Women's Hockey | 3/4/2019 11:27:00 AM

ROCHESTER, NY – The No. 5 seed RIT women's hockey team will face fourth-seeded Penn State University in the first round of the College Hockey America Postseason Tournament at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6. from Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo.
 
The 2019 CHA Tournament is a three-day affair, all at Harborcenter. Robert Morris and Mercyhurst, the top two seeds, will receive a first round bye and play the two first round winners on Thursday, March 7 in the CHA Semifinals. The CHA Championship game will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 8 and the champion will receive an automatic berth into the 2019 NCAA Division I Women's Hockey Tournament. Syracuse University is the No. 3 seed, while Lindenwood University is the No. 6 seed.
 
RIT is 10-5 in the postseason at the Division I level, including a 7-3 all-time mark in the CHA First Round. The Tigers are in their seventh 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 (12-17-5, 8-11-1 CHA) was in action last weekend, dropping a pair of road games at Mercyhurst by scores of 4-0 and 2-1. Hunter Barnett (Caledon, Ontario/Mississauga Jr. Chiefs) scored RIT's lone goal on Saturday, while Terra Lanteigne (Hatchet Lake, Nova Scotia/Charles P. Allen) made 50 saves over the weekend. Senior captain Kendall Cornine (Kinnelon, NJ/Morristown Beard) leads the Tigers in scoring with 19 points on 11 goals and eight assists, while Brittney Gout (Caledon, Ontario/Brampton Canadettes) is right behind with 18 points on six goals and a team-best 12 assists. Lanteigne, an eight-time CHA Goaltender of the Week in 2018-19, is second among all Division I goaltenders with 1,134 saves and leads the nation with a .944 save percentage. She has played in all 34 games this season for the Tigers. 
 
Penn State enters the tournament with a 12-13-9 overall record and went 6-9-5 in league play. The Nittany Lions earned three points at Lindenwood last weekend, earning a 3-1 win Friday, while skating to a 3-3 draw Saturday. Natalie Heising leads Penn State in scoring with 26 points on 14 goals and 12 assists, while Kelsey Crow has a team-best 14 assists. Jenna Brenneman is 12-11-8 in net with a 1.75 goals against average and a .926 save percentage.
 
Penn State leads the all-time series between the two schools, 18-14-3. The Nittany Lions won the first two meetings between the two schools earlier this season on home ice by scores of 3-0 and 2-1. Jordan Marchese (Mississauga, Ontario/Brampton Canadettes) scored her first collegiate goal for RIT in the 2-1 loss on Nov. 21. Lanteigne made 86 saves on 88 shots two weeks ago as the Tigers and Nittany Lions split a weekend series at the Polisseni Center. She made 50 saves, while Jade Mancini (Burlington, Ontario/Bishop Tonnos), Ellie Larson (Hutchinson, MN/Hutchinson Tigers) and Gout scored in a 3-0 shutout win on Feb. 22. Penn State scored a late goal to win 2-1 the next day.
 
RIT and Penn State will meet for the fifth time in CHA postseason history. The Tigers knocked the Nittany Lions out in both the 2013 and 2014 best-of-three first round series matchups, while Penn State returned the favor in 2016. RIT defeated Penn State, 2-1 in the CHA first round game from Harborcenter in 2017.
 
Robert Morris (15-13-6, 13-4-3 CHA) won the CHA regular season title with 29 points and enters the tournament on a 7-2-2 tear. Jaycee Gebhard leads the Colonials and is tied for eighth nationally in scoring with 49 points on 18 goals and 31 assists. Lauren Bailey is 12-11-5 in goal with a 2.43 goals against average and an .899 save percentage.
 
Mercyhurst (15-13-5, 12-6-2 CHA) finished second in the league with 26 points. Emma Nuutinen leads a balanced scoring attack with 27 points on 15 goals and 12 assists. Sarah McDonnell is 11-3-1 in net with a 2.17 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.
 
Syracuse (10-21-3, 10-8-2 CHA) had 22 points in league play to earn the No. 3 seed. Allie Munroe leads the Orange in scoring with 24 points on four goals and 20 assists, while Emma Polaski has a team-best 11 goals. Maddi Welch is 7-13-2 in net with a 3.25 goals against average and an .873 save percentage.
 
Lindenwood (7-21-4, 3-14-3 CHA) finished sixth in the CHA standings. Nicole Guagliardo leads Lindenwood in scoring with 22 points on 10 goals and 12 assists. Sophie Wolf is 4-15-3 in net with a 2.82 goals against average and an .899 save percentage.
 
RIT lost all four meetings against top-seed Robert Morris, went 1-3 versus Mercyhurst, 3-0-1 against Syracuse and 3-1 versus Lindenwood.
 
Video and live stats will available for all games. All RIT games will be broadcast on WITR 89.7 FM.
 
The opening first round matchup features No. 3 seed Syracuse and sixth-seeded Lindenwood at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Thursday's semifinal games will be played at 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Robert Morris will play the lowest seeded first round winner, while Mercyhurst will take on the highest seeded first round victor.
 
2018-19 CHA Tournament Seedings
1) Robert Morris – Roster – Schedule – Statistics
2) Mercyhurst – Roster – Schedule – Statistics
3) Syracuse – Roster – Schedule – Statistics
4) Penn State – Roster – Schedule – Statistics
5) RIT – Roster – Schedule – Statistics
6) Lindenwood – Roster – Schedule – Statistics