Women's Hockey | 2/28/2017 1:54:00 PM

ROCHESTER — The RIT women's hockey team will face fourth-seeded Penn State in the first round of the College Hockey America Postseason Tournament on Thursday, starting at 7:30 p.m. from HARBORCENTER in downtown Buffalo.

This year's playoffs will be different than those of the past. Unlike past years, the 2017 CHA Tournament is just a three-day affair, all at HARBORCENTER. The top two teams will receive a first round bye and play two first round winners on Friday in the CHA Semifinals The CHA Championship Game will take place at 4 p.m. on Saturday, and the champion will receive an automatic berth into the 2017 NCAA Division I Women's Hockey Tournament.

Since Bruce B. Bates Women's Hockey Coach Scott McDonald took over in 2006, RIT is 21-10 in the postseason, including a 10-4 mark at the Division I level. The Tigers are 6-2 all-time in the CHA First Round. The Tigers are in their fifth season as a Division I program and also as a member of College Hockey America. RIT won back-to-back CHA Championships in 2014 and 2015.

RIT is coming off a pair of losses on senior weekend against Mercyhurst at the Gene Polisseni Center. The Tigers fell 3-2 on Friday, and were blanked 4-0 on senior day the following afternoon. Seniors Cassie Clayton (Pickering, Ontario/PEAC School) and Caitlin Wallace (Brantford, Ontario/Assumption Collegiate) scored for the Tigers on Friday, while Reagan Rust (Southaven, MS/Moon Area) picked up two assists. Madison Farrand (Potomac, MD/Winston Churchill) and Taylor Thurston (Kanata, Ontario/All Saints Catholic) also added helpers in the 3-2 defeat.

Sophomores Kendall Cornine (Kinnelon, NJ/Morristown Beard) (12-7-19) and Reagan Rust (Southaven, MS/Moon Area) (3-11-14), along with senior Caitlin Wallace (Brantford, Ontario/Assumption Collegiate) (8-7-15) lead the Tigers this year offensively. Cornine, who has four power-play markers, also has two game-winners in 2016-17. In net, time has been split between freshman Terra Lanteigne (Hatchet Lake, Nova Scotia/Charles P. Allen) and sophomore Jenna de Jonge (Abbotsford, British Columbia/George Elliot) this year. Lanteigne leads the Tigers with a 2.72 goals against average and .918 save percentage in 20 games played, while de Jonge has a 2.95 goals against average and a .909 save percentage.

The Nittany Lions come into the postseason riding a three-game losing streak after being swept last weekend at home by Syracuse. The Orange won 5-1 on Friday and 2-0 the next day. Laura Bowman has paced the Penn State offense this season, scoring 32 points (18 goals and 14 assists), while fellow senior, Amy Peterson, is just behind with 30 points (14 goals and 16 assists). Freshman Brooke Madsen ranks 17th among all NCAA first-year players in scoring with 20 points (six goals and 14 assists). Hannah Ehreshmann has played 19 games between the pipes for Penn State, posting a 4-12-3 record, a .919 save percentage, and a 2.71 goals against average. Freshman Daniela Panicci has also seen action in 17 games, going 5-8-2. She has a .909 save percentage and a 2.87 goals against average this season.

RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 12-11-3. The Nittany Lions have won three of the four matchups this season, the fourth being a tie. Penn State won the first two meetings between the schools this year in Rochester, a 2-0 win in RIT's "Throwback Thursday" game at Ritter Arena on Oct. 27, followed by a 5-0 victory at the Gene Polisseni Center the following afternoon. In the most recent games, Penn State won 3-0 on Jan. 21, before the two teams skated to a 4-4 tie the next day. The Tigers and Nittany Lions faced off in the first round of the CHA Playoffs last season, with Penn State winning the series in two games at Pegula Ice Arena. RIT knocked off Penn State on its way to the championship in both the 2013 and 2014 CHA Tournament.

Playing in the earlier first round game Thursday will be third-seeded Mercyhurst and sixth-seeded Lindenwood.

The Lakers (15-17-2, 11-8-1 CHA), enter the CHA Tournament having won five games in a row, and seven of their last eight. Mercyhurst is second in the conference and 13th in the nation in scoring, with 2.65 goals per game, while leading scorer Brooke Hartwick (16-16-32) is tied for fourth in the NCAA with six power-play tallies this season.

Lindenwood has struggled in the new calendar year, having won just one of 13 games played. The Lady Lions come into the CHA Tournament with a 5-24-2 record, including a 3-16-1 mark in conference play. Britannia Gillanders and Cierra Paisley lead Lindenwood with 11 points each. Goalie Jolene deBruyn has played 27 of the Lions' 31 games, with a 2.76 goals against average and .910 save percentage.

Getting first-round byes in this year's tournament are No. 2 seed Syracuse and top-seeded Robert Morris, who is ranked eighth in the USCHO.com Division I Women's Hockey Poll.

Syracuse (15-12-5, 14-4-2 CHA) is riding a four-game winning streak, and has won 10 of its last 12 games. Stephanie Grossi (14-14-28), Emily Costales (9-16-25), and Alysha Burriss (10-13-23) lead the team offensively this season. Defenseman Allie Monroe ranks fourth on the team in points, and is tied for 14th in the nation in points for defensemen. Goalie Abbey Miller boasts a 14-10-5 record, .922 save percentage, and a 1.61 goals against average — seventh best in Division I.

No. 8 Robert Morris (22-4-6, 15-3-2 CHA) won its first CHA regular season title in team history this season. The Colonials have won their last three games, and are 13-3-1 over the past 17 contests. The Colonials are scoring with 3.19 goals per game, while allowing just 2.06 per game. Robert Morris is also fourth in penalty kill percentage in the nation, with a 90.6 percent rate. The Colonials have two of the nation's top-10 scorers, in Brittany Howard (18-30-48) and Jaycee Gebhard (22-22-44). Gebhard, the top scoring freshman in the NCAA (by a 16-point margin) also leads the nation with nine power-play goals this season.

There will be video and live stats for Thursday's game. The winner of Thursday night's game will face either Syracuse or Robert Morris (depending on the winner of the first quarterfinal game).