Saturday, September 15, 2018

CHA storylines: Robert Morris University


With the season approaching I am sharing some broad College Hockey America (CHA) storylines, as I see them. I will tackle one team per post, in order of regular season standings from 2017-2018.

In 2018-2019 regular season play, I think any of Mercyhurst, Penn State, Robert Morris or Syracuse could win the regular season, but I don’t care to project beyond that.

College Hockey America is one of four Division I NCAA women’s hockey conferences. It was created in 2002 (same year Hockey East) and is home to teams in Western NY, Pa, and Missouri. At six teams, the CHA has the smallest membership of any conference. Current membership includes Lindenwood University, Mercyhurst University, Penn State University, Robert Morris University, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Syracuse University.

For reference, I’ve posted the CHA standings for the past seven years, below. Look how close the race between first and second is, for the past three years (click to enlarge):


 On to the storylines.

Robert Morris University Colonials
Location: Moon Township, PA (Pittsburgh suburb)

Joined the CHA: 2005

Coaching Staff: Paul Colontino, Logan Bittle, Chelsea Walkland

2017-2018 Record: 21-8-4 (CHA 14-3-3, 1st place regular season, 5-3 loss to Mercyhurst in CHA final)

2018-2019 non-conference opponents: St. Lawrence, Clarkson, RPI, Colgate, Minnesota State, Cornell, Minnesota.

The Colonials are coached by Paul Colontino, who has led the team since 2011. He began coaching women’s hockey in 2000 as a Mercyhurst graduate assistant, then spent time with the North Dakota program before returning to Mercyhurst as an associate head coach, and ultimately getting the RMU head coach job.

Although the era of current CHA membership began in 2012-2013, I go as far back as Colontino’s first year at RMU when considering this era of CHA results. That was a significant year because the Colonials beat Mercyhurst in the CHA Conference Tournament final to win the program’s first ever Conference Tournament Championship. It also happened to be the first time Mercyhurst had ever not won the CHA Conference Tournament, so it was a big deal in the CHA, and a big deal for a first year head coach. RMU defeating Mercyhurst was a taste of what was to come. Years later, the Mercyhurst RMU rivalry is one of the best in women’s college hockey as evidenced this season when both series were splits, and the CHA final ended up featuring RMU and Mercyhurst, yet again.

RMU has had good and bad years since winning that first Conference Tournament Championship, its worst finish being fourth place finishes in conference play, and its best finishes being the past two years with two regular season championships, and winning the conference tournament in 2017.

Although the Colonials didn’t win the CHA tournament this year, their most impressive feat to me was that they didn’t have a single bad loss on their record. Hockey fans will point out that the Colonials played a weak schedule, with only 5 games against teams ranked in the top ten. This is true, but firstly RMU went 1-3-1 in those games against Colgate and OSU (not good, not terrible considering the opponents) and secondly, I don’t think people give enough credit to the consistency that is demonstrated in never having a bad loss.

The Colonials had 8 losses last year – three to OSU (2nd place in the WCHA), three to Mercyhurst, one to Syracuse, and one to Maine (3rd place in Hockey East). None of those teams swept RMU; RMU got at least one win against each of those teams too. The Colonials had three ties against PSU (we’ll get to that when we talk about PSU), and one tie against Colgate (National Runner Up). PSU and Syracuse are the only teams in that group that had losing records.  

The polls voters respected RMU’s body of work enough that RMU spent almost the entire season ranked in the top ten, even after Mercyhurst defeated them in the CHA playoffs. It was only after Mercyhurst’s NCAA Tournament showing that pollsters swapped RMU out of that number 10 spot, for Mercyhurst.

Hockeywise, this year’s non conference schedule is tougher than last year, so we’ll get a better understanding of just how good the Colonials are, whether that’s an 8-10th place top ten team, or an emerging powerhouse that can beat the best in the nation.

Why RMU is fun to cheer for: This team played with a certain cockiness and swagger last year, from the way they move the puck on offense, to their goal celebrations to their twitter account. All are entertaining. 

There is nothing cocky about this particular anecdote, but somewhere out there on the internet is a tweet of Brittany Howard’s overtime goal vs Ohio State, followed by the individual and team celebration. Behind the mass of RMU bodies hugging you see the two Ohio State players that were in the penalty box sadly glide across the ice to the now emptying OSU bench. The juxtaposition is perfection, and it is this sort of thing plus video highlights and game recaps on their team site that you can expect from the RMU social media team. In a world where coverage isn’t easy to come by, RMU is worth following just for that.

The Colonials offense finished third in the nation, averaging 3.7 goals per game, behind only Clarkson and Boston College, something not usually expected from a CHA squad. They are involved with Pittsburgh girls hockey, sponsoring a “little sister” initiative that matches RMU Colonials with young hockey players in the community. Lastly, as far as in game atmosphere, the Colonials play in a small rink with seats that make you feel like you’re right on top of the action and on occasion they bust out the band to build up the hype. Other than the fact that they are a conference foe, this is a fun team for any hockey fan to cheer for.

What they’re trying to prove this year: That they are more than just Brittany Howard. The Colonials have been a member of the CHA since 2005, and are proud of their history and the players who’ve worn their jersey. The most known Colonial is probably US Olympian and Isobel Cup winner Brianne McLaughlin, but it wasn’t until Brittany Howard that the Colonials gained sustained national recognition and earned a bit of hype. Howard’s fantastic and the program is clearly proud of her, but this year they seek to remind us that the rest of the team is pretty good too. The top ten CHA point earners last year included five Colonials, three of who are returning – Kirsten Welsh and Maggie Lague on defense, and Jaycee Gebhard on forward.

Why they’ll win the CHA regular season: This team scored 122 goals last year, 28 more than second place Mercyhurst. Even with Howard gone, they’ve got offensive punch.

Why they won’t: There’s not a ton of separation in the league, and in ultra-competitive league play even the most torrid offense can be stifled. The Colonials struggled in particular with PSU in the regular season, a fourth place CHA team they tied three times.

Next up, the Mercyhurst Lakers. If you made it this far, you might enjoy this little highlight reel here. This is all Howard; we're going to see a different star or stars in the year ahead:


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