Women's Hockey | 11/27/2019 10:10:00 PM

CANTON, N.Y. -- Winners of six in a row and once again receiving votes in the USCHO national top-10 poll, the Robert Morris University women's hockey team stays in the Empire State, taking on non-conference foe St. Lawrence over the holiday weekend.

[RV] ROBERT MORRIS (8-5-1, 4-0-0 CHA) 
at ST. LAWRENCE (5-6-3, 1-3-1 ECAC)

Friday, Nov. 29 at 3 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 30 at 1 p.m.
Roos House, Canton, N.Y.
VIDEO via ESPN+ ($)

CATCHING UP
In their first action in 13 days, the Colonials collected a pair of wins at RPI last weekend by a combined 9-2 score. Sophomore Michaela Boyle and junior Anjelica Diffendal each scored three goals in the series, while Jaycee Gebhard (2g, 1a) and Sarah Lecavalier (3a) notched three points apiece.
 
For their efforts, Boyle (Player of the Week) and freshman Maggy Burbidge (Rookie) earned their first College Hockey America awards. Also, sophomore Arielle DeSmet and freshman Raygan Kirk each collected a victory in goal, helping RMU stretch its win streak to six, the second-longest run in team history.

HISTORY LESSON
This is the second consecutive season that RMU will take on St. Lawrence, as the Colonials return the favor following the Saints' trip to Pittsburgh last fall. The Colonials have won three of the past six against SLU, but just three of 10 overall since the first meeting 11 years ago.
 
Last year, the two teams split a series on Neville Island, with St. Lawrence winning 2-0 in the opener and RMU striking back for a 3-2 victory the next day. Kirsten Welsh '19 notched the overtime game-winner in the second game, with Emily Curlett and Mackenzie Krasowski also scoring in the comeback win.

OPPOSITION RESEARCH
St. Lawrence has gone through its ups and downs this season, starting 1-3-2 in a six-game run of road games, followed by a four-game winning streak, followed by an ongoing 1-3-1 slide. The Saints won 20-plus games in 2016-17 and 2017-18, including an NCAA tournament berth in 2017, the same year RMU made its tourney debut.
 
Senior forward Kayla Vespa is the top gunner on the Saints, as she leads the team in goals (eight), assists (10) and total points (18). All three goaltenders have made at least three starts for 12th-year head coach Chris Wells, but freshman North Dakota native Lucy Morgan leads the trio with a .919 save percentage in nine appearances.

KNOW BOBBY MO
• The Colonials' current six-game win streak is one shy of the team record, set from Nov. 23, 2013 through Jan. 5, 2014. (That run was part of another program best: A 14-game unbeaten streak (12-0-2) that propelled RMU to a national ranking.) The last time RMU won even five in a row was late in the 24-win 2016-17 season, which ended in the NCAA tournament.
 
• Gebhard continues her assault on the team record books. RMU's No. 2 all-time leading scorer with 163 career points, Gebhard is on pace to beat last year's record total of 51 points, as she has already piled up 29 (10g, 19a) and ranks second in the nation with 2.1 points per game. With 20 regular-season games left, Gebhard is 18 points shy of Brittany Howard's RMU record of 181.

• In addition to last year's CHA scoring champ Gebhard, juniors Templeman and Curlett were named to the All-CHA Second Team last spring. Templeman, who piled up 26 assists last season, already has 18 helpers in the opening 14 games. Curlett, meanwhile, has the third-best points-per-game mark (1.3) among all Division I defenders, notching eight goals and 10 assists.

• The power play has been dynamite, converting on 19 of 66 opportunities for a 27.4 percent success rate that ranks third in the nation. Gebhard (3g, 13a) has factored in on 16 of those PPGs, while Curlett (7g, 4a), Templeman (2g, 8a) and Boyle (6g, 4a) have also excelled on the advantage. Junior defender Emilie Harley has five (2g, 3a) of her 10 points on the PP.
 
• Boyle has been a revelation in her first 14 RMU games, scoring 12 goals and four assists. Her hat trick Nov. 24 at RPI was the fastest (3:43) in team history, making her just the third Colonial ever to score a 'natural' trick. A native of Reading, Massachusetts, Boyle is the second Colonial ever to score two hat tricks in the same season, joining Rebecca Vint '15.

