respectively, to sweep the Saints.
Fans call 412-397-4949 for ticket information or visit the Island Sports Center front desk.
Key Notes
•
Anjelica Diffendal scored twice to help power the Colonials to a 6-1 win over the Ontario Institute of Technology in preseason play at Colonials Arena last Saturday.
Courtney Kollman, who started on the top line with
Jaycee Gebhard and
Amber Rennie, assisted on a Gebhard goal for her first unofficial point, and
Mackenzie Krasowski followed it up with her first goal in a Robert Morris uniform. RMU went 4-for-4 on special teams, including 3-for-3 on the PK.
• All three Colonial goaltenders saw preseason action.
Lauren Bailey started and was credited with the victory, and
Arielle DeSmet led RMU with seven saves.
• RMU is unbeaten in eight straight (5-0-3) versus Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) opponents, including a 3-3 tie at Colgate Dec. 9, 2017.
• Rennie,
Kirsten Welsh and
Maggie LaGue were named the first tri-captains in program history. Ten different players have now worn the "C" under
Paul Colontino. Gebhard was named the lone assistant captain for 2018-19.
• RMU took its second College Hockey America regular-season title in a row with a sweep in Syracuse Feb. 23-24. The Colonials reached their second consecutive CHA Tournament Final and also celebrated the third season of 20-plus wins in the Colontino era, having also done it in 2013-14 and 2016-17.
• Welsh made All-CHA First Team for the second straight year and was named 2018 CHA Defender of the Year as a junior. She led all CHA D-men with 30 points, and the four goals allowed by the Colonials in February were the fewest in the nation. The Robert Morris defense did not allow a goal for its last 128 minutes and 29 seconds of regular-season play in 2017-18.
•
Emily Curlett and
Lexi Templeman were named to the CHA All-Rookie Team. Templeman finished in a three-way tied for the team lead with five power play goals, and Curlett's eight goals were an RMU rookie D-man record.
• The Colonials received votes in the 22nd annual USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Preseason Poll. This was the 42nd straight USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll in which they, minimally, received votes, extending a school record run that began in the Fall 2016 term.
• Robert Morris was picked second in the CHA Preseason Poll, receiving one of six first-place votes. This was the sixth time in the Colontino era that the Colonials have been picked to finish in the conference's top three.
An "A" For Effort
•
Jaycee Gebhard led College Hockey America with her 25 assists in 2017-18, tying for 14th nationally. She assisted on every RMU goal in a 6-2 win at Mankato Oct. 8, 2017 to match a school single-game record established when Maria Olausson had six helpers versus Chatham Oct. 27, 2006. Gebhard, now eighth in career assists at RMU (49), was one of only five NCAA players to have recorded four or more assists in two or more games last season.
Chasing History
• With her "Teddy Bear goal" versus Penn State Jan. 27, the team's second annual Teddy Bear Toss game for UPMC Children's Hospital,
Amber Rennie tied Kelsey Thomas '12 for seventh all-time at RMU.
Jaycee Gebhard caught up to her with her Feb. 10 tally versus Lindenwood and enters this season tied with Rennie for seventh all-time, with 35. Also on Jan. 27,
Kirsten Welsh tied Class of '08 teammates Morgan Beikirch and Megan Picinic for tenth all-time.
• The 122 goals netted by the Robert Morris offense in 2017-18 were a new single-season record, eclipsing the 108 it scored in 2015-16. On Feb. 24 in Syracuse,
Anjelica Diffendal scored the record-breaker, which was also her first career game-winner.
Achievement Unlocked
•
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.
• Welsh and
Brittany Howard were both named Third Team All-USCHO, two years after Welsh made the All-USCHO Rookie Team. Howard, who was previously tabbed as the first AHCA All-American in Robert Morris history, pre-signed with the Toronto Furies prior to the CWHL Draft, while Class of '18 teammates
Natalie Fraser (Calgary Inferno) and
Elijah Milne-Price (Markham Thunder) were selected Aug. 26.
• Welsh, Howard and Gebhard were reunited this summer at the Team Canada National Women's Development Camp in August.
•
Natalie Marcuzzi was hailed as a CHA Student-Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row, leading a conference-best group of 20 Colonials who made the CHA All-Academic Team.
In Our Defense...
• The Robert Morris defense combined for 26 goals and 102 points, tying it with eventual NCAA champion Clarkson, its next opponent, for the top scoring 'D' unit in Division I.
Kirsten Welsh tied for fifth in the nation in points by defenders, with 30 (12 G, 18 A), and she had the second-most in Division I by a junior last season.
• On Dec. 9, 2017, at No. 4 Colgate,
Maggie LaGue became the first defender in Robert Morris history to reach 50 career assists. LaGue's 22 helpers during the '17-'18 season were a new career high and just four off the NCAA lead (t-6th overall).
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