Robert Morris Notes
CHA Tournament - Quarterfinals
No. 5 Robert Morris vs. No. 4 Wayne State
Thursday, March 4, 2010 - 3:00 p.m.
City Sports Center - Detroit, Mich.
Top Story - On Thursday, March 4 the Colonials will take on the Wayne State Warriors in the quarterfinal round of the CHA Tournament, which will mark the third straight year these two opponents have faced off in the tournament. The winner will take on the No. 1 seed Mercyhurst on Friday at 4:00 p.m. in the first semifinal contest of the day. No. 2 Niagara will take on No. 3 Syracuse on Friday in the second semifinal contest at 7:00 p.m. The Colonials and the Warriors already had a preview of what the contest will look like on Thursday as they competed against each other in the final week of the regular-season. Robert Morris took game one, 2-1, with junior Sara O'Malley scoring both goals for the Colonials and junior Daneca Butterfield chipping in 23 saves to earn the win. However, Wayne State triumphed in game two by a score of 4-1. Katrina Protopapas scored a goal just nine seconds into the start of the contest to gain the early lead. RMU's Kelsey Thomas tied things up at 17:33 in the first period, but the Warriors responded with a goal a minute later to take back the lead and then soared to the 4-1 finish.
Scouting the Wayne State Warriors - After topping the Colonials on February, 27, 2010 by a 4-1 score the Warriors ended a nine-game winless streak. In the victory four different Warriors contributed a goal. Julie Ingratta captured the game-winning goal in the contest and is third on the Warrior squad with six goals and nine assists for 15 points. Alyssa Baldin leads the team with 11 assists and 19 points and Katrina Protopapas is first with 13 goals and second with 16 overall goals.
Wayne State is headed by Jim Fetter, who is in his seventh season as the head coach of the Warriors. Throughout his first six years with the Warriors he has secured an overall record of 109-101-22.
2009 CHA Meeting - Last year on March 6, 2009 the Warriors and the Colonials faced off in the semifinal round of the CHA Tournament and played in the longest overtime in CHA Tournament history with the victory going to Wayne State, 4-3, after 15 minutes of overtime play. The Colonials gained the lead at 16:33 in the third period when sophomore Brianna Delaney captured a goal off an assist from Sara O'Malley. However, after pulling their goalie while on the power play, Wayne State tied things up 3-3 with 35 seconds left to play to force the overtime.
Under Pressure - At the end of the regular-season the Colonials have played in a total of 11 one-goal games with five of them coming in their last six games. Out of those contests the Colonials are 4-7-0. In their five most recent one-goal games the Colonials are 3-2.
End of the Year Success - In the first half of the CHA schedule the Colonials were 0-7-1, but when RMU faced all of their CHA foes for a second time they went 3-5-0.
Captain Pappas - Junior captain Whitney Pappas has proved her ability to lead this team in the 2009-10 season. She scored the Colonials first goal of the season against Minnesota Duluth on October 2 and assisted on RMU's second goal then next night against Duluth when the Colonials won 4-1. On October 9, she recorded the game-tying goal against No. 10 Boston to send the contest into overtime and she scored one goal and one assist in the series against St. Lawrence. On Feb. 12, the defenseman scored the game-winning goal in the Colonials' 1-0 win against Syracuse to earn RMU its first conference win of the season. This past weekend she assisted on one of RMU's goals against Wayne State.
Kelsey in the Klutch - Kelsey Thomas has scored a total of six goals this season, with two of them being in clutch situations. She has also contributed six assists so far this season. She scored her first goal against Maine 44 seconds into overtime to win the game for the Colonials 1-0. In RMU's game against Niagara, Thomas found the net with eight seconds left in the third period to knot the score 2-2 and force overtime. In RMU's series against Niagara she scored another game-tying goal against Niagara and also assisted on the game-winning goal.
Oh My O'Malley - Sara O'Malley continues to be my RMU's primary offensive threat. She currently leads the team with 18 goals and 30 points. She has scored at least one point in 20 games and has contributed eight multi point games. This past weekend she scored both Colonial goals in their 2-1 victory against Wayne State making her two points away from taking over the second-place spot in the RMU career point record book. With her two goals scored on Friday night, O'Malley tied an RMU single-season record for goals scored and she needs just one more game-winner to tie the first-place spot in the RMU career record books.
Colonials Against Nationally Ranked Teams - The Colonials have faced five nationally ranked opponents so far this season and have put on spectacular showings in every game. On November 6, the Colonials topped the No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers 3-1, which marked their second win over a nationally ranked opponent this season. They defeated No. 4 Minnesota Duluth, 4-1 on October 3, 2009. In addition, although falling to No. 10 Boston University on October 9 and No. 6 Wisconsin on Nov 7, they forced both teams into overtime. In three out of 10 losses to nationally ranked opponents the Colonials have only been defeated by one goal.
Power Prevention - Over the past two series the Colonials have playing resiliently on the penalty kill. Out of 32 total opponent opportunities, Robert Morris has allowed just three power play goal. They are ranked third in the league with a .838 penalty killing percentage and have allowed just 25 power play goals on 154 opportunities.
First and Foremost - When the Colonials score the first goal of the contest they will more than likely win the contest. Robert Morris is 9-4-0 when scoring the first goal of the contest. Nine of ten Colonial wins have been earned after scoring the first goal of the game.
The Delaney's Deliver - Sophomore Brianna Delaney currently leads the Colonials with 16 assists and has also contributed 13 goals, which gives her 29 points. She has scored at least one point in 19-of-30 games and has tallied seven multi-point games, including tallying two assists in RMU's 3-1 upset over No. 6 Wisconsin. She also scored an unassisted goal in RMU's 4-1 win over No.4 Minnesota Duluth.
Brianna's younger sister Cobina has also made her mark on the Colonial squad and leads all freshmen and is fourth overall with 10 helpers. In RMU's contests against Sacred Heart the rookie added four assists in both wins.
McLaughlin Grabs Olympic Silver - Former goalie Brianne McLaughlin concluded her 2010 Olympic Journey by earning a silver medal after Team USA fell to Canada in a hard fought 2-0 battle. McLaughlin is now the first Olympic Medalist ever to come through Robert Morris.