Moon Township, Pa. - After a record-setting freshman campaign, Thea Imbrogno (Etobicoke, Ontario / Mississauga Jr. Chiefs) of the Robert Morris University women's hockey team became the first student-athlete in program history to win a major postseason College Hockey America (CHA) award as the league named Imbrogno the CHA Rookie of the Year at its annual banquet Thursday evening.
The rookie recognition was far from the only honor Imbrogno received as she was also the only freshman to earn 2011 all-conference honors as she was selected to the All-CHA Second Team. She becomes just the second freshman in the program's six-year history to be chosen to an all-league team, joining former Colonial standout and United States Olympian Brianne McLaughlin. Imbrogno's selection marks the seventh overall All-CHA award (First or Second Team) for a Colonial as the young RMU program has produced at least one all-conference honoree in every season of its existence.
Imbrogno also claimed All-CHA Rookie Team distinction, becoming the sixth RMU student-athlete to capture such acknowledgment.
The rookie of the year honor puts an ultimate cap on Imbrogno's record-setting season. She earned a program-record eight in-season awards, topping McLaughlin's former single-season mark. Imbrogno was especially dominating during the season's crucial closing stretch when she led RMU to a program-record unbeaten streak and won three of the last four CHA Rookie of the Week awards along with earning the CHA Rookie of the Month for February.
Imbrogno finished the regular season tied for the team lead with 28 points and ranked seventh nationally in points per game for rookies due in part to concluding the regular season riding a program-record nine-game point streak. She tallied 12 goals and tied for the tops on the team with 16 assists and broke the single-season school record for shots, finishing with 119, in the regular season.
Imbrogno's season was made even more impressive by her ability to produce at the biggest moments and in the most important games. She posted 11 points in RMU's 10 games against nationally-ranked opponents and also raised her play during CHA competition. She elevated her performance against league foes as she posted team-leading marks of 10 goals, 10 assists, 20 points and 72 shots in conference play.
The rookie showed she would be a force to reckon with right from the opening night when she became the first player in RMU history to factor into each of a team's first three goals of a season and registered the go-ahead goal in a 5-4 victory over nationally-ranked Providence.
Imbrogno provided three game-tying goals on the season and was a key figure in multiple Colonial comebacks in February. She assisted on the goal that began the rally and then put home the game-tying score herself all during the final 10 minutes of regulation Feb. 5 against Niagara before scoring both Colonial goals, including the game-tying one in the third period, to help RMU fight back and tie Syracuse Feb. 19. These performances helped Imbrogno notch a multi-point game in four of the final six contests of the regular season.
Robert Morris will seek to dethrone the league's top seed, No. 3/4 Mercyhurst, when it plays in the CHA Semifinals for the second consecutive season Friday, March 4. The contest, held at tournament host Syracuse, will take place at 4:00 p.m.
