PITTSBURGH, Pa- The Robert Morris University women's hockey team is prepped for a trio of games this week, hosting Mercyhurst on a Tuesday afternoon matinee before heading north to Rochester for two against RIT. 

ROBERT MORRIS (9-5-1, 9-5-1 CHA) vs. MERCYHURST (7-8-1, 6-5-1-2 CHA)

Tuesday, February 9 at 2:05 p.m. in Pittsburgh, Pa. 

STATS | VIDEO ($)

ROBERT MORRIS (7-2-1, 7-2-1 CHA) vs. RIT (1-9, 1-9 CHA)

Friday, February 12 at 7:05 p.m. in Rochester, N.Y.

Saturday, February 13 at 2:05 p.m. in Rochester, N.Y. 

STATS | VIDEO ($)

LAST TIME OUT

The Colonials are coming off of a two-game sweep at the hands of Penn State this past weekend in State College. 

Despite the Colonials scoring first in both games, a resilient PSU squad continued to find answers for the RMU attack. They scored twice after a 1-0 deficit to take game one, 2-1 before Olivia Wallin's go-ahead goal with 13 seconds left in the second period Saturday set them up for an eventual 4-2 win. 

KNOW BOBBY MO

• Following the sweep against PSU, the Nittany Lions are now firmly in command of first place in College Hockey America with 37 points. At 26 points, the Colonials have plenty of breathing room in second over third-place Mercyhurst with 19. Syracuse rounds out the final playoff spot with 10 points. 
• Fifteen different members of the Colonials have recorded at least one point so far this season, with Lexi Templeman, Michaela Boyle, Anjelica Diffendal and Maggy Burbidge all cracking the double-digit points threshold. Templeman leads the team with 15 points in 15 games. 
• The Colonials' five-girl senior class includes defensive stalwarts Emily Curlett and Emilie Harley, versatile forwards Anjelica Diffendal and Lexi Templeman as well as goaltender Molly Singewald.  Curlett and Harley are second and third in overall defensive scoring in CHA, and Harley also leads the conference in power-play points with eight.
• Templeman has been near-unbeatable in the face-off dot this year. The senior pivot and former CHA Best Defensive Player nominee has won an astounding 65.8% (244-371) of draws through 15 games this season. 
• Despite an 0-6 weekend against Penn State, the Colonials' power play is still tops in CHA at 17.9% (10-56).  Michaela Boyle, Ellie Marcovsky, and Wasyn Rice are all tied for the team lead in PPG with two each. 
• Anjelica Diffendal took over sole posession of the RMU goal-scoring race with her seventh of the season against Penn State. The senior is also third overall in total points with ten.
• The Colonials have experienced some dramatic splits in situational play this season. RMU is currently 7-0-1 when leading after two periods of play and 0-3 when trailing heading into the third.  They are also 8-3-1 when scoring the first goal overall.  
• Goaltending has been a significant strength of the Colonials this year. Arielle DeSmet's .957 save-percentage and 1.00 GAA are both tops in the conference, though she has not met the 33% games threshold.  Raygan Kirk ranks third in GAA (1.81) and fourth in save-percentage (.942). 
• The Colonials lead the league in first-period goals this season with 16 as well as second period goals with 18. Their seven third period tallies ranks last in CHA, however. 
• The Colonials welcome three newcomers to the squad this year in freshman Molly Pedone, Ellie Marcovsky and Chace Sperling. 
• Marcovsky is the latest in a long line of homegrown Western Pa. talents to continue their college hockey careers right in their own backyard.  The Mt. Lebanon native spent time with the Pens Elite program growing up, including a stint under head coach and former Colonial Cobina Delaney '13.  She joins Diffendal as one of two Pittsburgh natives on RMU in 2021. 
• With four goals and nine points so far this year, Marcovsky is sixth on the team lead in scoring and has fired 33 shots on goal through eight games. Two of her goals have been game-winners.
• A few significant milestones have already been checked off this season for the Colonials. Anjelica Diffendal skated in her 100th career game for RMU against Lindenwood in December, while captain Lexi Templeman became one of six players in program history to score 100 career points in an RMU sweater with a two-point night on December 10. 
• Junior defender Gillian Thompson scored her first career NCAA goal over the weekend against Penn State. 
• Lexi Templeman's hat trick against RIT two weekends ago was the first of her career and the first natural hat trick a Colonial has scored since Michaela Boyle set the program record for fastest hat trick against RPI on 11/24/19.
• Senior defender Emily Curlett is currently six points away from tying and seven points away from breaking the all-time defender points record of 90 held by Maggie LaGue '18. 
• Due to restrictions placed on the season because of the ongoing COVID-19 virus, the Colonials will play a conference-heavy season made up mostly of CHA matchups.  The second to last weekend of the regular season sees RMU play host to Sacred Heart in their lone non-conference series of the campaign. 
• Familiar faces return behind the bench, led by tenth-year bench boss Paul Colontino. He's assisted by associate head coach Logan Bittle '08, who enters his 11th season behind the bench after four years playing for the RMU men's team. Fellow alum Jen Kindret '13 returns for her second year as an assistant, a former forward who played under Colontino and Bittle at the end of her tenure a Colonial. They are also joined in 2021 by volunteer Assistant Coach Ryan Gayso.

SERIES HISTORY

The Colonials close out the regular-season series with Mercyhurst   Tuesday in what has been an extremely close set of games between the two squads. After opening things up with a 2-2 tie back on January 15, RMU earned an OT win the following afternoon before a 4-2 regulation loss on February 2nd in Erie. 

RMU is riding a five-game win streak against RIT and scored a pair of decisive victories against them earlier this season, 5-0 and 7-0. 

SCOUTING THE LAKERS 

Mercyhurst has played twice since last facing RMU a week ago, earning a sweep on the road against Syracuse with 5-2 and 2-1 wins.  

Emily Pinto posted four points in the two-game set, including two goals, while goalkeeper Ena Nystrom made a remarkable 77 saves over six periods of play.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS

With just three points and one win on the year, 1-9 RIT currently sits dead last in CHA and has lost six straight games. 

They are coming off of a 3-0 loss to Syracuse last Wednesday and have been shut out in three straight games. All in all, they have been shut out in six of their last seven games and have scored just one goal over their last 18 periods of play. 

THE COLONTINO FILE

Returning for his tenth season in charge of the Colonials, Colontino boasts an overall record of 176-1109-41, for a .663 points percentage. 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.

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

RMU closes out the regular season with a four-game home stand, hosting non-conference Sacred Heart on Friday, February 20 and Sunday Feb. 21st before two more against Syracuse the following weekend.