Women's Hockey | 1/24/2019 3:36:00 PM

PITTSBURGH -- The Robert Morris women's hockey team returns to Colonials Arena for the first time in the calendar year to face the Tigers of the Rochester Institute of Technology Friday and Saturday. The opening faceoffs from the RMU Island Sports Center are scheduled for 7:05 and 3:05 p.m. ET, respectively, and both games can be seen live on the CHA Digital Network (subscription required).

For Robert Morris this is the second of six series in a row against College Hockey America opponents to conclude its regular campaign. The Colonials hold a three-point lead atop the CHA standings in pursuit of their third straight regular-season crown, five points ahead of RIT, which shares third place with Syracuse entering Friday.

The Colonials are 19-10-3 all-time against the Tigers, having won ten straight and 13 of the past 14 meetings. During a Nov. 2-3 sweep at the Polisseni Center, Jaycee Gebhard scored in 3-1 and 3-0 wins, Lexi Templeman finished the series with four assists and Lauren Bailey combined for 43 saves.

RMU also swept RIT in its last visit to the Island Sports Center, with 6-1 and 5-2 victories Nov. 10-11, 2017. Amber Rennie registered two goals and three assists for the series, while Maggie LaGue and Emily Curlett combined for four points (G, 3 A) and four blocked shots.

Robert Morris (9-11-4, 7-2-1) vs. RIT (9-10-4, 5-4-0) - Jan. 25-26
Fri., Jan. 25 (7:05 p.m. ET) - LIVE STREAM ($) | LIVE STATS
Sat., Jan. 26 (3:05 p.m. ET) - LIVE STREAM ($) | LIVE STATS

In partnership with Never Give Up Radio and The Goalie Guild, the women's hockey team will play its Mental Health Awareness Game Friday during its 13th annual "Skate For The Cure" weekend as a member of CHA. Both teams will wear special awareness ribbons on their uniforms, while the RMU women's team has set a fundraising goal of $5,000 for three different mental health awareness programs: the Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA), Athletes Against Anxiety and Depression (AAAD) and the Lift The Mask initiative.

For the second time this season, fans are invited to Skate with the Colonials after Friday's contest. The post-game public skate is free with your own skates, or just $3.00 to rent them from the front desk at the Island Sports Center.

In addition, fans are welcome to sign up for the Clearview Federal Credit Union "Penalty Box Trivia Challenge" before both games for a chance to win $50.

A free, continuous student shuffle running between the ISC front doors and Lexington/Concord Halls will be available 6:00-10:00 p.m. Friday.

Visit the ISC lobby for tickets and nguradio.org/donate to donate.

Key Notes

• The Colonials are coming off a split with Syracuse Jan. 18-19, their first series of the new semester. They got power play goals from Emily Curlett, Amber Rennie and Caitlyn Sadowy in their 5-1 win last Saturday. RMU enters Friday tied for the nation's second-most productive PP at 21 goals in '18-'19.

• Gebhard now has points in 16 of her last 17 games after setting a new RMU record with points in 14 straight Oct. 20-Dec. 7, 2018. She is fifth in the NCAA scoring race with a CHA-best 37 points, and her conference-high 15 goals tie her for eighth in Division I. She still leads D-I with 19 power play points, tying for the lead with five PPG's, and she is also tops with 328 faceoff wins.

• Natalie Marcuzzi scored the first RMU goal in both games at Syracuse. She ranks third on the team with seven goals, padding the new career high she established versus Penn State Dec. 1, the team's final home game of the fall.

• Lexi Templeman ended a 15-game goal drought (Oct. 26 vs. Lindenwood) with 1:07 to play at Syracuse Jan. 19. Her empty-net goal, the fifth by RMU this season, put the team in a tie for the second-most in Division I. It was also the team's second short-handed goal of the year, and the first one, by Maggie LaGue at RIT Nov. 3, was also an empty-netter. Templeman is second on the team with 21 points, matching the point total from her All-CHA Rookie year.

• Lauren Bailey turned aside 52 of 56 total shots on goal by the Orange Jan. 18-19, ending the weekend with a 1.96 goals-against average that was second-best among CHA netminders. Bailey has averaged 27 saves per game over seven consecutive starts, making 30 or more three times in that span.

• With two assists at Syracuse Jan. 19, Maggie LaGue sits on 87 career points, one behind Kirsten Welsh for the all-time RMU lead among defenders. Welsh has missed the past seven games with a lower-body injury. LaGue leads all NCAA defenders with 12 power play points (2 G, 10 A) this season.

