Women's Hockey | 2/14/2019 8:42:00 PM
PITTSBURGH -- The
Robert Morris women's hockey team concludes its regular-season series with the Lions of Lindenwood University Friday and Saturday. The opening faceoffs from the Lindenwood Ice Arena in Wentzville, Missouri are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and 2:00 p.m. ET, respectively, and both can be seen live on the CHA Digital Network (subscription required).
For Robert Morris this marks its fourth of six series in a row against College Hockey America opponents to wrap up the regular campaign. The Colonials hold a four-point lead atop CHA in pursuit of their third straight regular-season title, sitting 17 points clear of sixth-place LU. They are five above Syracuse for a first-round CHA Tournament bye.
Robert Morris (12-11-5, 10-2-2) at Lindenwood (6-18-2, 2-11-1) - Feb. 15-16
Fri., Feb. 15 (7:00 p.m. ET) - LIVE STREAM ($) | LIVE STATS
Sat., Feb. 16 (2:00 p.m. ET) - LIVE STREAM ($) | LIVE STATS
The Colonials are coming off a series win at Penn State Feb. 8-9 that allowed them to gain ground in the CHA standings, buoyed by a Syracuse sweep of second-place Mercyhurst.
Jaycee Gebhard and
Emily Curlett each rung up power play goals in a 5-1 win last Friday, and
Lauren Bailey made 31 saves to cement a 2-2 tie last Saturday.
RMU is 27-7-2 all-time versus Lindenwood, including a 9-4-1 mark on the road. It has won 11 of its past 13 meetings from the Lions. The Colonials won their last series, Oct. 26-27 at the Island Sports Center, behind a combined 40 saves from Bailey, including 17 in her first shutout of the season, a 2-0 result in the series finale.
Key Notes
• This is the final 2018-19 regular-season road series for Robert Morris. The Colonials swept the Lions in their last visit to the Lindenwood Ice Arena Nov. 3-4, 2017, taking 6-0 and 4-2 victories.
Caitlyn Sadowy's game-winning power play strike in the opener was her first goal since missing the 2016-17 season with upper-body injuries, and
Lexi Templeman assisted on both game-winners. RMU has blanked Lindenwood in two of its last three games in Wentzville and five of their past eight meetings overall.
• With her assist Feb. 9,
Maggie LaGue temporarily moved past
Kirsten Welsh for the all-time RMU scoring lead among defenders, with 89 points, though Welsh has missed the past 11 games with a lower-body injury. Welsh originally set that record with a third-period power play assist at Lindenwood Nov. 3, 2017. LaGue leads all NCAA defenders with 14 power play points (2 G, 12 A) this season.
•
Emily Curlett became the first RMU defender to score four game-winning goals in a row 5:08 into the second period Feb. 8 on a Robert Morris power play, picking up her career-high tenth goal of the year. The Colonials enter Friday tied for the nation's third-most productive PP at 25 goals in '18-'19. Three of those four GWG's by Curlett came on the power play, and RMU has a PPG in five of six since the holiday break.
•
Jaycee Gebhard has a goal in five of her last six outings against the Lions, including the game-winner with 11:02 to play in a 2-0 Robert Morris win Oct. 27. She tied Sara O'Malley '11 for fourth in program history with her 52nd career goal Feb. 8 and needs one more to tie RMU Athletics Hall-of-Famer Brianna Delaney '12 for third all-time. Gebhard is tied for tenth among active collegians with her 126 career points, the third-most in RMU lore, and she (7 G, 4 A) and
Amber Rennie (2 G, 9 A) each have 11 career points against Lindenwood, tied for the most among active Colonials.
• Gebhard now has points in 19 of her last 21 games after setting a new RMU record with points in 14 straight Oct. 20-Dec. 7, 2018. She is tied for seventh in the NCAA scoring race with a CHA-best 42 points and leads the conference with her 17 goals. She paces D-I with 21 power play points (5 G, 16 A), and she ranks fourth in the nation with her 375 faceoff wins this season.
