CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- As part of the inaugural 'Battle at the Burgh' invitational tournament, the Robert Morris University women's hockey team will face its stiffest challenge of the season Saturday night, taking on Division I's top-ranked team, defending national champion Wisconsin.

Depending on results from Day 1 of the tournament, the Colonials will face either No. 3 Northeastern or 2018 national finalist Colgate on Sunday afternoon. Those two will square off at 4 p.m. Saturday to start the event, hosted by the Pittsburgh Penguins. For more on this first-of-its-kind event, click here. 

[RV] ROBERT MORRIS (10-6-2, 5-1-0 CHA)  
vs. #1 WISCONSIN (18-1-1, 10-1-1 WCHA)

Saturday, Jan. 4 at 7:05 p.m.
Cranberry Township, Pa.
UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex

STATS | TICKETS 

VIDEO LINKS
Northeastern vs. Colgate
Robert Morris vs. Wisconsin
Consolation Game
Championship Game

CATCHING UP
The Colonials concluded their fall semester with a home split against College Hockey America foe Mercyhurst on Dec. 6-7, staying tied with their Pennsylvania rivals for first place in the six-team league. RMU has gone 8-1-1 since the start of November, averaging 3.4 goals per game over that span.

In their final game before the holiday break, the Colonials rallied for a 3-1 victory against the Lakers, getting two more points from senior captain Jaycee Gebhard and a game-winning goal from junior Pittsburgh native Anjelica Diffendal. Sophomore goalie Arielle DeSmet denied 24 shots to backstop the comeback win and senior defender Sarah Lecavalier notched her second two-assist game of the season.

HISTORY LESSON
RMU has faced Wisconsin nine times in program history; the Badgers were ranked first in the nation for five of those meetings. The Colonials' lone win in the all-time series came in Nov. 2009, when current assistant coach Jen Kindret scored twice in a 3-1 decision over No. 6 Wisconsin. The Badgers were also the Colonials opponent in their first-ever NCAA tournament game, in March 2017.

As for the teams the other side of the Battle at the Burgh bracket, the Colonials have two wins each all-time against No. 3 Northeastern (2-3-2) and Colgate (2-5-2). They haven't faced the ranked Huskies since 2014, but they've seen the Raiders in each of the past two seasons, tying two and losing a one-goal decision over that span.

OPPOSITION RESEARCH
Wisconsin has been dominant in its quest for a second straight national title. The Badgers not only lead Division I with 5.15 goals per game as a team, they also have the nation's top three individual scorers: Daryl Watts (49 points), Abby Roque (41) and Sophie Shirley (38). Since going 0-1-1 against No. 2 Minnesota in early November, Mark Johnson's squad has won eight in a row.

Northeastern sophomore Alina Mueller is one of only three D-I players to average at least two points per game; her Huskies (15-2-0) are 10-1 since the start of November, with their only loss coming in overtime. Colgate, meanwhile, lost two in a row entering the winter break, but the Raiders (9-8-3) are still 16th in the all-important PairWise Rankings.

KNOW BOBBY MO
• Gebhard continues her assault on the team record books. RMU's No. 2 all-time leading scorer with 170 career points, Gebhard is on pace to beat last year's record total of 51 points, as she has already piled up 35 (11g, 24a) and ranks fourth in the nation with 1.94 points per game. With 16 regular-season games left, Gebhard is 11 shy of Brittany Howard's RMU record of 181 career points.

• 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 19 helpers in the opening 18 games. Curlett, meanwhile, has the third-best points-per-game mark (1.11) among all Division I defenders, notching nine goals and 11 assists.

• Sophomore Michaela Boyle has been a revelation in her first 18 RMU games, scoring 13 goals to rank seventh 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 24 of 92 opportunities for a 26.1 percent success rate that ranks fourth in the nation. Gebhard (3g, 16a) has factored in on 19 of those PPGs, while Curlett (8g, 5a), Templeman (3g, 9a) and Boyle (7g, 5a) have also excelled on the advantage. Junior defender Emilie Harley has five (2g, 3a) of her 12 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.

• According to a preseason coaches poll, the Colonials were picked to finish second in the six-team CHA, with Mercyhurst getting the top spot. RMU, which received one first-place vote, 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 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, 4a) 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 18 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 10 starts) and DeSmet (.903 in 10 appearances) have played extensively this season.

• Once again, RMU will boast 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 will visit Pittsburgh on Jan. 4, with No. 3 Northeastern a possible opponent Jan. 5.

• 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), 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 conclude the season with 14 straight CHA contests, starting with a two-game set in suburban Rochester, New York, against RIT. Faceoffs are set for 2 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 10 and noon on Saturday, Jan. 11.