PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Two point games from seniors Sarah Lecavalier and Jaycee Gebhard helped propel the Robert Morris University women's hockey team past Lindenwood 3-0 Friday afternoon at Colonials Arena.
The senior captain moved to within one point of tying the RMU all-time career points record of 181 set by Brittany Howard '18 with a pair of assists Friday. Michaela Boyle (PP), Kyleigh Hanzlik and Natalie Marcuzzi all recorded goals in the victory.
Goalkeeper Raygan Kirk stopped 27 shots in net to earn her third shutout of the season.
"I think what you saw today was a lot of confidence and faith in our system," head coach Paul Colontino said. "We grinded through the first period, generated some great opportunities, great shots on goal. To their goalies' credit she played great and made some great saves when she needed to. To our credit, we came out of the locker room, stuck to the system, took advantage of a PP and then were able to get another one five-on-five."
As they have done so many times this year, the line of Hanzlik, Gebhard, and Anjelica Diffendal set the tone on the very first shift of the game with a great scoring chance.
After corralling an outlet pass in the neutral zone, the senior captain broke into the zone with speed and ripped a hard shot on net, but Lindenwood's Asplundh was there to make the stop.
The Colonials kept up the hot start with more pressure, cycling the puck at will and throwing tons of rubber towards the Lions net. Lexi Templeman and Boyle each nearly put RMU ahead early on, but Asplundh stood tall to make the stops despite a 12-0 disparity in shots on goal through the first ten minutes.
RMU continued to rack up the shots and scoring chances, earning their first power-play of the game after Lecavalier drew a trip, nearly cashing in on a mad scramble in front of the crease, however the puck somehow stayed out.
Though she wasn't tested much early on, Kirk came up big when called upon as well, stuffing Kristen Martin on a fast break off of a broken play with just under three minutes left in the first.
"I liked then way we responded in all facets of the game," Colontino said. "Lindenwood plays a very opportunistic game, they do a nice job in the d-zone, and when they see a break they go."
The deadly RMU power-play unit would get a second chance just over six minutes into the second, and this time they made it count. After some great pressure down low, Lecavalier let go of an absolute laser from the point that Boyle tipped on it's way past Asplundh to make it 1-0.
Gebhard picked up an assist on the goal to draw her to within two points of the all-time RMU points record.
"We did a pretty good job of moving the puck around," Lecavalier said. "We ended up moving to the left side, I moved the puck down to Jay and she gave it back pretty quick which was great, she saw the opening. Looked like the seas parted for me and I just took the shot through a screen."
Templeman nearly finished of a beautiful play to make it 2-0 just minutes later, pulling free on a breakaway that was just narrowly snuffed out. Two more good looks for the junior pivot nearly made it 2-0 minutes later as the Colonials continued to press.
Natalie Marcuzzi doubled the RMU lead with her second of the year at 15:42, cleaning up a loose puck in front of Asplundh and sliding it five-hole after a hard drive to the net near the end of her shift.
The tenaciousness of the RMU forecheck carried over to their defensive effort as well. While Lindenwood managed to increase its shot totals from five to 16 in the second, sound positioning and structure from the Colonials kept them largely to the perimeter and away from making life tough on Kirk.
Another historic goal from RMU 49 seconds into the third put them firmly in the drivers seat, as Gebhard picked up another assist on an absolute snipe from Hanzlik on the first shift of the period.
"We did a nice job of flipping the switch from offense to defense, and as the game went on it got tighter each way. When that happened, I thought we settled into a good groove," Colontino said.
The win moves RMU to 14-9-2 on the season as well as 8-3-0 in CHA play. Meanwhile, Lindenwood drops to 4-15-3 (2-9-0 CHA) on the season.
The Colonials and Lions return to action tomorrow, January 25 for the rubber match at Colonials Arena at 1:05 p.m.
