No. 4/4 QU Women's Ice Hockey Hosts Robert Morris in Non-Conference Weekend Series

Friday, January 15

Hamden, Conn.

5:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Robert Morris University

No. 4/4 QU Women's Ice Hockey Hosts Robert Morris in Non-Conference Weekend Series

1/13/2016 4:56:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey

By: QU Sports Information

No. 4/4 Quinnipiac University Bobcats (17-1-4, 10-1-3 ECAC Hockey) vs.
Robert Morris University Colonials (12-6-4, 4-3-3 CHA)
Date: Jan. 15, 2016
Time: 5 P.M.
Location: High Point Solutions Arena - Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series vs. Robert Morris: 10-1-1
Last Meeting: W, 3-0 (Jan. 17, 2015 in Moon Township, Pa..)

No. 4/4 Quinnipiac University Bobcats (17-1-4, 10-1-3 ECAC Hockey) vs.
Robert Morris University Colonials (12-6-4, 4-3-3 CHA)
Date: Jan. 16, 2016
Time: 2 P.M.
Location: High Point Solutions Arena - Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series vs. Robert Morris: 10-1-1
Last Meeting: W, 3-0 (Jan. 17, 2015 in Moon Township, Pa.)

Follow the Bobcats:
FREE Live Video vs. Robert Morris (Jan. 15 )
FREE Live Video vs. Robert Morris (Jan. 16)
Live Stats vs. Robert Morris (Jan. 15-16)
Twitter: @QU_WIH

Game Notes
Quinnipiac | Robert Morris

Back on Home Ice
The nationally-ranked No. 4/4 Quinnipiac women's ice hockey team returns to the High Point Solutions Arena for its first non-conference weekend in nearly two months as the Robert Morris Colonials come to town for a series beginning on Friday, Jan. 15 at 5 P.M. and wrapping up on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 2 P.M.

All-Time Against Robert Morris
Quinnipiac and Robert Morris have faced each other 12 times in program history, and the Bobcats have held the series advantage in commanding fashion, boasting a 12-1-1 record against the Colonials. The only loss and tie for the Bobcats against the Colonials came in Robert Morris' last trip to Hamden in 2014 when the two teams skated to a 1-1 tie in the opener before Robert Morris took the second game, 5-1. Last season, the Bobcats shipped out to Moon Township and came away with a weekend sweep, winning the first game 3-2 on Taryn Baumgardt's overtime game-winner before shutting out the Colonials in the final game of the series, 3-0. That shutout was the Bobcats' first ever shutout of the Colonials in their 12 meetings.

Scouting the Colonials
Robert Morris has enjoyed a great season through their first 22 games, posting a 12-6-4 record overall and 4-3-3 record in the CHA, just one point shy of Syracuse for second place and three points back of Mercyhurst for first place. The Colonials are riding a five-game unbeaten streak and three-game winning streak heading into the weekend after sweeping Providence last weekend in Moon Township. Against common opponents of the Bobcats, the Colonials are 4-3-1 including a sweep of Rensselaer and Maine, a pair of losses to Colgate and a loss and a tie against Mercyhurst. Brittany Howards leads a solid offensive attack by the Colonials with 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points, one 10 players on the Colonials to record at least 10 points. Howard leads the CHA in assists and points while her 11 goals are second in the conference. Robert Morris also has the CHA's top scoring defenseman in Mikaela Lowater with nine goals and 19 points, good for second on the team. Lowater is joined by fellow defenseman Kirsten Welsh (4-11-15) and Maggie Lague (1-12-13) as the top three scoring defenseman in the conference as Lague leads the CHA in assists. Despite being fifth on the team in points with 15, Amber Rennie is second on the team with 10 goals on the season. Forwards Mackenzie Johnston (6-11-17) and Sarah Quaranta (4-13-17) are tied for third on the team in points while Ashley Vesci's eight goals are the third most goals on the team. Junior goaltender Jessica Dodds has seen the vast majority of time between the pipes, starting all but one game on her way to a 12-5-3 record and four shutouts. Dodds has a 1.97 GAA and .932 save percentage with 560 saves as she sees 28.62 shots per game. Special teams have been a big strength of the Colonials with 27 power play goals in 102 chances good for 26.5 percent while the penalty kill has killed off 91.8 percent of penalties (90 for 98).

Multimedia
Both games will be streamed live for free by the Quinnipiac Bobcats in their first home games since the first weekend of the 2016 calendar year. Each game can be accessed by going to the Bobcats' schedule page or to the All-Access Page at QuinnipiacBobcats.com. Free live stats will also be available for both games by going to QuinnipiacBobcats.com and clicking on the live stats link in the schedule. Fans can also follow the action on Twitter all season long by following the team's Twitter account, @QU_WIH.

