PITTSBURGH, Pa- The #10 Robert Morris University women's hockey team returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017 this Monday when they face #1 Northeastern in the opening round of action at Erie Insurance Arena. 

Monday, March 15 at 2:05 p.m. in Erie, Pa. 

STATS | VIDEO (NCAA) 

LAST TIME OUT

The Colonials captured their third CHA Championship in program history last weekend, winning three straight games for the first time en route to the title in Erie. 

After a game-one win over RIT, Maggy Burbidge lifted RMU in overtime past Mercyhurst in the semis before a thrilling 1-0 victory against Syracuse in the championship game.  Gillian Thompson scored the lone goal of the game in the final in the first period, while Raygan Kirk pitched a 36-save shutout as RMU advanced to its second ever NCAA Tournament. 

KNOW BOBBY MO

• Robert Morris captured its third postseason crown last weekend, defeating Syracuse 1-0 in the CHA Championship game. 
• RMU is in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history and the first time since 2017. 
• The Colonials lost to Wisconsin 7-0 on March 11, 2017 in their first ever NCAA Tournament game. 
• Maggy Burbidge and Lexi Templeman lead RMU in playoff scoring with four points in three games each. Burbidge's three goals lead the team as well.  
• Templeman was named to the 2021 CHA All-Conference First Team prior to the commencement of the tournament last week.  
• R-Junior Michaela Boyle is the lone Colonial with NCAA experience under her belt, winning the 2018 National Championship with Clarkson before arriving at RMU. 
• The Colonials have scored first in each of their three post-season games so far this season. They were 11-4-1 when scoring first in the regular season. 
• RMU will face the #1 team in the country in the postseason once again in Northeastern. The Badgers also occupied the top spot in the national rankings when they faced RMU in 2017. 
• Templeman has continued her dominance in the face-off dot in post season play, going 401-613 (65.4%) this season. The Colonials as a team finished the year at 55.2%. 
• The Robert Morris power play is currently clicking at a 17.4% pace (16-92) 
• Anna Fairman and Alyson Hebert both scored their first career goals against RIT, joining Gillian Thompson and Ellie Marcovsky to make it four Colonials who lit the lamp for the first time in 2021.  
• The Colonials used all three goalies in their three-game CHA Tournament run. Molly Singewald shut out RIT in game one, while Arielle DeSmet backstopped a game-two win over Mercyhurst before Raygan Kirk's shutout to clinch it over Syracuse.  
• RMU has conceded just eight first-period goals, the fewest in CHA, however their defensive results as the game goes on have not been quite as efficient, giving up 18 second-period tallies and 14 in the final frame.  
• Ellie Marcovsky finished the CHA Tournament as the top-scoring freshman with two goals and three points in three games. 
• 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. 
• A few significant career milestones were set in the regular season. 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. 
• At 90 for her career, senior defender Emily Curlett is currently two points away from tying and three points away from breaking the all-time defender points record of 92 held by Maggie LaGue '18. 
• 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 and Huskies have squared off against one another seven times in their history, however Monday will be their first ever matchup in 6th post-season. 

They last met on October 25, 2014, a 2-2 draw at Clearview Arena, one day after RMU defeated NU 3-2. They are 2-3-2 all-time against Northeastern in a series that dates back to the 2006-07 campaign.  

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES

Top-ranked Northeastern has been the #1 program in the country since the onset of March and have proven themselves to be one of the elite programs in college hockey this season. 

Boasting an incredible 20-1-1 record, their lone loss of the season was to #9 Boston College in their second game of the year on December 13 and they are currently riding a 16-game winning streak dating back to January 9.  

The top-ranked Huskies have won an NCAA-best 52 games over the last two seasons for an .892 winning percentage (52-5-3). Northeastern is unbeaten over its last 20 games this season, the longest streak in program history since going undefeated in the 1987-88 season (26-0-1).

The Huskies have three players that are top-10 finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award in 2021 with defender Skylar Fontaine, senior goaltender Aerin Frankel, and junior center Alina Mueller leading the charge. All three players lead the country in their respective positions in many statistical categories.

THE COLONTINO FILE

Returning for his tenth season in charge of the Colonials, Colontino boasts an overall record of 182-111-41, for a .667 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 both of the program's NCAA tournament berths in 2017 and 2021. 

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.