ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst women's ice hockey team hosts ninth-ranked Robert Morris this weekend Feb. 16-17 in a College Hockey America series with big implications for the upcoming conference tournament.
The Colonials lead the Lakers by two points in the conference standings with four games remaining for both teams. This weekend's series is the final home series of the season for Mercyhurst.
The Lakers' "Pack the M.I.C." game will take place on Friday at 7 p.m. at Mercyhurst Ice Center. Students and faculty in attendance are eligible for a prize raffle with a Mercyhurst ID. Multiple winners will be chosen. Mercyhurst fans are encouraged to wear Mercyhurst apparel with blue and green colors.
Saturday's game will be Senior Day for the Lakers and the Bill Smith Award presentation will occur during brief pregame ceremony.
Place: Mercyhurst Ice Center
Dates: February 16-17
Times: Friday @ 3:00 p.m. | Saturday @ 2:00 p.m.
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MERCYHURST WOMEN'S HOCKEY
SETTING THE SCENE
This series against Robert Morris marks the 31st and 32nd games of the season for Mercyhurst. It is the final home series for the Lakers and their final regular season matchup against RMU.
LAST TIME THEY MET
Mercyhurst and Robert Morris split their last series at RMU back on Dec. 1-2. The Lakers took game one 1-0 after
Kennedy Blair's first career shutout and a goal from
Brooke Hartwick. RMU took game two thanks to Amber Rennie's GWG in the third period.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Mercyhurst holds a 41-11-3 all-time record against Robert Morris, but the Colonials have the edge in recent matchups, winning three of the last five games. The last six matchups between these teams have been decided by one goal or ended in a tie.
NO TIME LIKE PRIMETIME
Mercyhurst holds a 9-1 record since the 2014-15 season in home night games (6 p.m. and later) against CHA opponents. The Lakers have outscored opponents 40-15 in those ten games. The Lakers are 2-1 against RMU over that span, with the only loss coming in a 2-1 OT loss on Jan. 20 last season.
DE-COLONIZERS
Brooke Hartwick and
Jennifer MacAskill lead all current Lakers in career points against Robert Morris. Hartwick has five goals and two assists in her last ten games against the Colonials while MacAskill has six career points (2G, 4A) versus RMU.
Molly Blasen is next on the list with five points, all assists.
NEARING THE CENTURY MARK
Sarah Hine and
Morgan Stacey can join
Brooke Hartwick,
Jennifer MacAskill, and
Callie Paddock as current Lakers with 100 career games played this weekend. Hine currently sits at 99 career games played while Stacey is at 98 games.
Samantha Fieseler is close behind with 97 games played.
ARE THERE TWO GOALIES IN NET?
Mercyhurst's goaltending duo of
Sarah McDonnell and
Kennedy Blair has combined for four CHA Goaltender of the Week awards this season, while McDonnell picked up Goalie of the Month for January. Both have combined to go 6-2-2 in 2018 with just 13 goals allowed and a .936 save percentage.
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
Robert Morris leads College Hockey America with 25 points and a 11-2-3 conference record. RMU is unbeaten in its last six games (5-0-1). The Colonials sport the top-scoring offense (3.7 G/GM) and the top power-play unit (25/122, 20.5%) in the conference.
The Colonials have five of the top six point scorers in CHA, including leading point-scorer Brittany Howard. The senior has 41 points, which ranks eighth nationally, and 20 goals. Her three short-handed goals rank second nationally.
Sophomore Jaycee Gebhard (31 points) and junior Amber Rennie (25 points) are the next top-scoring forwards for the Colonials. Junior defenseman Kirsten Welsh is the conference's top-scoring blue liner with 25 points and 12 goals. Junior defenseman Maggie Lague is close behind with 22 points, including 19 assists.
Senior goaltender Elijah Milne-Price ranks among the best goaltenders in the nation with a 16-4-4 record (.750 win%). Her 1.74 goals against average ranks only behind Mercyhurst's
Kennedy Blair (1.70) in the CHA. She has also compiled a .927 save percentage.
