PITTSBURGH, Pa. — The Robert Morris University women's hockey team enters the 2020 College Hockey America Tournament as the #2 overall seed, and will play in the semi-final round Friday afternoon against the highest remaining seed from Thursday's first-round matchups between #3 Syracuse, #4 Penn State, #5 RIT and #6 Lindenwood.
If necessary, the championship game will take place on Saturday, March 7 at 4 p.m.
ROBERT MORRIS (19-11-4, 13-5-2 CHA/2nd)
vs. TBD
Friday, March 6 at 4:00 p.m.
BUFFALO, N.Y. | Harbor Center
STATS | VIDEO ($) | CHA Tournament Headquarters
CATCHING UP
The Colonials finished the 2020 regular season at 19-11-4 overall including a 13-5-2 mark in CHA play, their highest total win mark since the 2017-18 campaign and just one point short of clinching their fourth-straight regular season title.
They wrapped up the regular season last weekend against Syracuse, splitting a pair of decisions with a win on Friday afternoon before dropping the season finale 4-2 Saturday. Freshman Raygan Kirk pitched a 38-save shutout on Friday, helping RMU clinch a first-round bye despite being significantly out-shot by Syracuse.
HISTORY LESSON
The Colonials are looking to make it four consecutive appearances in the CHA championship game this weekend in Buffalo, and will be chasing their first tournament championship since the 2017 campaign.
Back-to-back losses in the final to Syracuse and Mercyhurst in 2018 and 2019 has RMU hungry to regain their foothold atop the College Hockey America mountain. Seniors Jaycee Gebhard and Natalie Marcuzzi were freshman the last time the Colonials won the tournament, and will be looking to bookend their careers with CHA titles in 2020 as RMU rolls into Buffalo as the second overall seed.
They hold a 12-13 all-time record in the CHA tournament.
OPPOSITION RESEARCH
While RMU's opponent will not be known until the conclusion of Thursday's games, the Colonials have a good idea of what they'll be up against no matter who they're facing.
RMU finished .500 or better against every possible semi-final matchup opponent this weekend, including 2-2 against Syracuse, 3-0-1 against Penn State, 3-1 against RIT and 4-0 against Lindenwood. Only Mercyhurst managed a winning record against the Colonials in 2020, going 2-1-1 against Robert Morris this season.
RMU averages the highest goals per game mark of any team in conference play this year at 3.05. Their goals against average of 1.70 also leads the CHA, as does their power-play percentage of 25.5%.
KNOW BOBBY MO
• Gebhard continues her assault on the team record books. RMU's all-time leading scorer with 196 career points, Gebhard set a new career best of 51 points in 2020, piling up 61 (18g, 41a) to rank fourth in the nation with 1.81 points per game. With the regular season wrapped up, Gebhard has separated 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, had 30 helpers in 34 games. Curlett, meanwhile, has the third-best points-per-game mark (1.02) among all Division I defenders, notching 16 goals and 19 assists.
• Sophomore Michaela Boyle has been a revelation in her first season at RMU scoring 21 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 149 opportunities for a 25.5 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 finished second in the CHA this season just one point behind winners Mercyhurst. 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, 8a) 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 (.926 SV% in 24 appearances) and DeSmet (.901 in 13 appearances) have played extensively this season.
• Once again, RMU 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.
