PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- After splitting a home series with Syracuse last weekend, the Robert Morris University women's hockey team gets back into action this weekend when they host Lindenwood University for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday at the RMU Island Sports Center.
ROBERT MORRIS (13-9-2, 7-3-0 CHA)
vs. LINDENWOOD (4-14-3, 2-8-0 CHA)
Friday, Jan. 24 at 3:05 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 25 at 1:05 p.m.
RMU Island Sports Center.
STATS | VIDEO ($)
CATCHING UP
The Colonials earned a split last weekend in Pittsburgh against the visiting Orange of Syracuse, turning in a decisive 5-1 win Friday night before dropping a tight-checking 1-0 game on Saturday.
Friday's win featured multi-point efforts from three different Colonials as Jaycee Gebhard (1G, 1A), Lexi Templeman (1G, 3A), and Michaela Boyle (2G, 1A) all turned in big performances to help secure the 'W'. Keeper Raygan Kirk was also stellar between the pipes, turning away 19 of 20 shots on the evening.
Despite a 32-24 advantage in shots on goal Saturday, the Colonials could not crack Allison Small in net for the Orange, who handed RMU its first shutout in conference play this season.
HISTORY LESSON
Robert Morris owns a 14-6-2 overall record against Lindenwood in a rivalry that dates back to 2011, and will be playing the Lions for the third time during the 2019-20 campaign Friday evening.
The Colonials are 2-0 so far this year against the Lions after pulling off a road sweep back in early November in Wentzville, Mo., 2-0 and 4-3.
Kirk posted her second consecutive shutout in the first win before a wild game two that saw RMU storm back from 3-0 down in the second to win 4-3 in overtime courtesy of an Emily Curlett game-winner. Emilie Harley also scored a pair and Gebhard added a power-play tally to help Robert Morris complete the comeback.
OPPOSITION RESEARCH
Sitting in last place in the College Hockey America standings, the Lions are currently riding a two-game winning streak after sweeping RIT last weekend in Maryland Heights, their first two wins of the CHA season.
Junior forward Megan Wagner leads the Lions in both goals (4) and total points (11) so far this season. Fellow junior Sierra Burt is the only other Lion to have cracked the double-digit threshold in points going into this weekend with ten (3G, 7A) in 18 games played.
Special teams have also been an issue for the Lions in 2020, as their power play (7.6 per cent) and penalty kill (71.7 per cent) rank second and third from the bottom, respectively, in all of NCAA Division I this season.
YOU CAN PLAY
This weekend will also be You Can Play Weekend at the RMU Island Sports Center. The Colonials are proud to partner with You Can Play, an organization dedicated to eradicating homophobia in sports.
KNOW BOBBY MO
• Gebhard continues her assault on the team record books. RMU's No. 2 all-time leading scorer with 178 career points, Gebhard is on pace to beat last year's record total of 51 points, as she has already piled up 43 (13g, 30a) and ranks fourth in the nation with 1.79 points per game. With 10 regular-season games left, Gebhard is three 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 23 helpers in the opening 24 games. Curlett, meanwhile, has the third-best points-per-game mark (1.13) among all Division I defenders, notching 12 goals and 15 assists.
• Sophomore Michaela Boyle has been a revelation in her first 24 RMU games, scoring 16 goals to rank 11th in the nation, along with seven 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 30 of 112 opportunities for a 26.8 percent success rate that ranks fourth in the nation. Gebhard (5g, 19a) has factored in on 22 of those PPGs, while Curlett (10g, 5a), Templeman (4g, 11a) and Boyle (8g, 6a) have also excelled on the advantage. Junior defender Emilie Harley has seven (2g, 5a) 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 24 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 (.919 SV% in 14 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 head out on the road for their next four games, traveling to State College next weekend for a pair of games against the Nittany Lions before heading north to Erie the weekend after for a pair of CHA matchups against Mercychurst University.