Bobcats in the Polls
For the 14th consecutive week this season, the Quinnipiac women's ice hockey team was ranked in the top 10 of both the USCHO.com Division I Women's Poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll, ranking fourth for a program record fifth consecutive week. The Bobcats have been ranked in the top 10 of the USCHO.com Poll for 59 consecutive weeks. This week, Quinnipiac is one of two schools in the country to have both its men's and women's ice hockey teams ranked in the top five of both polls, joined by Boston College who's men's team is ranked No. 4 in each poll and the women's team is No. 1.

Bobcats in the Pairwise
The Bobcats continued to hang out as one of the top teams in the country as they maintained the No. 4 spot in the PairWise Rankings, trailing only Boston College, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The Bobcats are the highest ranked ECAC Hockey team followed by Clarkson (No. 5), Princeton (No. 8), Harvard (No. 9), Colgate (T-No. 10), Cornell (No. 12), and St. Lawrence (No. 15). The USCHO.com Pairwise Ranking attempts to mimic the method used by the NCAA Selection Committee to determine participants for the NCAA Division I women's hockey tournament.

Silver Streak
Despite the program's record 10-game winning streak coming to an end with a scoreless tie at Rensselaer, the Bobcats extended their unbeaten streak to 15 games in the win, the second longest unbeaten streak in the country and in program history. This season, only Boston College has a longer streak as the Eagles have won 21 consecutive games to start the season. In program history, last season the Bobcats opened up the season with a 16-game unbeaten streak. With a win or tie in the first game against Robert Morris, the Bobcats would tie their program record, just the latest in a string of accomplishments on the young season.

Gold Star
Assistant Coach Amanda Mazzotta returns to the team this weekend fresh off a gold medal victory with the Canadian National Development Team at the Nations Cup in Fussen, Germany. Mazzotta serves as the goaltending coach of the team she once played for, earning her third gold medal and first as a coach at the tournament. Canada went a perfect 3-0 in the tournament, winning preliminary games against Sweden in overtime and Russia before knocking off Finland in overtime for the gold medal. Canada has now won 11 of the 14 Nations Cup's since first competing in the tournament in 2003.

Defense Against the Goal Lights
The Bobcats come into the weekend as one of the best defensive teams in the country, as they are second in the nation allowing 0.91 goals per game. The Bobcats 20 goals allowed rank third; however, Harvard is second with 19 goals allowed in seven fewer games than Quinnipiac. The Bobcats are also third in the country in shots on goal allowed per game at 17.59 and shots on goal allowed with 387, trailing only Wisconsin and Minnesota.

One Direction
Continuing with the impressive defense statistics, the Bobcats have not allowed more than one goal in a game since Nov. 14 at Princeton, holding opponents to one or zero goals in 11 straight games. In that span, the Bobcats have recorded eight shutouts and allowed just three total goals. The past five games have been particularly impressive for the Bobcats, allowing just one goal coming in a 5-1 win over Brown. This season, the Bobcats have allowed two more goals in just four games, going 2-1-1 in those games.

Leading the Way
The Bobcats have not been a team to relinquish leads this season as they are 10-0-1 when leading after the first period and 14-0-1 when leading after the second period. The Bobcats lone tie in those situations came in the first game of the season when the Mercyhurst Lakers came from behind 3-1 to tie the game in the opening contest of the 2015-16 season.

Put it on the Board….Yes!
The Bobcats have scored a lot in grand fashion this season, but when they score first the team is 14-0-2 to have a commanding control through the season. Even more impressive, the Bobcats have had nine games with four or more goals scored leading to a 9-0-0 record and they are 7-0-0 when winning by four or more goals.

All in a Name
For the second time this season, and the second time in a matter of three games, the Bobcats had all three of the Nicole's on their roster net a goal in a game at Union on Jan. 9. Nicole Brown scored the game-winning goal in the game before Nicole Connery and Nicole Kosta scored the next two goals. Previously, the trio accomplished this feat on Dec. 11 against New Hampshire for the first time in their careers.

The One Who Recorded Back-to-Back Shutouts
Sydney Rossman has been an anchor all season for the Bobcats as she kept up her performance against Rensselaer and Union with two more shutouts to her name. Rossman is now tied with Wisconsin's Ann-Renee Desbiens for the most shutouts in the country with 10, and is second with 17 wins, both of which lead ECAC Hockey. Even more impressive, Rossman lowered her GAA to 0.89, the lowest in ECAC Hockey and second lowest in the country. In conference play, Rossman leads all goaltenders with 10 wins, seven shutouts, and 0.77 GAA and .956 save percentage.

Didn't Skip a Beat
Rossman's impressive first season as the starter are nearly identical to Chelsea Laden's record breaking season just a year ago. Through 22 games for Quinnipiac last season, Laden had 18 wins, 11 shutouts, a 0.76 GAA and a .946 GAA. Rossman currently has just one fewer win, one fewer shutout, only four more goals allowed and a slightly higher GAA. Rossman has seen more shots than Laden did, making 367 saves on 387 shots compared to Laden's 282 saves on 298 shots last season.

