PITTSBURGH, Pa. — The Robert Morris University women's hockey team returns from the bye week and gets back into action this weekend when they head up to State College, Pa. for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday against the Penn State Nittany Lions.
ROBERT MORRIS (15-9-2, 9-3-0 CHA/1st)
vs. PENN STATE (10-10-6, 5-3-3 CHA/4th)
Friday, Feb. 7 at 6:05 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2:05 p.m.
Pegula Ice Arena
STATS | VIDEO ($)
CATCHING UP
Before the off-week, the Colonials picked up a home sweep of the visiting Lindenwood University Lions 3-0 and 4-1 at the RMU Island Sports Center in a historic weekend for the Colonials.
Captain Jaycee Gebhard became the all-time leading scorer in program history on Saturday, etching her name into the record books with a two-point first period before burying a short-handed goal in the second frame to punctuate the afternoon and the victory for RMU.
Freshman goalie Raygan Kirk earned CHA Goaltender of the Week honors for her performance in the cage, posting her third shutout of the season Friday evening before turning aside 19 of 20 shots Saturday afternoon against the Lions. All in all, Kirk stopped 46 of 47 total shots (.978 SV%) over two games to improve her record to 11-5-1 on the year.
HISTORY LESSON
The Colonials will close out the season series with Penn State Saturday on the road after a successful homestand saw them take down the Nittany Lions 5-2 and 5-0 back in November.
The 5-0 shutout of PSU in game two was punctuated by a five-point night from Gebhard, who factored into all five goals Saturday as well as eight of RMU's ten total goals over the two-game stretch. Junior defender Emily Curlett chipped in two power-play points, sophomore Michaela Boyle scored her first college hat trick and freshman Raygan Kirk earned her first NCAA shutout with 30 saves in the 5-0 victory.
RMU is 22-4-6 all-time against PSU in a rivalry that dates back to 2012, including a 9-1-4 mark on the road.
OPPOSITION RESEARCH
Sitting in fourth place in the College Hockey America standings, the Nittany Lions are coming off of a road split against Syracuse last weekend. PSU won a close-fought game one 1-0 before dropping the rubber match Saturday evening 3-1.
Penn State boasts one of the stingier defenses in all of Div. I, having conceded just 57 goals in 26 games so far this season. While their offensive output ranks in the bottom third nationally, the Nittany Lions lead a relatively balanced attack that features five players who have already cracked the double-digit threshold in points.
Senior forward Brooke Madsen leads PSU in total points with 15, while junior Natalie Heising paces them in goals with eight.
KNOW BOBBY MO
• Gebhard continues her assault on the team record books. RMU's all-time leading scorer with 183 career points, Gebhard is on pace to beat last year's season total of 51 points, as she has already piled up 48 (15g, 33a) and ranks fourth in the nation with 1.85 points per game. With 8 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 25 helpers in the opening 26 games. Curlett, meanwhile, has the third-best points-per-game mark (1.15) among all Division I defenders, notching 13 goals and 15 assists.
• Sophomore Michaela Boyle has been a revelation in her first 26 RMU games, scoring 17 goals to rank 13th 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 28.2 percent success rate that ranks third in the nation. Gebhard (8g, 21a) has factored in on 29 of those PPGs, while Curlett (11g, 5a), Templeman (7g, 12a) and Boyle (9g, 6a) have also excelled on the advantage. Junior defender Emilie Harley has seven (2g, 5a) of her 14 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, 5a) 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 two of 26 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 (.925 SV% in 16 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, January)
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), 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 remain on the road following Penn State next weekend for a pair of games in Erie against CHA foe Mercyhurst University on Friday and Saturday afternoon February 14 and 15.
