Women's Hockey | 1/14/2019 1:56:00 PM
PITTSBURGH -- The
Robert Morris women's hockey team ended its fall semester with a series against WCHA (Western Collegiate Hockey Association) competition, and the beginning of its spring term Monday was marked by a historic WHCA honor.
The Women's Hockey Commissioners Association named junior forward
Jaycee Gebhard its Player of the Month for December. The 5'3" Plenty, Saskatchewan native is the first player in Colonials history, as well as the first in College Hockey America history, ever to receive a monthly award from the organization.
Previously, Gebhard became the first in program lore to be named the WHCA's National Rookie of the Year Mar. 30, 2017. More recently, the RMU assistant captain got Honorable Mention for both its October and November 2018 Player of the Month awards.
Gebhard led College Hockey America with four goals in three December games played. Gebhard also finished atop CHA with her plus-3 rating for the month of December, and her 37 faceoff wins in that span, the most on the team, tied for third in the conference.
She registered a point in 14 consecutive games Oct. 20-Dec. 7, establishing a new Robert Morris record. On Dec. 4 Gebhard celebrated her second College Hockey America Player of the Month award in a row, as well as a CHA Player of the Week nod for her hat trick in a 4-1 win over conference rival Penn State Dec. 1, in which the new RMU point streak record was established.
It was her first HT, and only other as a collegian, since her three goals in the Windjammer Classic versus St. Cloud State Nov. 26, 2016.
With their sweep of the Nittany Lions that weekend, the Colonials (8-10-4, 6-1-1) slipped past Mercyhurst for first place in CHA by one point entering the semester break. Gebhard scored her conference-best 15th goal of the season at No. 2 Minnesota Dec. 7, her third straight game finding the net.
She became the sixth player in program history to score 50 career goals that night, almost a month ago to the day she became the fifth RMU player to hit the century mark in career points (Nov. 9).
Gebhard also ended the fall term comfortably ahead of the pack with her 33 points, and her 18 assists were the most in CHA as well. Entering the break, she ranked second in Division I in both goals and points, two behind national leaders Maureen Murphy (Providence) and Elizabeth Giguere (Clarkson), respectively.
Through Sunday, Gebhard shares the NCAA lead in power play goals (five), and she remains the D-I front-runner in assists (11) and points (16). Her 305 total faceoff wins are also the most in the country.
She now sits in a sixth-place tie nationally in goals and has sole possession of sixth in the points race, while currently tying for eighth in the NCAA in assists.
Robert Morris resumes its 2018-19 campaign this weekend at CHA rival Syracuse. The opening faceoffs from Tennity Ice Pavilion in Syracuse, New York are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Friday and 3:00 p.m. ET Saturday.
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