Women's Hockey | 3/4/2013 12:19:00 PM
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ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT women's hockey team will conclude its first season at the Division I level this weekend. On Friday, the Tigers will face Syracuse in a College Hockey America Semifinal game at 4:30 p.m.. If RIT wins, they will face the winner of Robert Morris vs. Mercyhurst in the CHA Championship on Saturday at 3 p.m. All games will be played at the Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie, Pa., home of top seed Mercyhurst. Mercyhurst and Robert Morris play in the first semifinal on Friday at 1:30 p.m.
RIT (16-15-5, 7-8-5 CHA) has clinched at least a .500 record in its first season at the Division I level. Last weekend, the Tigers won their first playoff games at the Division I level, sweeping Penn State by scores of 1-0 and 3-2 in overtime in the CHA First Round series at Ritter Arena. On Friday, #
Marissa Maugeri (Ajax, Ontario/Durham West Lightning) scored midway through the first period and RIT's defense held Penn State to just 16 shots in the 1-0 win. (Woodstock, Ontario/Waterloo K-W Rangers)Ali Binnington (Oakville, Ontario/Mississauga Chiefs)# made 16 stops to record her sixth shutout of the season. On Saturday, #
Kim Schlattman (Stratford, Ontario/Cambridge Fury) scored 47 seconds into overtime to lift RIT to the 3-2 win and sweep the best of three series. (Woodstock, Ontario/Waterloo K-W Rangers)Celeste Brown (Great Falls, MT/National Sports Academy) and
Jess Paton (Woodstock, Ontario/Waterloo K-W Rangers)# also scored for the Tigers, who out-shot Penn State, 57-19.
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Tenecia Hiller (Brampton, Ontario/Brampton Thunder) leads the team in scoring with 14 goals and 26 points. (Woodstock, Ontario/Waterloo K-W Rangers)Ariane Yokoyama (Van Nuys, CA/LA Selects)# has 89 career assists, second most in program history, just two shy of the school mark held by 2011 Laura Hurd Award Winner
Sarah Dagg (St. George, Ontario/Hamilton Hawks). RIT has had four players reach 100 career points this season (Schlattman, #
Kourtney Kunichika (Fullerton, CA/LA Selects)#, Hiller, and Yokoyama). Schlattman has a team-best 15 goals, while Yokoyama and Kunichika have 24 points apiece. Senior defenseman #
Ellesha Fortuna (Burlington, Ontario/Burlington Barracudas)# leads the team with a plus-20 rating. In goal, Binnington is 11-9-4 with a 1.94 goals against average, .926 save percentage, and six shutouts.
RIT is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament until the 2014-15 season, after making the move from Division III to Division I. Since Head Coach
Scott McDonald took over in 2006, RIT is 13-6 in the postseason, winning the 2012 NCAA Division III Championship.
Syracuse (19-14-1, 13-6-1 CHA) finished second in the CHA standings and received a first round bye. Holly Carrie-Mattimoe leads the team in scoring with 26 points on 10 goals and 16 assists, while Nicole Ferrara has 24 points. Shiann Darkangelo leads the team with 15 goals. The Orange have outscored their opponents 94-69 this season. In net, Kallie Billadeau is 15-8-0 with a 1.53 goals against average and .941 save percentage to go along with six shutouts this season.
Mercyhurst (26-6-1, 17-3-0 CHA) won the CHA regular season title for the 11th straight season. The Lakers enter this weekend's contests riding a five-game winning streak. Christine Bestland leads the team in scoring with 66 points on 26 goals and 40 assists, while freshman Emily Janiga has 40 points on 19 goals and 21 assists. The Lakers have outscored their opponents 142-56 this season. In net, Stephanie Ciampa is 17-1-0 with a 1.40 goals against average and .932 save percentage.
Robert Morris (15-14-3, 9-10-1 CHA) finished fourth in the CHA standings and advanced to the quarterfinals after sweeping Lindenwood in the first round last weekend, winning 2-1 in triple overtime, and 2-0. Rebecca Vint leads the team in scoring with 32 points on 16 goals and 16 assists, while Thea Imbrogno and Kristen Richards have 23 points each. The Colonials have outscored their opponents 80-75 this season. In net, Kristen DiCiocco is 13-12-3 with a 2.13 goals against average and .919 save percentage.
RIT is 0-3-1 against Syracuse this season, losing all three games by identical 2-1 scores and tying the other, 2-2. RIT is 3-0-1 against Robert Morris and 0-4-0 against Mercyhurst. Mercyhurst outscored the Tigers, 22-5 in the four meetings.
Tickets will be available at the Mercyhurst Ice Center and are $7 for adults and $4 for students and children each game.
Both games will be streamed online, while live stats will be available
here.
