Women's Hockey | 2/17/2016 8:03:00 AM
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT women's hockey team wraps up the regular season with a pair of road contests at College Hockey America rival Robert Morris this weekend, at the 84 Lumber Arena. Game one is set to begin at 7:05 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 19, with the regular season finale to start at 3:05 p.m. Saturday.
The Tigers (7-24-1, 3-14-1 CHA) come into this series after dropping both games to league leader Mercyhurst last weekend.
Cassie Clayton (Pickering, Ontario/PEAC School) and
Reagan Rust (Southaven, MS/Moon Area) assisted on a second period
Jess Paton (Woodstock, Ontario/Waterloo K-W Rangers) goal on Friday, Feb. 12 to lead RIT in a 4-1 loss. The next day,
Carly Payerl (Kitchener, Ontario/Resurrection Catholic), Paton,
Haley Northcote (Cumberland, Ontario/Minnesota State), and
Jetta Rackleff (Bend, OR/Summit) were honored as the Tigers celebrated Senior Day in the last home game of the season. Rackleff was strong in net, stopping 38-of-40 shots as the Tigers fell, 2-0.
Rackleff is sporting a 1.90 goals against average and an incredible .944 save percentage in CHA play, which is second. Her .935 overall save percentage is 11th nationally. On Friday, Paton is set to play in her 144th career game – breaking the record for the most games played in a RIT uniform. This season, Paton leads the Tigers in points, tallying seven goals and 10 assists. Her three power-play goals and two shorthanded goals are also team-highs. Payerl leads the team with nine goals, and has seven assists, both career-highs. Rust is enjoying a fine start to her collegiate career, leading the team in assists, with 11.
Robert Morris skates into the matchup with a 14-13-5 record, with a 6-8-4 mark in conference play. Last weekend, the Colonials dropped two games to Syracuse to fall to fourth place in the conference standings. The high-powered Colonials are led by Brittany Howard, as she is the top scorer in the CHA with 34 total points. She leads the Colonials with both 14 goals and 20 assists. Sarah Quaranta has 23 points on eight goals and 15 assists, second in the CHA by a freshman in scoring. The trio of Mikaela Lowater, Kirsten Welsh, and Maggie Lague are 1-2-3 in the league respectively in scoring by a defenseman. In net, Jessica Dodds has played in 30-of-32 games, boasting a 2.24 goals against average, with a .925 save percentage.
RIT leads a tight all-time series with Robert Morris, 9-8-3. The Tigers are 4-4-2 all-time on the road against the Colonials. Earlier this season, Robert Morris swept the two games at the Polisseni Center. On Nov. 6, the Colonials shut out RIT, 4-0.
Brooke Stoddart (Elmvale, Ontario/Elmvale) stopped 19 shots in the loss. The next day, Rust,
Kandice Sheriff (Brampton, Ontario), and
Taylor Thurston (Kanata, Ontario/All Saints Catholic) each tallied a goal as the Tigers fell, 6-3. In postseason play, the Tigers have eliminated Robert Morris in the past two years – in the 2014 CHA Semifinals, and last year's CHA First Round Series.
RIT can finish no better than sixth in the College Hockey America standings and will head on the road for a best of three first round series, Feb. 26-28. The opponent is yet to be determined, as Penn State, Robert Morris, and Lindenwood each have a shot at the third seed.
Both games will be
broadcasted online via Eversport.
Live stats will also be available.