• The Colonials welcome seven newcomers, five of them forwards. Boyle transfers from Clarkson University, where she helped the Knights to the 2018 NCAA title. Joelle Fiala (Saskatchewan), Marah Wagner (British Columbia) and Maggy Burbidge (Nova Scotia) supplement the forwards, while Anna Fairman (Michigan) and Allyson Hebert (Ontario) add to the 'D.'

• Boyle hasn't been the only fresh face to contribute offense. Fiala (1g, 4a) and Burbidge (2g, 3a) lead the Class of 2023 with five points, while Wagner (1g, 3a) is close behind. Wagner (No. 2 Minnesota) and Burbidge (No. 5 Clarkson) scored their first goals against ranked foes. Hebert also has an assist and has missed just one of 14 games so far.

• In goal, freshman Kirk joins returners Arielle DeSmet and Molly Singewald. DeSmet, a sophomore from Vermont, posted a .920 save percentage in 10 appearances last season. Kirk, a Manitoban, won MVP for Team Canada in the 2019 World Under-18 World Championship. Both Kirk (.916 SV% in eight starts) and DeSmet (.902 in six) have played extensively this season.

• According to a preseason coaches poll, the Colonials were picked to finish second in the six-team CHA, with Mercyhurst getting the top spot. RMU, which received one first-place vote, has finished in the top half of the CHA in seven of the past eight seasons. The Colonials have received votes in all but two USCHO top-10 national polls this season, reaching a high of No. 8.

• Once again, RMU will boast a robust non-conference schedule to go with its 20-game CHA slate. Starting with October showdowns against No. 2 Minnesota, No. 4 Clarkson and No. 5 Cornell, the Colonials will challenge each of the four national semifinalists from last spring. To cap it off, defending national champ Wisconsin will visit Pittsburgh on Jan. 4.

• Speaking of the holiday season, RMU is teaming up with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins for a first-of-its-kind four-team tournament to take place Jan. 4-5 at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township: The Battle at the Burgh. In addition to Wisconsin, the Colonials will welcome Northeastern and Colgate -- both of which finished in the top 10 last spring.

• Familiar faces return behind the bench, led by ninth-year bench boss Paul Colontino. He's assisted by associate head coach Logan Bittle '08, who enters his 10th season behind the bench after four years playing for the RMU men's team. Fellow alum Jen Kindret '13 joins the staff; the former forward played under Colontino and Bittle at the end of her tenure a Colonial.

THE COLONTINO FILE
Returning for his ninth season in charge of the Colonials, Colontino boasted an overall record of 149-94-36 in his first eight seasons. In his first year running the team, RMU claimed its first championship of any kind, the 2012 CHA tournament title, while improving by 13 victories. A two-time CHA Coach of the Year and a one-time USCHO National Coach of the Year, Colontino was also behind two 24-win seasons (2013-14, 2016-17) and the program's first NCAA tournament berth, in 2017.

Before coming to Robert Morris, Colontino had served as associate head coach at Mercyhurst since 2006. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach with the women's team at the University of North Dakota for four years. Colontino began his coaching career as an assistant with Mercyhurst in 2000. As a player at Mercyhurst, Colontino was the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) co-Defensive Player of the Year as a senior and an All-MAAC First Team selection.

HONOR ROLL
The following Colonials have been honored by College Hockey America for their performances this season ...
Jaycee Gebhard - Player of the Week (Sept. 30, Nov. 4)
Arielle DeSmet - Goaltender of the Week (Sept. 30)
Raygan Kirk - Rookie of the Week (Sept. 30), Goaltender of the Week (Nov. 4)
Emily Curlett - Player of the Week (Oct. 14, Oct. 21), Player of the Month (October)
Emilie Harley - Player of the Week (Nov. 11)
Joelle Fiala - Rookie of the Week (Nov. 11)
Michaela Boyle – Player of the Week (Nov. 25)
Maggy Burbidge – Rookie of the Week (Nov. 25)

MARCH WITH THE COLONIALS
In addition to reports and videos on RMUColonials.com, check out Twitter and Instagram for news and updates throughout the season.

NEXT UP
The Colonials will return to home ice for the first time in a month when they take on longtime rival Mercyhurst on Dec. 6-7.