ERIE, Pa. - The Robert Morris University women's hockey team is moving on in the 2021 College Hockey America Tournament following their quarterfinal win over RIT Thursday afternoon at Erie Insurance Arena, 4-0.
Maggy Burbidge scored twice while Molly Singewald posted a 17-save shutout in her first ever playoff start between the pipes for RMU as the Colonials punched their ticket to the CHA semi-final for the sixth straight season.
The Colonials were forced into a tricky situation early, spotting RIT a power play less than two minutes in after Abby Davies was hauled down at center ice to prevent a potential breakaway chance.
An expert kill from RMU that included a great short-handed chance from Joelle Fiala prevented an early lead for the Tigers before RMU went to work on the player-advantage themselves.
Burbidge opened the scoring at 8:44, waiting on the back post for a great cross-ice feed from Emily Curlett that the sophomore deflected home into an open net to get RMU on the board, 1-0.
Another great pass led to RMU's second goal just under five minutes later when Lexi Templeman hit Ellie Marcovsky in stride cutting across the slot before the freshman walked in and roofed a wrister high-glove on Jessi O'Leary.
A pair of clutch saves from Singewald near the end of the first including one on a big blast from Claire McGennis helped keep it 2-0 after one.
The Colonials continued to dominate possession into the second, racking up an impressive 37-13 advantage in shots on goal through forty minutes.
Burbidge scored her second of the game on power-play with a nifty backhander in the crease at 7:47 of the middle frame to increase the RMU lead to 3-0 off of another great pass from Templeman that snuck between two RIT defenders.
Anjelica Diffendal's rip off the crossbar was all that stood between the Colonials and a 4-0 lead heading into the final period of action.
After another lopsided 28-9 shot disparity in the third, an empty netter from Marah Wagner with under two to play put a bow on a convincing quarterfinal victory over the Tigers for RMU.
SCORING PLAYS
Burbidge, 8:44, 1st - Assists: Curlett, Harley
Marcovsky, 13:18, 1st - Assists: Templeman, Boyle
Burbidge, 7:47, 2nd - Assists: Templeman, Curlett
Wagner, 18:14, 3rd (EN) - Assists: Hanzlik
QUICK HITS
First career multi-goal postseason game for Burbidge…first career playoff win and shutout for Singewald…Emily Curlett is now three points away from breaking the defensive scoring record of 92 points…RMU led in SOG 50-17…Fourth playoff win for RMU's 2021 senior class…RMU finished 1-4 on the PP
QUOTABLES
"Any time you get a win in playoffs and the opportunity to play again your whole program is happy. It was nice to get the two early because in playoff hockey you don't always know which way things are going to drop, so you have to stay confident and trust the system which our players did." - Head Coach Paul Colontino
"Last weekend wasn't ideal for us, but I think we went out today and put everything on the line. We played well in front of Molly, and just came out and played our style which I liked, especially with the response from last weekend." - sophomore Maggy Burbidge
NEXT UP
The Colonials will face off against Mercyhurst tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in the CHA semi-finals at Erie Insurance Arena.
