The Mercyhrust women's hockey team travels to ninth-ranked Robert Morris for an important midseason conference battle Friday at 7:05 p.m. and Saturday at 5:05 p.m.
 
The Lakers finished last weekend with a series split on home ice against non-conference opponent Rensselaer. Mercyhurst took game one with a solid 4-1 win before coming up short in game two 4-3.
 
The Colonials also earned a split last weekend in a home series against #5 Ohio State. RMU fell to the Buckeyes 7-3 in the first game, but bounced back with a 3-2 overtime win in game two.
 
SETTING THE SCENE
Mercyhurst travels to Robert Morris for both teams' 15th and 16th games of the season. This series marks the first conference games for the Lakers since Nov. 3-4 when the Lakers went 1-0-1 at Penn State. Robert Morris hosts its third-straight home series after playing 10-straight games on the road to begin the season.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Mercyhurst and Robert Morris last played each other Jan. 20-21 in Erie, Pa. Both games went to overtime, with the Colonials winning 2-1 in the first game. Game two ended up in a 3-3 tie. Robert Morris swept last season's two-game set at the RMU Island Sports Center, with a pair of 2-1 victories.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
This series marks the 54th and 55th games of the all-time series between these two teams dating back to 2005. Mercyhurst has a 40-10-3 series advantage over RMU. Mercyhurst has a +98-goal differential (143-45) through 53 games in the series. The Colonials have had recent success against the Lakers, winning three of four last season and matching both Mercyhurst and R.I.T. with two CHA Tournament championships since 2012.
 
HURST/RMU COACHING TREE
Both teams have coaching staffs who are certainly familiar with each other. RMU HC Paul Colontino graduated from Mercyhurst in 2000 and was an assistant on Hurst HC Michael Sisti's staff for two seasons. Current Lakers' assistant coach Kelley Steadman spent three seasons with Colontino and the Colonials, one as a volunteer assistant coach and two as the director of hockey operations. 
 
SUMMER-RAE SCORER
Mercyhurst freshman forward Summer-Rae Dobson has been one of the most productive Laker scorers this season. Her seven points (4G, 3A) ties the team lead in points. In the Lakers three wins this season, Dobson has recorded five points on two goals and three assists. Both of her goals in those game were game-winners. Dobson's four points in CHA games ranks third among freshman behind RMU's Lexi Templeman (7) and Emily Currett (5).
 
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
The ninth-ranked Colonials have been ranked in all but one version of the USCHO.com national poll this season. RMU is the top scoring team in CHA at 4.14 goals per game (Syracuse 2nd at 2.07). RMU also ranks second in the conference in team defense, allowing just 2.14 goals per game (PSU 1st at 1.94)
 
The Colonials feature several productive players at all positions. Six of the CHA's top-ten leading scorers are Colonials, including CHA's top scorer Brittany Howard. The senior, Howard, has 17 goals and nine assists to rank fourth in the nation with 26 points.
 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Watch: ROBERT MORRIS LIVE STREAM
Statistics: LIVE STATS FEED
Social Media: Mercyhurst Athletics Twitter - @HurstAthletics | Women's Ice Hockey Twitter - @HurstWHockey