PITTSBURGH -- A tie score through two periods might have given new life to the
Robert Morris women's hockey team, but a late lapse in discipline prior to the second ice cut led to a key power play goal that was enough for College Hockey America arch-rival Mercyhurst to pull away with an eventual 5-2 win at the RMU Island Sports Center Friday night.
The Colonials (12-13-6, 10-4-3) found themselves in familiar territory, conceding the game's first two goals for the third time in a row, but they appeared determined to fight their way out of the deficit. Emma Nuutinen took an interference minor five-and-a-half minutes into the middle frame, and senior tri-captain
Maggie LaGue blasted a shot from center point that goaltender Kennedy Blair never saw to get RMU on the board with 13:57 left.
Robert Morris used another strong net-front presence, as well as more help from its offensively-inclined defense, to pull even. With the rejuvenated Colonials buzzing around the Mercyhurst cage, sophomore blue-liner
Emily Curlett snapped a wrist shot from the right wing circle that junior forward
Natalie Marcuzzi deflected, through traffic, past Blair with 5:53 remaining.
That career-high eighth goal of the season was redemption for Marcuzzi, who had misfired a
Caitlyn Sadowy rebound on a quality chance shortly before Nuutinen was sent to the box, and it was Sadowy who picked up the secondary assist on the equalizer. Unfortunately, the redemption was short-lived.
Marcuzzi was hit with a tripping call deep in her own zone while trying to help her team kill an offensive-zone tripping penalty assessed to
Jaycee Gebhard 1:06 earlier. Vilma Tanskanen easily beat a desperate
Lauren Bailey on a cross-crease pass from Sarah Hine with just under two minutes to play in the period.
Hine was awarded an important insurance goal for the Lakers (13-12-5, 10-5-2) early in the third. Officials decided, after video review, to overturn their initial call of a distinct kicking motion toward a loose puck that got by Bailey with 15:55 to go in regulation.
RMU managed a power play goal for the seventh time in nine games since the holiday break. Over that span (Jan. 18-present), its ten tallies on the PP are tied for the second-most in the NCAA, and the Colonials own the nation's third-most productive power play, with 27 goals overall.
Gebhard, who set up LaGue, pushed her CHA-leading point total to 45, and the 5'3" Plenty, Saskatchewan native continues to pace Division I with her 23 power play points (5 G, 18 A). The former Notre Dame Hounds standout remains eighth in the NCAA scoring race, having collected a point in 22 of her past 24 games.
With one more point, she will equal the output from her Women's Hockey Commissioners Association National Rookie of the Year campaign in 2016-17. She amassed that total in 35 games that year, and she has played only 31 as a junior.
Additionally, with Mercyhurst playing a fierce puck possession game, Gebhard still held her own in the faceoff circle. The assistant captain won a team-high 15 draws to bolster her conference-leading total of 410, which also ranks fourth in D-I.
LaGue, earning her fifth goal as a senior, will finish with at least 22 points for all four collegiate seasons. She also continues to lead all NCAA defenders with her 15 power play points (3 G, 12 A).
With 91 points all-time, the 5'8" Barre, Vermont native and December 2018 Connecticut Whale (NWHL) draftee extended her lead to three over fellow tri-captain
Kirsten Welsh for the all-time program lead among defenders.
Friday marked the return of Welsh to the Colonials lineup. Paired with rookie
Gillian Thompson, she suited up for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury versus No. 7 Cornell Nov. 23 that kept her out of the following 13 games.
Curlett, meanwhile, achieved a new personal best with her 19th point of the season on the Marcuzzi marker. She also blocked a game-high four shots, and the 5'5" Lapeer, Michigan native still leads the country with 127 blocks this season.
The Colonials have gotten 21 goals from their defensive corps in 2018-19, the fifth-most in Division I entering Saturday, including a nation-best 11 on the power play.
Robert Morris looks to split its season series with Mercyhurst for the second season in a row Saturday at 3:05 p.m. ET. The Colonials, with a win and a Syracuse loss, will clinch a first-round bye in the CHA Tournament Mar. 6-8.
Fans can visit the RMU Island Sports Center lobby for tickets or see the game live on the CHA Digital Network (subscription required).
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