• Associate head coach Logan Bittle returns to the bench for the Colonials after last weekend's absence. Carter Michael Bittle, the first child of Bittle and his wife, RMU Athletics Hall-of-Famer Brianne McLaughlin '11, was born Jan. 19.

An "A" For Effort
• Assistant captain Jaycee Gebhard led College Hockey America with her 25 assists in 2017-18, tying for 14th nationally. Gebhard, once again, leads College Hockey America entering Friday, and she has taken sole possession of fifth on the NCAA chart with her 22 apples this season. In 2016-17, she set the RMU rookie record with 24 helpers, tied for third-most in a single season in Colonial lore. Her 25 last season were the second-most in a single year. Gebhard, who passed Brianna Delaney for fourth on the career chart Saturday, is on pace (0.92 assists per game) to tie the RMU single-season record of 30 set by Brittany Howard in '16-'17.

Chasing History
• Jaycee Gebhard became the fifth Robert Morris player to amass 100 career points with her power play goal Nov. 9. With her next goal, Gebhard will match Thea Imbrogno '14 for fifth on the all-time chart. Amber Rennie became the eighth player in Robert Morris history to reach the 40-career goal plateau versus No. 7 Cornell Nov. 23. With ten regular season games remaining, Rennie needs ten more points to become the sixth Colonial to 100.
• Gebhard and Rennie tied Megan Picinic '09 for fourth in RMU history with eight career game-winning goals after each got one at RIT Nov. 2-3. Gebhard pulled ahead of Brianna Delaney for third all-time with her tenth career GW Dec. 1 versus Penn State.
• Kirsten Welsh, already the Robert Morris leader in career goals by a defender (33), tied Brianna Delaney for fourth in career power play tallies with her 17th all-time during the second period at RIT Nov. 2.
• Lauren Bailey has climbed into fifth place in program history, past Daneca Butterfield '11, with 18 career victories. The next target for Bailey will be Elijah Milne-Price, her former teammate, who sits fourth in Robert Morris history with 21 wins all-time.

Oh Captain, My Captain
• Amber Rennie, Kirsten Welsh and Maggie LaGue are the first tri-captains in program history. Ten different players have now worn the "C" under Paul Colontino, while Jaycee Gebhard was named the lone assistant captain. The 2018-19 leadership group has combined for 82 (32 G, 50 A) of the team's 158 points (51.9%) entering Friday.

Second Helpings
• Emily Curlett set a career high with her eight blocked shots against Penn State Dec. 1. The 2018 All-CHA Rookie Team selection led all CHA defenders in 2017-18 with 70 blocks and she now leads the NCAA with 101 after ending up second in D-I in blocks as an RMU newcomer. Curlett blocked eight shots combined in her last series against the Tigers Nov. 2-3.
• Lexi Templeman finished the 2017-18 season with a .559 faceoff win rate, third among CHA rookies, and also made the All-CHA Rookie squad. Templeman has maintained the CHA lead (.674) through Thursday and is now second in the NCAA. Her .681 clip in conference play is now tops in D-I.

You Can Go Home Again
• Pittsburgh native Anjelica Diffendal scored her first NCAA goal in her second-ever home game Nov. 11, 2017 vs. RIT after playing in seven road contests. The Robinson-born winger 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.
• Syracuse native Emilie Harley recorded two of her five assists as a rookie in 2017-18 against the Orange. On Jan. 18 she scored against her hometown team for the first time as a collegian, a power play goal 10:10 into the second period at Tennity Ice Pavilion.

You Feel Shame For Two Minutes, And Then You Get Free
• Robert Morris averages 3.50 penalty kills per game in conference play, eighth-most in the NCAA, and only seven of their 17 power play goals allowed have come on the road. The Colonials have killed 35 of their last 36 penalties taken against RIT, dating back to the 2016-17 season.

The Third Period Is Our Period
Robert Morris has a +10 goal margin in third periods that ranks sixth in D-I. In addition, the Colonials have scored an NCAA-best 11 PPG's and 31 power play points in third periods.

In Our Defense...
• Entering Friday, the 2018-19 squad has combined for 15 goals from its defensive corps, which is tied for second-most in Division I. Individually, Kirsten Welsh is tied for sixth among NCAA defenders with her five goals, and Maggie LaGue fifth with her 18 points (4 G, 14 A).

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