Women's Hockey | 2/7/2019 9:28:00 PM

PITTSBURGH -- The Robert Morris women's hockey team visits the Nittany Lions of Penn State University Friday and Saturday afternoon. Both opening faceoffs from the Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, Pennsylvania are scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, and the series can now be seen on Big Ten Network Plus (subscription required).

Robert Morris (11-11-4, 9-2-1) at Penn State (10-11-5, 4-7-1) - Feb. 8-9
Fri., Feb. 8 (1:00 p.m. ET) - LIVE STREAM ($) | LIVE STATS
Sat., Feb. 9 (1:00 p.m. ET) - LIVE STREAM ($) | LIVE STATS

For RMU this marks its third of six series in a row against College Hockey America opponents to wrap up the regular campaign. The Colonials hold a one-point lead atop CHA in pursuit of their third straight regular-season title, sitting ten points clear of fifth-place Penn State. They are six above Syracuse for a first-round tournament bye.

The Colonials are 18-4-5 all-time against Penn State University, including an 8-1-3 mark in "Hockey Valley" since 2012. The teams skated to 3-3 and 2-2 ties in their last meeting at "The Peg," Oct. 28-29, 2017, two of three consecutive draws to begin their '17-'18 season series. Kirsten Welsh accounted for both game-tying goals.

Robert Morris swept PSU Nov. 30-Dec. 1 to end its season-long four-week homestand at the Island Sports Center. Jaycee Gebhard notched a game-winning power play tally in the opener, followed by a hat trick in the finale.

Gebhard, who would be named CHA Player of the Week Dec. 4, leads active Colonials with 13 career points versus Penn State (8 G, 5 A).

Key Notes

• In partnership with Never Give Up Radio and The Goalie Guild, the Colonials played their first-ever Mental Health Awareness Game Jan. 25, during RMU's 13th annual "Skate For The Cure" weekend as a member of CHA. Robert Morris and RIT both wore special #EndTheStigma awareness patches on their uniforms in the 3-1 Colonial win, while the RMU women raised over $1,600 for three different mental health awareness programs: ADAA, AAAD and the Lift The Mask initiative.

• This is the teams' first meeting beyond Pittsburgh since the CHA Tournament Semifinal Mar. 2, 2018, a 7-2 Robert Morris victory at the HarborCenter in Buffalo, New York. Caitlyn Sadowy scored twice, Natalie Marcuzzi recorded the game-winning goal and Sarah Quaranta, who has a team-high eight career assists against Penn State, registered two.

• Lexi Templeman, who added a goal and an assist to that playoff win over the Nittany Lions last March, is second on the team with 21 points, matching the point total from her All-CHA Rookie year. Templeman set up Gebhard's Nov. 30 game-winner and tacked on two more assists in that series.

• Emily Curlett has all three game-winners during the team's three-game winning streak. Curlett made the difference with her power play strike with :14.8 left in the second period Jan. 26, later adding an empty-netter in a 2-0 RMU win. The Colonials enter Friday tied for the nation's third-most productive PP at 22 goals in '18-'19.

• That Curlett empty-net goal, the seventh in all by RMU this season, gave the team the second-most ENG's in Division I. Curlett, with eight goals entering Friday, has matched her regular-season total from 2017-18, which set a school record for most single-season goals by a rookie defender.

• Gebhard now has points in 18 of her last 19 games after setting a new RMU record with points in 14 straight Oct. 20-Dec. 7, 2018. She is sixth in the NCAA scoring race with a CHA-best 39 points and leads the conference with her 15 goals. She paces D-I with 15 power play assists and 20 power play points, and she ranks second in the nation with her 357 faceoff wins this season. Gebhard now has 123 career points, having taken sole possession of third overall in Robert Morris history with her game-winning assist Jan. 26.

• With her assist Jan. 26, Maggie LaGue tied Welsh for the all-time RMU scoring lead among defenders, with 88 points, though Welsh has missed the past nine games with a lower-body injury. LaGue leads all NCAA defenders with 13 power play points (2 G, 11 A) this season.

