UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Head coach Paul Colontino preached the importance of seizing opportunities before the Robert Morris women's hockey team faced a Penn State squad that hasn't always allowed many. On Friday, RMU seized almost every one it had, looking determined to turn its College Hockey America lead into a stranglehold.

Sophomore defender Emily Curlett continued her incredible hot streak with two more goals, and junior assistant captain Jaycee Gebhard shook off a five-game drought with a pair of her own in a convincing 5-1 win over the Nittany Lions in an afternoon tilt at Pegula Ice Arena.

Additionally, goaltender Lauren Bailey, who made 17 saves and has allowed only one goal in her last 177 minutes of action, matched former teammate Elijah Milne-Price '18 with her 21st career victory. This ties the senior for fourth in program history.

Robert Morris (12-11-4, 10-2-1) improved to 9-1-3 on Nittany Lions (10-12-5, 4-8-1) ice since 2012 while extending its winning streak to four games. Most importantly, the first-place Colonials, seeking their third regular-season championship in a row, kept themselves six points clear of Syracuse for one of two first-round byes in the CHA Tournament.

More good karma fell into their collective lap Friday night in the form of a last-minute Orange upset of second-place Mercyhurst, restoring RMU's three-point cushion entering Saturday.

"I think our players were ready for opportunities, and it was as simple as that," said Colontino, whose team found ways to break through against what had been the nation's No. 11 unit in aggregate goals-against average (1.96). "We kind of stress that every game, and every week--that you never know how your opportunities are going to come, whether they're on the PP, shorthanded or five-on-five.

"I really liked how all of our lines, and even our 'D,' were ready for the opportunities. When you do that, you're putting yourself in a great position to be successful."

Curlett, a year ago, set an RMU first-year defender record with her nine single-season goals. The 2018 All-CHA Rookie Team selection has eclipsed that by one after turning frowns right-side up in Happy Valley with an even-strength equalizer, followed by the first of two Robert Morris power play tallies--her fourth consecutive game-winning goal.

"I don't know. I think I'm just trying to stay focused and on a path. Kind of trusting that, if I play my best hockey, the goals are going to come," she said of her second-half surge. "And if they don't come, but I'm still playing well, then nothing else matters."

Brooke Madsen struck first for the Nittany Lions with 8:21 remaining in the first period, putting home a backdoor pass right in front of Bailey, but the Colonials wasted no time counter-punching. Curlett, off a faceoff win in the attacking zone, blasted a puck from the right point that clanged off the inside of the far post and in behind Jenna Brenneman to tie the game 13 seconds later.

In the second period, after the intra-state combatants found themselves even on both the scoreboard and the shot chart (8-8), Robert Morris used its special teams to take command. Kate Rydland took an early cross-checking minor, then, 1:36 later, with Penn State holding its own on the penalty kill, Jessica Adolfsson was found guilty of slashing.

During the back end of the truncated two-player advantage, Gebhard, working the left point, passed the puck down low to Lexi Templeman. Templeman, another of last season's All-CHA Rookie Team honorees, somehow found Curlett through traffic on the other side of the crease, and the Lapeer, Michigan native easily one-timed it past a prone Brenneman 5:08 into the middle frame.

Shortly thereafter, Loli Fidler was thrown in the box for tripping, and Templeman, snake-bit on a number of occasions as a sophomore coming off her ten-goal output in '17-'18, got some puck luck that seemed overdue. Following what proved to be another critical faceoff, she took advantage of a PSU misplay at its own blue line, got behind the defense and went bar-down for a breakaway goal, her fourth of the campaign, with 13:33 until the second ice cut.

"I was kind of speechless, at first, just because I haven't had one go in in so long," Templeman laughed. "It felt good. It kind of boosted my confidence a little bit. Definitely now I can loosen the grip on my stick a bit."

On the other side, the Colonials went 4-for-4 on the PK, and they allowed only two shots on goal throughout those chances. Robert Morris is 94.4% (17-for-18) when shorthanded since Jan. 18, topping the conference and ranking third in the NCAA in that span.

Curlett, the Division I leader in blocked shots (118), bolstered those efforts with four blocks on Friday, while senior tri-captain Maggie LaGue blocked a game-high five.

"We're trying to kill penalties Colonial-style," Colontino said. "Our players are doing a heck of a job doing it. When you're doing the little things right, it clearly doesn't help your opponent. We're in shooting lanes, we've got good, active sticks, we'll box it out when we need to. When you've got all that going on, [other teams] get frustrated."

"It's always good when you have a good role, when you're getting down and you're blocking those shots," said Curlett. "They definitely hesitate a little bit, and that's exactly where you want them. So if they're hesitating to shoot the puck, that's even better for us. But when they do, we've got to make sure we're there."

Brenneman continued to battle, unconsciously keeping Gebhard off the board during a mad scramble in the blue paint. The CHA goals and points leader didn't take long to finish what she had started, however. Gebhard, emerging from the far corner, buried her 16th of the season on a beautiful spinning maneuver between the circles with 10:42 to go in the second.

Cam Leonard relieved Brenneman for the final period, and Gebhard baptized the former by fire with 9:26 to play in her collegiate debut, redirecting a shot-pass from Templeman behind the rookie to provide the final margin.

Gebhard moved into a ninth-place tie on the NCAA goals chart with her 17th. She stays in sixth place in the national scoring race with her 42 points and remains the leader among active Colonials with 16 career points against PSU (10 G, 6 A). Her D-I lead in power play points (21) also remains intact.

Robert Morris visits Penn State again on Saturday for another 1:00 p.m. ET puck drop. Once again, fans can see the game live on Big Ten Network Plus (subscription required).

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