PITTSBURGH, Pa. — The Robert Morris University women's hockey team closes out their regular season this weekend when they travel to Syracuse for a clash with the host Orange on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.
ROBERT MORRIS (18-10-4, 12-4-2 CHA/2nd)
vs. SYRACUSE (12-18-2, 10-6-2 CHA/3rd)
Friday, Feb. 28 at 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 29 at 3:05 p.m.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. | TENNITY ICE PAVILION
STATS | VIDEO ($)
CATCHING UP
Robert Morris is coming off of a home sweep against RIT last weekend on Senior Weekend, earning 5-1 and 5-2 wins over the visiting Tigers in their regular season home finale.
The Colonials had five different goal-scorers Friday evening, as Jaycee Gebhard, Lexi Templeman, Joelle Fiala, Emily Curlett, Maggy Burbidge, and Natalie Marcuzzi all found the back of the net in the win.
They exploded for five goals again the day after on Senior Day, as RMU's senior trio of Gebhard, Marcuzzi, and Sarah Lecavalier combined for six points in the win. The three combined to score RMU's first goal of the game in the opening minute as Marcuzzi buried her second goal in as many games on the opening shift of her final career home game.
Gebhard finished the weekend with five points, while freshman goalie Raygan Kirk earned her second Rookie of the Week honor for backstopping the Colonials to two wins in goal.
HISTORY LESSON
The Colonials split with Syracuse earlier this year at the Island, earning a 5-1 win on Friday, January 17 before being shutout 1-0 the following afternoon.
Lexi Templeman scored her first goal of the year on the power play to kick things off Friday in game one, while Kyleigh Hanzlik, Michaela Boyle (2), and Jaycee Gebhard also recorded goals on the night.
OPPOSITION RESEARCH
Currently sitting in third place overall in the College Hockey America standings, Syracuse rounds out the top half of the CHA table with 22 points, four behind RMU in second.
The Orange are coming off a road sweep last weekend in Erie against conference-leading Mercyhurst, who maintained their first-place position with a pair of wins, 6-2 and 1-0.
Though their offensive output has been similar to RMU for much of the year, Syracuse has struggled to keep the puck out of their own net, giving up a conference-high 3.10 goal per-game in 2020.
Offensively they are led by sophomore forward Abby Moloughney, who paces them in points with 26 and is second in goals with eight.
KNOW BOBBY MO
• Gebhard continues her assault on the team record books. RMU's all-time leading scorer with 194 career points, Gebhard has already surpassed year's season total of 51 points, as she has already piled up 59 (18g, 41a) and ranks fourth in the nation with 1.84 points per game. With two regular-season games left, Gebhard is on pace to separate herself even further from Brittany Howard '18 as the greatest scorer in program history.
• 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 30 helpers in the opening 32 games. Curlett, meanwhile, has the third-best points-per-game mark (1.06) among all Division I defenders, notching 16 goals and 18 assists.
• Sophomore Michaela Boyle has been a revelation in her first 30 RMU games, scoring 20 goals to rank eighth 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 38 of 148 opportunities for a 25.7 percent success rate that ranks third in the nation. Gebhard (6g, 25a) has factored in on 33 of those PPGs, while Curlett (13g, 7a), Templeman (8g, 15a) and Boyle (11g, 6a) have also excelled on the advantage. Junior defender Emilie Harley has seven (2g, 5a) of her 15 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 (7g, 7a) leads the Class of 2023 on the attack, while Fiala (2g, 8a) 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 two of 30 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 (.922 SV% in 22 apperance) and DeSmet (.901 in 13 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, January)
Arielle DeSmet - Goalie of the Week (Sept. 30)
Raygan Kirk - Rookie of the Week (Sept. 30, Feb. 24), Goalie of the Week (Nov. 4, Dec. 2), Goalie of the Month (November), Rookie of the Month (January)
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 head to the Harbor Center in Buffalo, N.Y. for the College Hockey America Tournament, beginning on Thursday, March 5th.,