• Lauren Bailey earned her fourth CHA Goalie of the Week award as a senior Jan. 28. Bailey pitched a 14-save shutout against RIT Jan. 26, her third of the year and second over the Tigers. Her 1.24 GAA since Jan. 18 is sixth in the NCAA in that span, and her .943 save percentage in that span ranks among the top ten of Division I seniors.

• Alison Rodgers made her Colonials debut Jan. 25, skating on the left wing, opposite Janey Sandoval, on a line centered by Leah Marino. Rodgers transferred from the University of Minnesota Duluth after 35 career games there, beginning classes at RMU Jan. 14, and next season she will compete as a 2019-20 junior.

• Sandoval, on Jan. 26, skated on defense for the first time as a collegian. She was paired, on the left side, with Gillian Thompson for the series finale against RIT.

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 sixth on the NCAA chart with her 24 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 last season were the second-most in a single year. Gebhard, who moved past Thea Imbrogno into third in career assists Jan. 25, is on pace (0.78 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 eight regular season games to go, Rennie needs nine points to become the sixth Colonial to 100.
• Lauren Bailey has climbed into fifth place in program history, past Daneca Butterfield '11, with 20 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.

In Our Defense...
• Wasyn Rice earned her first career goal 6:08 into the second period of the team's 3-2 win over Penn State Nov. 30, the seventh time in nine November games RMU got a goal from a defender. Entering Friday, the 2018-19 squad has combined for 18 goals from its defensive corps, which is tied for the third-most in Division I. Individually, Emily Curlett is tied for second among NCAA defenders with her eight goals, and Maggie LaGue is tied for seventh nationally with her 15 assists.

What's In A Name?
• Rice, named after her great-great-grandmother, is the sister of NHL prospect Robert-Tye "R.T." Rice. The elder Rice, also raised in Invermere, B.C., was invited to NHL prospect camps by the Vancover Canucks and Colorado Avalanche in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Bobby Mo To Pro
• The Connecticut Whale made Maggie LaGue the second NWHL draftee in RMU history Dec. 20, 2018 with the 22nd overall pick in the fifth round of the NWHL Draft. LaGue, who scored a goal in four straight games Nov. 3-16 to establish a new single-season high, also set a new career high in blocked shots prior to the announcement, recording nine versus Penn State Dec. 1.
• Elijah Milne-Price '18, wearing No. 95 for the Markham Thunder of the CWHL, earned her first career win in her first career start as a pro Feb. 2, a 7-1 Thunder victory over the host Worcester Blades. She was voted by fans as the CWHL Goalie of the Week Feb. 7 after turning aside 28 of 29 shots faced for the win.

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 86 (33 G, 53 A) of the team's 171 points (50.3%) entering Friday.

Achievement Unlocked
• After Gebhard was invited to the Canadian National Women's Development Camp back in August, where she was reunited with Brittany Howard '18, Howard got her first-ever Team Canada nod Jan. 23 for its upcoming Rivalry Series with Team USA in Southern Ontario and Michigan Feb. 12-17.

Once More, With Feeling!
• Emily Curlett enjoyed her fourth career multi-goal game in the Colonials' sweep of RIT Jan. 26. 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 by Brittany Howard '18, the 12 by Rebecca Vint '15 and the ten by RMU Athletics Hall-of-Famer Brianna Delaney '12, Jaycee Gebhard is next in line in Robert Morris history with eight multiple-goal games all-time, and Amber Rennie also has four.

Second Helpings
• 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 114 after ending up second in D-I in blocks as an RMU newcomer. Curlett blocked a national weekend-best 13 total shots in her last series against the Nittany Lions Nov. 30-Dec. 1.
• 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 (.681) through Tuesday and remains second in the NCAA. Her .699 clip in conference play ties for first in D-I.

You Feel Shame For Two Minutes, And Then You Get Free
• Robert Morris averages 3.50 penalty kills per game in conference play, tied for seventh-most in the NCAA, and they have allowed only seven of 17 PPG's against on the road. RMU killed 92.9% of its penalties in January to lead CHA and rank fourth in the NCAA in that span.

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