MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – The RMU women's hockey team's offense put on a clinic Friday night, scoring eight goals in an 8-3 victory over Post in the season opener.
Greta Brezenski led the way with a natural hat trick in the second period, while captain
Alaina Giampietro recorded a career-high four points. With the win, the Colonials open the 2026-27 campaign 1-0, while Post falls to 0-3.
FIRST PERIOD
It didn't take long for the scoring to begin as both teams found the back of the net early. After RMU took an early penalty, Celena Mickevicius scored a power-play goal 86 seconds into the game to give Post a 1-0 lead.
Less than a minute later, captain
Alaina Giampietro scored RMU's first goal of the season.
Jessica MacKinnon found Giampietro on a 2-on-1 rush, while
Greta Brezenski recorded the secondary assist.
Two minutes later, the Eagles struck again at even strength to reclaim a 2-1 lead. However, the Colonials quickly responded.
In the defensive end,
Mya Kearns worked the puck up to
Taylor Storey, who found MacKinnon in open space. On a 2-on-1 rush, MacKinnon elected to shoot and found the back of the net to tie the game.
Less than two minutes later, Giampietro scored again, burying a rebound in front of the net.
Mary Snyder and Brezenski both recorded assists on the goal as RMU took its first lead of the night.
Post scored with two minutes remaining in the period to tie the game at 3-3, but it would be the final goal of the night for the Eagles. After 20 minutes, RMU held a 12-5 advantage in shots.
SECOND PERIOD
The middle frame belonged to RMU and Brezenski, who scored a natural hat trick to give the Colonials a four-goal lead.
Brezenski opened the scoring on another 2-on-1 rush. Alternate captain
Thalia D'Elia delivered a perfect feed to Brezenski in front of the net, where she finished the play. Giampietro picked up the secondary assist.
On her second goal of the period, MacKinnon found Brezenski at the back door with a perfectly placed pass. Brezenski kept her stick on the ice and tapped the puck home to extend RMU's lead.
Caroline Aufiero recorded the secondary assist.
With just five seconds remaining in the period, Brezenski completed the hat trick. Behind the net,
Ashlyn Ham dished the puck to Giampietro, who found her linemate in the slot. Brezenski buried the chance to make it 7-3 and complete the natural hat trick.
Post outshot RMU 7-6 in the second period, but Brezenski accounted for four of the Colonials' six shots.
THIRD PERIOD
In the final period, the Colonials shut down any comeback attempt from the Eagles, allowing just four shots on goal.
Around the halfway point of the period, RMU added one more goal. Post was controlling the puck in its defensive zone when Thornton stole the puck off a defenseman and scored to cap the 8-3 victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- RMU outshot Post 31-16. Giampietro and Brezenski led all Colonial skaters with five shots on goal apiece.
- Brezenski finished the night +6, while Giampietro was +5 and MacKinnon was +4. In total, 12 Colonials finished with a positive plus/minus rating.
- The Colonials won 31 of 49 faceoffs (63.3%). MacKinnon, who ranked fourth in the country in faceoff wins last season, went 15-for-20 in the circle. Snyder also won 75% of her draws, going 9-for-12.
- RMU blocked 14 total shots, highlighted by three blocks from Kearns and Thornton.
- Post finished 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Colonials went 0-for-1 with the man advantage.
- In net, Maggie Hatch made 13 saves to earn her first win of the season.
COLONIAL FIRSTS
Several new faces made immediate impacts for the Colonials. Freshmen
Rio Pierre and
Ava Vrana each made their collegiate debuts, while transfers
Caroline Aufiero,
Lucy Thiessen and Brezenski suited up for the first time in RMU colors.
Aufiero recorded an assist in her debut, while sophomore
Hannah Thornton scored her first career goal and recorded her first career multi-point effort.
CAREER-HIGH FOR THE CAPTAIN
RMU captain
Alaina Giampietro set a new career-high Friday night, producing four points on two goals and two assists. The performance marked the 17th multi-point effort of her career and the ninth two-goal game of her career.
The Strongsville, Ohio native now owns 41 goals, 29 assists and 70 points in 82 career games. Her two goals moved her into eighth place all-time in program history.
MULTI-POINT EFFORTS
MacKinnon posted the 12th multi-point effort of her career with one goal and two assists. It marked the seventh time she has registered three or more points in a game. In her career, MacKinnon now has 16 goals, 29 assists and 45 points in 52 games.
Canonsburg, Pa., native
Mya Kearns recorded the second two-point effort of her career. The junior defenseman now has two goals, 13 assists and 15 points in 52 career games.
A NATURAL NIGHT
Brezenski had a career night and one of the best debuts in program history, scoring a natural hat trick in her first game wearing the Colonials uniform.
It marked the 22nd hat trick in program history and the fifth natural hat trick all-time. Megan Picinic (2006 vs. Chatham), Amber Rennie (2017 at Minnesota State), Emilie Harley (2019 vs. Mercyhurst) and Michaela Boyle (2019 at RPI) recorded the previous four natural hat tricks.
Brezenski also became the first Colonial to score three goals in her debut. She is the 12th player in program history to produce five points in a game, finishing with three goals and two assists.
BEHIND THE NUMBERS
RMU scored eight goals for the first time since an 8-0 victory over Sacred Heart in 2021. It marked the 13
th time in program history that the Colonials have scored eight or more goals in a game. RMU's 14 assists were tied for the seventh-most in a single game in program history. The Colonials also had five different goal scorers, matching a feat they most recently accomplished last February against Delaware.
QUOTABLE – HEAD COACH LOGAN BITTLE
On the season-opening win: "In the first period – it was our first time as a group together in a regular season game, so there were some nerves. But I think we did a very nice job of not letting those setbacks get in our way, and we turned it around and really finished strong in the final two periods."
On Brezenski's hat trick: "She's an awesome player. She had a speech in the locker room that got emotional, talking about how happy she is to be a Colonial and have an opportunity to put on the jersey, and she showed it today. She's been a scorer her whole life."
On the outlook for tomorrow: "We know Post is going to come out really fired up tomorrow. We can enjoy tonight and get some rest but need to come ready to go tomorrow because we know it'll be a challenge."
UP NEXT
RMU will host Post tomorrow for the series finale at Clearview Arena. Puck drop is set for 3:00 PM, with the game streaming live on FloHockey.
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