PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Robert Morris University women's hockey team earned its second straight victory Friday night, taking down Syracuse University by a final score of 5-1 at Colonials Arena on Mental Health Awareness Night.
The win moves the Colonials to 13-8-2 and 7-2-0 in CHA play.
Lexi Templeman scored her first goal of the year on the power play to kick things off, while Kyleigh Hanzlik, Michaela Boyle (2), and Jaycee Gebhard also recorded goals on the night. Gebhard's two point night moved her within three points of the all-time program lead in career points.
Goaltender Raygan Kirk stopped 19 of 20 shots to earn the victory between the pipes.
"I think if you look at the game as a whole, I like the way we progressed through each period," head coach Paul Colnontino said. "I thought we got stronger and I thought we cleaned up areas that we talked about in between the first and second."
An opportunistic Colonials squad didn't waste much time getting on the scoreboard Friday night, taking advantage of an early power play to cash in courtesy of Lexi Templeman.
A trip on Syracuse's Brynn Koocher four minutes in put RMU on the man-advantage, and the Colonials went to work. A bout of sustained pressure resulted in some quality looks from the point before Templeman finally banged in a loose rebound at the side of the crease to make it 1-0 early in the first.
"I think as a power play we work really hard in practice every single day, and I think when we get those opportunities, our teammates are counting on us to get the job done, and that added pressure is kind of what pushes us," Boyle said.
The Colonials continued to press, however an aggressive neutral zone forecheck from the Orange resulted in a few prime chances for Syracuse as well. Towards the mid-point of the first, Madison Beishuizen was sprung on a breakaway, however a hard back check from Wasyn Rice forced the shot wide.
Some end-to-end action wrapped up the first but the score held at 1-0 after 20 minutes of play.
Robert Morris continued their aggressive forecheck as the second picked up, and continued to get rewarded for their efforts.
Kyleigh Hanzlik capped off an extended period of cycling in the Syracuse zone with a nifty shot from the side of the next, banking the puck in off of the Syracuse net minder from an impossibly sharp angle.
Gebhard picked up her first point of the night with an assist on the tally, moving her to within four points of the all-time program record of 181.
"We're trying to build every single day," Colontino said. "Trying to get better every day. If we can do that and we keep ourselves moving in the right direction, it might be millimeters or it might be inches, but the important thing is we keep moving forward and we keep getting better."
Syracuse managed to stop the bleeding less than a minute later courtesy of a goal from Abby Moloughney that cut the lead to 2-1, however the momentum would be short lived.
Michaela Boyle netted RMU's third tally at 9:14, taking advantage of a delayed penalty call on the Orange to beat Ady Cohen with a quick wrister from the slot for her 16th of the year.
The sophomore forward would finish off a pretty passing play early in the third to put RMU up 4-1 and on cruise control before Gebhard's power play tally put the finishing touches on a 5-1 win.
"One of the things that's great about our team is that people step up in moments when they're called on," Boyle said. "Obviously playing with my old line, we had tons of chemistry, but splitting us all up brings more offensive consistency I think among the lines, and I think that's a key to our success."
The Colonials return to action tomorrow when they face off against Syracuse again at 3:05 at Colonials Arena. They will remain home through next weekend when they play host to Lindenwood Friday and Saturday.
