NEVILLE TWP., Pa. — Amber Rennie received a drop pass from Brittany Howard late in the third period and placed a shot through traffic past Mercyhurst starter Kennedy Blair to give the No. 9 Colonials a 2-1 win Saturday night and a series split with the rival Lakers at RMU Island Sports Center.
“I got the puck in the defensive zone on the wall,” Rennie explained. “[Brittany Howard] came through with great support, I got the puck up to her, and she took the puck to the offensive zone and got the puck back to me and I put it through.”
The goal secure the series split with the Lakers, something that was necessary after a loss on Friday blamed on a lapse in one of the teams primary strengths: a high-powered offensive backline.
The Colonials defenders stepped up into the play with a little more enthusiasm and speed, were quicker on their decision making and placed shots on net with a purpose.
Playing without junior Maggie LaGue for the first time in her career, the defensive core included first-year Morgan Schauer being paired up with junior Kirsten Welsh. Welsh opened the scoring with a one-time shot in the first frame.
“Our [defenders] were much better on the blueline,” Paul Colontino said after the game. “They just worked harder to find openings, to find lanes. They drifted until they found lanes. It was huge. I know Welshie right off the hop, she set herself in a position to one-time when she had the shooting lane. Thats one thing you have to do when you play a team that plays tight defensively. They were just a huge factor in getting scoring opportunities.”
LaGue is considered day-to-day going forward.
HAVE MERCY
In a bizarre twist on the season, it was Mercyhurst that won the battles on the scoresheet, controlled the momentum throughout the majority of the game, and out-attempted Robert Morris- something that had been a tough task for the opponents of the Colonials to this point.
“They play real tight defensively.” Colontino said. “We had to work and fight through. A ton of nice plays in the sense that they did a good job on slowing things down and playing man-on-man. To fight through and get the two goals we got, it was all we needed to win. You get down to tough games like this, a lot of the games are like this, you don’t get much space out there.”
TEN WINS FOR TEN LETTERS
One of the major reasons for the Robert Morris Colonials success on the season has been the surprising play of Elijah Milne-Price, the three year backup-turned-brick wall in net. Through the fourteen games she’s taken part in, the goaltender has allowed two or less goals in twelve- including two shutouts and a scoreless 50 minute relief effort against Brown. A .932 save percentage is all you need to know about the senior’s season.
After a major setback Nov. 24 against No. 5 Ohio State where she allowed four goals on her first nine shots, the net-minder bounced back the next night, backstopping the Colonials to a victory against the Buckeyes. On Friday, she was one extremely well placed tip-in from another shutout opportunity, as well as a goal from an uncovered-in-the-slot Maggie Knott f0r a possible second on the weekend.
Milne-Price heads into the final game of the first half with a 10-2-2 record.
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
Next Saturday the Colonials will take on another nationally ranked foe, the current No. 3 Colgate Raiders. Colgate will be in a similar situation as Robert Morris, having lost the first game of the Windjammer Tournament to an unranked Minnesota-Duluth on Nov. 24, and dropping a game to No. 7 Cornell on Friday. The matchup will take place at the new Class of 1965 Arena in Hamilton, N.Y. Face-off is scheduled for 3:05 p.m.
