PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- After splitting a road series at RIT last weekend, the Robert Morris University women's hockey team will return home to Colonials Arena this weekend when they host Syracuse for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday.
ROBERT MORRIS (12-8-2, 6-2-0 CHA)
vs. SYRACUSE (16-14-1, 5-2-1 CHA)
Friday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 18 at 3:05 p.m.
RMU Island Sports Center.
STATS | VIDEO ($)
CATCHING UP
The Colonials earned a road split last weekend in Henrietta, N.Y. against hometown RIT, dropping the opening game 2-1 on Friday night before storming back from an early deficit to win game two, 6-4.
RMU exploded offensively on Saturday, snapping a five-game RIT winning streak in a game in which 11 different skaters recorded at least one point. Senior captain Jaycee Gebhard turned in a three point effort (1G, 2A), pushing her career total to 176 points, just five shy of breaking Brittany Howard's all-time program record.
Midseason sophomore transfer Kyleigh Hanzlik recorded the first two-goal game of her NCAA career, while junior Anjelica Diffendal picked up a pair of primary assists.
HISTORY LESSON
Robert Morris owns a 19-18-6 overall record against Syracuse in a rivalry that dates back to 2008, and will be playing the Orange for the first time during the 2019-20 campaign Friday evening.
Despite a 3-1 record against Syracuse in the regular season last year, it was the Orange who got the last laugh in post-season play, knocking the Colonials out of the CHA Tournament last March by a final score of 6-2.
RMU has enjoyed a distinct advantage against Syracuse in the regular season in recent years, owning an 8-3 overall record against them in games dating back to 2017.
Of those eight wins, four have featured the Colonials scoring at least five goals.
OPPOSITION RESEARCH
Winners of the 2019 CHA Championship, 'Cuse currently sits in third place in the six-team CHA standings, the owners of a 5-2-1 record in conference play so far in 2020.
They are coming off of a home split last weekend against the Mercyhurst Lakers, including a high-flying first game that saw the Orange erupt for eights goals in an 8-3 rout.
Syracuse boasts 11 skaters who have already cracked the double-digit points threshold this season, including senior defender Lindsay Eastwood who leads the team with 18. Junior Jessica DiGirolamo is currently pacing the team in goal scoring with seven on the year.
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS NIGHT
Friday's game is also Mental Health Awareness Night. Robert Morris is committed to help #EndTheStigma surrounding mental health, and will be dedicating a special ceremony in the pregame to raising awareness. There will also be a panel discussion on mental health featuring members of the RMU hockey team Thursday evening at 7 p.m. in Yorktown Hall.
KNOW BOBBY MO
• Gebhard continues her assault on the team record books. RMU's No. 2 all-time leading scorer with 176 career points, Gebhard is on pace to beat last year's record total of 51 points, as she has already piled up 41 (12g, 29a) and ranks fourth in the nation with 1.90 points per game. With 12 regular-season games left, Gebhard is five points shy of Brittany Howard's RMU career record of 181.
• In addition to last year's CHA scoring champ Gebhard, juniors Templeman and Curlett were named to the All-CHA Second Team last spring. Templeman, who piled up 26 assists last season, already has 20 helpers in the opening 20 games. Curlett, meanwhile, has the third-best points-per-game mark (1.23) among all Division I defenders, notching 12 goals and 15 assists.
• Sophomore Michaela Boyle has been a revelation in her first 22 RMU games, scoring 14 goals to rank eighth in the nation, along with five assists. Her hat trick Nov. 24 at RPI was the fastest (3:43) in team history, making her just the fourth Colonial ever to score a 'natural' trick. A native of Massachusetts, she is the second Colonial ever to score two hat tricks in the same season, joining Rebecca Vint '15.
• The power play has been dynamite, converting on 28 of 106 opportunities for a 26.42 percent success rate that ranks fourth in the nation. Gebhard (4g, 19a) has factored in on 21 of those PPGs, while Curlett (10g, 5a), Templeman (3g, 10a) and Boyle (8g, 5a) have also excelled on the advantage. Junior defender Emilie Harley has six (2g, 4a) of her 13 points on the PP.
• The Colonials' seven-game win streak in November tied the team record, first set from Nov. 23, 2013 through Jan. 5, 2014. (That run was part of another program best: A 14-game unbeaten streak -- 12-0-2 -- that propelled RMU to a national ranking.) The last time RMU won even five in a row was late in the 24-win 2016-17 season, which ended in the NCAA tournament.
• Despite winning the past three CHA regular-season titles, the Colonials were picked to finish second in the six-team league in a preseason coaches' poll, with Mercyhurst getting the top spot. RMU has finished in the top half of the CHA in seven of the past eight seasons. The Colonials have received votes in all but two USCHO top-10 national polls this season, reaching a high of No. 8.
• The Colonials welcome seven newcomers, five of them forwards. Boyle transfers from Clarkson University, where she helped the Golden Knights to the 2018 NCAA 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 'D.'
• Boyle hasn't been the only fresh face to contribute offense. Burbidge (4g, 3a) leads the Class of 2023 on the attack, while Fiala (1g, 6a) and Wagner (1g, 3a) are close behind. Wagner (No. 2 Minnesota) and Burbidge (No. 5 Clarkson) scored their first goals against ranked foes. Hebert also has an assist and has missed just one of 20 games so far.
• 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 (.916 SV% in 12 starts) and DeSmet (.904 in 10 appearances) have played extensively this season.
• Once again, RMU will boasted 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. Defending national champ Wisconsin visited Pittsburgh on Jan. 4, completing the gauntlet.
• 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; the former forward played under Colontino and Bittle at the end of her tenure a Colonial.
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), Player of the Month (November)
Arielle DeSmet - Goalie of the Week (Sept. 30)
Raygan Kirk - Rookie of the Week (Sept. 30), Goalie of the Week (Nov. 4, Dec. 2), Goalie of the Month (November)
Emily Curlett - Player of the Week (Oct. 14, Oct. 21, Jan. 6), Player of the Month (October)
Emilie Harley - Player of the Week (Nov. 11)
Joelle Fiala - Rookie of the Week (Nov. 11)
Michaela Boyle – Player of the Week (Nov. 25)
Maggy Burbidge – Rookie of the Week (Nov. 25)
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 remain home through next weekend when they host Lindenwood on Friday, Jan. 14 and Saturday, Jan. 25. Game times are set for 3:05 p.m. and 1:05 p.m.