•
Lauren Bailey was named the RMU Athletics Female Student-Athlete of the Week for her efforts at Penn State Feb. 8-9. Her 31 saves in last Saturday's 2-2 tie were her most since the 34 she posted in a 4-1 triumph over the Nittany Lions Dec. 1. Her 1.31 goals-against average since Jan. 18 ranks sixth in Division I for that span, and her .942 save percentage is eighth nationally since the Colonials resumed their season.
•
Lexi Templeman scored on a breakaway Feb. 8 for her first power play goal since her first-period marker versus Lindenwood Oct. 26. Templeman ranks second in the conference with her 20 assists and is tied for second in CHA with her 24 points, three above the 21 she finished with as a member of last year's All-CHA Rookie Team.
• Bailey has allowed only one even-strength goal in her last 242 minutes of action. The Colonials had killed off 12 consecutive penalties prior to allowing two PPG's at Penn State Feb. 9, and they went 7-for-8 on the PK versus Lindenwood Oct. 26-27.
• Robert Morris, as a team, has allowed only five goals in all during its five-game unbeaten streak (Jan. 19-present), the fewest in the NCAA during that span.
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 is tied for seventh on the NCAA chart with her 25 apples this season. In 2016-17, she set the Colonials rookie record with 24 helpers, tied for third-most in a single season in RMU lore. Her 25 as a junior are tied with her 25 as a sophomore for the second-most in a single year. Gebhard, who moved past Thea Imbrogno into third in career assists Jan. 25, is on pace (0.89 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. Rennie, with six regular season games left, needs only six points to become the sixth Colonial to reach 100.
•
Lauren Bailey has climbed into a tie for fourth place in team history, moving past Daneca Butterfield '11, with 21 career wins in net, tying her with former teammate
Elijah Milne-Price '18. Bailey became the fifth in RMU lore to collect 1,000 career saves Jan. 19.
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 93 (36 G, 57 A) of the team's 189 points (49.2%) entering Friday.
Once More, With Feeling!
•
Emily Curlett enjoyed her fourth career game with multiple goals in RMU's Feb. 8 win over Penn State.
Jaycee Gebhard had her second multi-goal game of the year. Curlett's previous two-goal effort in 2018-19 came in the team's come-from-behind tie with No. 7 Cornell Nov. 24 at the RMU Island Sports Center. Behind the 13 from
Brittany Howard '18, the 12 from Rebecca Vint '15 and the ten by RMU Athletics Hall-of-Famer Brianna Delaney '12, Gebhard is next in line in Robert Morris history with nine multi-goal games all-time, and
Amber Rennie matches the four by Curlett.
Achievement Unlocked
• Gebhard and
Kirsten Welsh were reunited with
Brittany Howard in August of 2018, when they were among the 92 invitees to Team Canada National Women's Development Camp. Gebhard earned a goal and an assist in exhibition play and made the roster for its Summer Showcase series Aug. 16-19 versus Team USA in Calgary, Alberta. On Jan. 23 Howard got her first-ever Team Canada nod and the first ever by a Robert Morris alumna for its Rivalry Series with Team USA in Southern Ontario and Michigan Feb. 12-17.
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 120 after ending up second in D-I in blocks as an RMU newcomer. Curlett blocked a series-high eight total shots in her first visit to Lindenwood Nov. 3-4, 2017.
•
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 (.679) through Tuesday and remains second in the NCAA. Her .691 clip in conference play is second in D-I.
You Can Go Home Again
•
Morgan Schauer, who has logged as many games (28) this season as any Colonials defender, made her NCAA debut at Lindenwood Nov. 4, 2017. Schauer skated on the right wing of a forward line with
Anjelica Diffendal, her former Pens Elite teammate.
You Feel Shame For Two Minutes, And Then You Get Free
• Robert Morris averages 3.36 penalty kills per game in conference play, which ranks tenth in the NCAA, and they have allowed only nine of 19 PPG's against on the road. RMU has enjoyed an 85.7% success rate on the penalty kill since January, which ties for tops in CHA over that span.
In Our Defense...
The 2018-19 squad has combined for 20 goals from its defensive corps, which is tied for the third-most in D-I entering Thursday. Individually,
Emily Curlett, ranks second among NCAA defenders with her ten tallies, while
Maggie LaGue is tied for ninth nationally among defenders with her 16 assists.
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