Brownie Points
With her fourth two-point game of the season, Nicole Brown continues to shine for the Bobcats in 2015-16. Brown netted one goal and one assist on Saturday to give her four goals and eight assists for 12 points on the season. Brown is just two goals and three points away from tying her career-highs in those categories through just 22 games this season. The Bobcats' forward has now recorded seven two-point games in her career.

Con-sumer Reports
Nicole Connery picked up her third multiple-point game in the last five games Saturday afternoon at Union to continue her great senior season. Connery became the fourth Bobcat of the season to record 20 points with seven goals and 13 assists. One more assist for Connery would tie her single-season career-high of 14 which she set last season as a junior. Connery's 13 assists are tied for third on the team with freshman Melissa Samoskevich. In her career, Connery has 36 goals scored, tied with Taylar Cianfarano, Gillian Gallagher and Vicky Graham for sixth all-time in program history.

Tam
Kristen Tamberg became the latest Quinnipiac women's ice hockey player to reach double-digit points with yet another two-assist game to give her one goal and 10 assists for 11 points on the season. 2015-16 is Tamberg's second straight season with 10 or more assists and 10 or more assists after notching 13 assists for 13 points last season. Tamberg is tied with Cydney Roesler for the most points by a Quinnipiac defenseman while her 10 assists are fifth on the team. She is tied for fifth in the league among defenseman with her 10 assists while her 11 points are tied for eighth. In conference play, Tamberg is tied for second in the conference with eight assists and fourth with nine points.

A Big Help
Tamberg wasn't the only Bobcat to tally two assists on Saturday as she was joined by Melissa Samoskevich who tallied her sixth multiple-point game as a freshman and third multiple-assist game in her young career. Samoskevich's two assists keeps her in second on the team with 23 points while her 10 goals are second on the team and 13 assists are tied for third. Samoskevich is fifth in ECAC Hockey with 23 points and second among all league freshman in goals, assists and points. In conference play, Samoskevich is second in all categories among freshman with seven goals and five assists for 12 points.

How May I Assist You?
Emma Woods has been on a bit of a tear as of late to vault her into first on the team and second in ECAC Hockey with 17 assists while her 22 points rank sixth in the league after one helper against Union on Saturday. Woods has six assists in her last five games and is average one assist per game over the last nine games. 17 assists are a new career-high for Woods while her 22 points are just three shy of tying her career-high set during her freshman season in 2013-14. Woods leads all ECAC Hockey skaters with 12 assists in conference play while her 14 points are tied for third in league play.

"Kost" Accounting
It was another day and another point for Nicole Kosta with her second period goal against the Dutchwomen as she has six points over the last five games for the Bobcats to give her eight goals and seven assists for 15 points. As Kosta continues to take over in her senior season, the Bobcat has now record 113 points in her career, good for second in program history. With 37 career goals, Kosta is now in sole possession of fifth in program history.

Can't Stop, Won't Stop
Taylar Cianfarano continues to rewrite the record books are Quinnipiac just 58 games into her athletic career as the Bobcats' sophomore scored her 19^th goal of the season on Saturday, breaking Kelly Babstock's record for goals by a sophomore with 18 in the 2011-12 season. Cianfarano's 19 goals are tied with Babstock for the fourth-most in a season in program history while her 33 points are tied with Kosta's 2011-12 season for the seventh most in a single season. Cianfarano needs seven more points to tie Babstock's 40 points from 2011-12 for the most by a sophomore in program history.

At the Top
Cianfarano's dynamic numbers have her among the best in ECAC Hockey this season as her 19 goals are the most in the conference and her 33 points are second to Clarkson's Cayley Mercer. Nationally, Cianfarano is fifth in goals and ninth in points. In conference play, Cianfarano has been even better, scoring 12 goals in 13 games while recording 18 points, second only to Princeton freshman Karlie Lund. Cianfarano is also one of just two skaters to notch a hat trick in conference play.

It's Lit
Meghan Turner got back in the scoring action for the Bobcats with her fifth goal of the season, tying her single-season career-high she set during her freshman year. Saturday's goal for Turner was her first goal since Nov. 13 when she scored the only goal in a 1-1 tie against Princeton. Turner's goal give the Bobcats six different players with at least five goals this season, as she joins the elite company of Cianfarano, Samoskevich, Connery, Kosta and Woods.

First of the Year
Shannon Cherpak has stepped into the starting line up on occasion this season an made a great impact, and was finally rewarded on Saturday with her first assist of the season. Cherpak became the 19^th of the 20 skaters to play this season to record a point after firing a shot on net that was tipped in by Connery for the second goal of the game in the 5-0 win. Last season, Cherpak tallied two assists to give her three in her career.

Clean Play
Lindsey West picked up another assist for the Bobcats to give her five points on the season on two goals and three assists after assisting Kosta's goal against Union. West has turned up the scoring pace, picking up one point in every other game over the last five with two goals and one assist. West had a particularly large impact this weekend for the Bobcats, tying for the team-lead in shots on goal with 10 between the two games at Rensselaer and Union. Fellow defenseman Emma Greco and Cianfarano were the only other Bobcats to record 10 shots on goal over the weekend.