[RV] ROBERT MORRIS (4-5-1, 2-0-0 CHA) 
at LINDENWOOD (2-6-2, 0-2-0 CHA)
Friday, Nov. 8 at 8:10 p.m. ET
Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. ET
Centene Community Ice Center
LIVE VIDEO ($) | LIVE STATS 

CATCHING UP
The Colonials rebounded from a challenging road trip at Cornell to sweep CHA foe Penn State in a pair of games last weekend at the RMU Island Sports Center. Robert Morris outscored the Nittany Lions by a combined score of 10-2, starting conference play on an encouraging note as it looks for a fourth straight regular-season championship.
 
Senior captain Jaycee Gebhard had another remarkable weekend, scoring eight points (1g, 7a) across the two tilts, including her fourth career five-point game Saturday. She and freshman goalie Raygan Kirk (51 saves, first NCAA shutout) were given weekly honors by the CHA. Sophomore Michaela Boyle also starred, scoring four goals vs. the Nits, including her first college hat trick.

HISTORY LESSON
The Colonials still hold a big lead (23-7-2) in the all-time series against Lindenwood, but last season was the first time RMU didn't have a winning record against the Lions in a given season. Lindenwood won one game and tied two others in the four-game series, most notably including a 6-1 win over RMU in Missouri, all the while getting outshot 42-15.

Lexi Templeman (five points) and Gebhard (four points) led the Colonials' attack in last season's series. RMU averaged 40 shots per game in the four matchups with Lindenwood. Then-freshman goalie Arielle DeSmet saw some relief action in the final game of the season series, playing just over a period.

OPPOSITION RESEARCH
Lindenwood is under new management for 2019-20, with former U.S. Olympic gold medalist Shelley Looney taking over the helm as head coach. Much like the Colonials, the Lions have taken on a tough schedule so far, including two-game sets against No. 1 Wisconsin and No. 4 Clarkson.
 
After collecting wins over Bemidji State and Union, Lindenwood opened CHA play last weekend with a pair of losses at Mercyhurst in Erie, Pa. Remarkably, 13 Lions have at least two points, although none have more than three. Sophomore goalie Annika Asplundh has appeared in eight of 10 games, posting a .908 save percentage.

KNOW BOBBY MO
• Although the Colonials sit just barely out of the USCHO and USA Hockey Magazine top-10 national polls this week -- ranking an unofficial 11th in both -- they've already spent two weeks ranked by both surveys, reaching a high of No. 8 in the Oct. 21 USCHO poll. Robert Morris has at least received votes every week in both polls, ranking as the highest CHA team in every one of those so far.

• The Colonials return 16 players from last season, headlined by Gebhard, RMU's No. 2 all-time leading scorer with 157 career points. Gebhard is on pace to challenge last year's program-record total of 51 points, as she has already piled up 22 points (7g, 15a) and ranks second in the nation with 2.2 points per gamae. With 24 regular-season games left, Gebhard is 24 points shy of Brittany Howard's RMU record.

• In addition to All-CHA First Team representative Gebhard, the Colonials welcome back juniors Templeman and Curlett, both of whom were named to the All-CHA Second Team last spring. Templeman, who piled up 26 assists last season, already has 15 (1g, 14a) in the opening 10 games. Curlett, meanwhile, is more than halfway to last year's total of 21 points, notching seven goals and assisting on eight others so far.

• The RMU power play has been especially dynamic early, converting on 16 of 57 opportunities for a 28.1 percent success rate that ranks sixth of 41 Division I teams. Gebhard (2g, 11a) has factored in on 13 of those PPGs, while Curlett (7g, 3a), Templeman (1g, 7a) and sophomore Michaela Boyle (5g, 2a) have also excelled on the advantage. Junior defender Emilie Harley has three of her six points on the PP.

• The Colonials welcome seven newcomers, five of them forwards. Redshirt sophomore Boyle transfers to RMU from Clarkson University, where she helped the Golden Knights to the 2018 national 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 blue line.

• Boyle has been a revelation in her first 10 RMU games, scoring nine goals and two assists, but she hasn't been the only fresh face to score early. Fiala, Hebert and Burbidge each earned their first points (all assists) on opening weekend, while Wagner (Minnesota) and Burbidge (Clarkson) earned their first goals against ranked foes. Burbidge leads RMU freshmen with three points (1g, 2a), while Fiala has two assists.

• 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 (.913 SV%, one shutout in five starts) and DeSmet (.892, one shutout in five starts) 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 were also heard from in the first USCHO national poll of 2019-20, receiving one 10th-place vote for an unofficial standing of 13th in the survey.

• 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 be the opponent Jan. 4 in Cranberry Township, Pa.

• 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 USCHO 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 as an assistant; the former forward played under Colontino and Bittle at the end of her tenure a Colonial.

COLONIAL CHAT
"It boosts the confidence and gets you into the game more, but you have to focus on the next puck." Freshman goalie Kirk talks about making a big save early, adjusting to the speed of college hockey and getting along with fellow netminders DeSmet and Singewald ...

🗣"It boosts the confidence and gets you into the game more, but you have to focus on the next puck."

Freshman @raygan_kirk01 talks about making a big save early, adjusting to the speed of college hockey and getting along with @adesmet32 and @mollymae_37! #ColonialChat pic.twitter.com/P8XHk4cKJO

— RMU Hockey (@RMUWHockey) November 7, 2019

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)

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 enjoy a 'bye week' before jumping back out of league play with RPI on the weekend of Nov. 22-23. Those games will be on the road, in Troy, New York.