For the second straight season, the RIT women’s hockey team will travel to Mercyhurst University for the College Hockey America Semifinals. On Friday, RIT, seeded third, will face No. 2 seed Robert Morris at 7:30 p.m. in one semifinal. Top-seed Mercyhurst will host No. 4 Syracuse in the first semifinal at 4 p.m. The two winners will meet in the championship game on Saturday at 3 p.m.
RIT (18-15-5) enters its final weekend of 2013-14 season riding a Division I team record five-game winning streak after sweeping Penn State in the best-of-three CHA First Round Series at Ritter Arena last weekend by scores of 3-2 and 3-0. Celeste Brown (Great Falls, MT/National Sports Academy), the CHA Player of the Week, scored 10:15 into overtime on Friday, while CHA co-Goaltender of the Week Ali Binnington (Oakville, Ontario/Mississauga Chiefs) stopped all 31 shots she faced for her sixth shut out of the season on Saturday.
Binnington has stopped 147-of-151 shots during RIT’s five-game winning streak (.974 save percentage). Overall, she is 14-9-2 with a 1.82 goals against average and .940 save percentage to go along with six shutouts this season and 14 for her RIT career, second most in school history. Binnington is sixth nationally in save percentage, tied for fifth in shutouts, and has the 11th best goals against average in Division I.
Junior Marissa Maugeri (Ajax, Ontario/Durham West Lightning) leads the team in scoring with 27 points on nine goals and 18 assists, while senior Erin Zach (Elmira, Ontario/Cambridge Fury) is second with 24 points on seven goals and 17 assists. SeniorKourtney Kunichika (Fullerton, CA/LA Selects) has 22 points this season and is fifth all-time in scoring at RIT with 134 career points on 53 goals and 81 assists. She is two points shy of fourth and four away from third. Freshman Mackenzie Stone (Kars, Ontario/South Carleton) has five goals this season, all of which are game-winning tallies.
RIT is 19-12 all-time in postseason contests at the Division I and III levels, since women’s hockey was recognized as a NCAA Championship sport in 2001. Since Scott McDonald took over as head coach in 2006, RIT is 15-7 in the postseason, including a 15-3 mark at Ritter Arena. The Tigers are 14-1 at home in the postseason over the last four seasons, including a 5-0 mark en route to winning the 2012 NCAA Division III National Championship. Last season, the Tigers advanced to the CHA Semifinals, defeating Penn State in a two-game sweep in the first round, both by one-goal outcomes, before falling to Syracuse in overtime of the semifinals.
Robert Morris (24-7-3), the No. 10 team in Division I, enters the weekend having earned a bye into the semifinals. Last time out, the Colonials wrapped up the regular season by sweeping Penn State on Feb. 21-22 by scores of 5-2 and 4-0. Robert Morris is outscoring its opponents, 99-58 this season. Brittany Howard leads the team in scoring with 41 points on 17 goals and 24 assists, while Rebecca Vint has a team-best 23 goals and 40 points. In net, Jessica Dodds is 21-4-3 with a 1.58 goals against average and .935 save percentage.
Mercyhurst (22-7-4), ranked No. 8 nationally, enters the weekend also having earned a bye into the semifinals. The Lakers have won all but one CHA Championship and advanced to the NCAA Semifinals last season. Last time out, the Lakers wrapped up the regular season with a win and tie against Lindenwood on Feb. 21-22. Mercyhurst is riding a nine-game unbeaten streak (8-0-1) and is 15-2-2 since falling to the Tigers, 2-1 on Nov. 22. Mercyhurst is outscoring its opponents, 116-60 this season. Christine Bestland leads the team in scoring with 50 points on 20 goals and 30 assists, while Emily Janiga has 40 points on 15 goals and 25 assists. Five players have over 30 points this season. In net, Amanda Makela is 20-6-4 with a 1.85 goals against average and .927 save percentage.
Syracuse (20-13-3) advanced to the semifinals after easily dispatching Lindenwood University in a two-game sweep in the CHA First Round last weekend, winning by scores of 4-1 and 6-0. Syracuse is outscoring its opponents, 98-73 this season. Melissa Piacentini leads the Orange in scoring with 29 points on 17 goals and 12 assists, while Nicole Renault and Jessica Sibley are right behind with 28 and 26 points, respectively. In net, Jenesica Drinkwater is 16-6-1 with a 1.82 goals against average and .929 save percentage.
RIT is 1-3-0 this season against Robert Morris, 1-3-0 against Mercyhurst, and 3-1-0 against Syracuse. The wins over Mercyhurst and Robert Morris were the first two for the Tigers against ranked opponents in the DI era. RIT is guaranteed to finish with a winning record for the first time at the Division I level.
Both games will be available online at America One Network. Live stats are also available for each game.
Tickets are available one hour before puck drop at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Admission for adults will be $10 and students with a valid I.D. will be charged $5.
There will be a banquet on Thursday, March 7 at the Ambassador Banquet and Conference Center in Erie, Pa. Throughout the banquet, the four remaining CHA teams, Syracuse, Robert Morris, Mercyhurst and RIT will be recognized and honored for their achievements throughout the regular season. The banquet will be open to the public, at $36 a head and to contact Aaron Kemp ([email protected]/ 814-725-9390) for more information.
