Pittsburgh, Pa. – In just nine seasons as a program, the
Robert Morris University women's hockey team has accomplished a lot.
Off the ice, the program has shined brightly with four College Hockey America (CHA) Student-Athletes of the Year since 2011-12 and the most selections on the conference's All-Academic Team in three of the past four seasons.
On the ice, it has won a CHA championship in 2012 and saw its first goaltender Brianne McLaughlin win two Olympic silver medals (2010, 2014) as a part of the U.S. women's national team.
However, as the program enters its 10th season of existence, there is one thing that is still missing from its résumé – a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Coming off a school record 24-win campaign in 2013-14, the Colonials look to mark NCAA Tournament off their checklist behind a senior class which won that aforementioned CHA title in its rookie season. RMU was denied a trip to the tournament then because CHA did not have an automatic bid.
That isn't the case in 2014-15, however, as the winner of the conference tourney will have a ticket waiting for them at the dance for the first time.
Fourth-year head coach
Paul Colontino says his team's senior leadership will be key if the Colonials want to win their second CHA title.
"They're the ones who have been through it in terms of on-ice stuff and the off-ice stuff," said Colontino. "Whether it's championships, playoffs, or just huge series, the leadership that you expect from the class as a whole is huge."
In terms of wins and losses, this senior class enters its final season as not only the most successful in program history, but it also stacks up favorably when factoring in the other Colonial winter sports teams. Its .630 winning percentage (58-32-10) is similar to the 2009-10 men's basketball senior class that won 68.2 percent of its games (90-42) and the 2008-09 women's basketball senior class that was victorious 64 percent of the time (80-45).
"You want those seniors to be a unified unit and to contribute in many different ways, because experience sometimes is everything," added Colontino.
Donning the C for RMU this season will be the program's all-time leading goal scorer,
Rebecca Vint. Vint has played with three different captains (
Paige Pietrangelo, Dayna Newsom,
Kristen Richards) in her collegiate career, all of which have helped with her captaincy.
"I've learned from past captains that being a leader off the ice is as important as on the ice," said Vint. "You should give 110 percent of effort in the classroom as you do for practices and games."
Senior defenseman
Erin Staniewski also remembers a piece of advice from those who graduated that she has preached to her teammates.
"They told us to be confident and trust our instincts on the ice, rather than being nervous and worrying," said Staniewski.
Part of off-the-ice leadership includes building a rapport with teammates, particularly the new ones. As a yearly tradition before the season begins, the team goes on a camping trip to get away from the rink for the day, which senior goaltender
Courtney Vinet says is beneficial for the future.
"The camping trip is important because it gets everyone involved and allows them to get to know each other, because we have quite a few freshmen coming in each year," said Vinet. "It brings us together as a team, which helps us on and off-the-ice."
Three years ago when assistant captains
Maddie Collias and
Katelyn Scott were freshmen, they didn't need the camping trip to learn about each other – they were arriving at RMU as life-long friends and club teammates with Belle Tire.
"It's an awesome experience playing with Katelyn," said Collias. "We've been playing together since we were 11 years old and we've been linemates throughout our college career, so it'll be great to finish off with someone I started with."
"It's been nice to have a comforting friend from home," added Scott, echoing her classmate. "We trained together through high school and pushed each other, and we are able to do the same thing here."
One of the senior seven,
Kelsey Gunn, originally started her career at Niagara University. Since she didn't experience championship glory with her teammates as a freshman, she's using it as a motivational factor this season.
"Hearing about how awesome it was and how everyone wants to get back there is my motivation," said Gunn. "I want everyone else to experience a championship and want to experience it myself, especially with it being my last year."
Katie Fergus is the lone senior Colonial that has played in all 100 games over the past three seasons. However, that doesn't stop her from cherishing every moment in RMU colors.
"Time goes by really fast so enjoy your time here," said Fergus.
Robert Morris begins the 2014-15 campaign this Saturday as it hosts the Bluewater Junior Hawks of the Provincial Women's Hockey League (PWHL) in an exhibition contest. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. from 84 Lumber Arena.
