No. 4 Mercyhurst (14-1-1, 6-0-0 CHA) at Robert Morris (7-3-2, 3-1-0)
When: Today, 7 p.m.; Saturday, 3 p.m.
Where: RMU Island Sports Center, Moon Township
On the air: www.americaonesports.com (live stream), www.rmucolonials.com (live audio and statistics)
What to expect: Mercyhurst faces College Hockey America rival Robert Morris for the first time since losing to the Colonials in the CHA Tournament championship game this past March. That defeat snapped the Lakers’ nine-year stranglehold on the CHA title and 11-year streak of conference titles dating back to the 2000-01 season, when they played in the Great Lakes Women’s Hockey Association. … Mercyhurst has a nine-game winning streak by a combined 47-7 score since its only loss of the season, 3-0 to nationally ranked Clarkson Oct. 19. … The Lakers have allowed one goal or fewer in their last eight games. They had a shutout streak snapped at 303 minutes, 4 seconds with a first-period goal in a 7-1 win against Penn State last Saturday. … RMU has surrendered two goals or fewer in nine of 12 games. … Mercyhurst (fourth at 1.38 goals against per game) and RMU (10th at 2.17) rank among the top 10 scoring defenses in NCAA Division I. … Lakers senior G Stephanie Ciampa, who had a personal shutout streak end at 182 minutes, 10 seconds in that game, has started the season with a 9-0-0 record. … The Lakers complete the first half of the season this weekend. They begin the second half Jan. 3 with an exhibition game against the Buffalo Bison at MIC. The regular season resumes Jan. 11 at home against Syracuse. … The Colonials, who are coached by former Mercyhurst assistant Paul Colontino, had a seven-game unbeaten streak (5-0-2) snapped with a 4-3 loss to Syracuse last Saturday. … RMU returns home after completing a 10-game road trip with a 6-2-2 record. The Colonials play the next eight games at home. … Former Mercyhurst G Ashley Harper, a 2011 graduate, is a volunteer assistant coach for the Colonials.

- Victor Fernandes

PITTSBURGH – The Mercyhurst women’s hockey team had two long streaks end Saturday.

Could another long streak end today?

The Lakers’ nine-year stranglehold on the College Hockey America Tournament championship ended Saturday with a 3-2 title-game loss to host Robert Morris in front of 584 fans at Island Sports Center.

The top-seeded and sixth-ranked Lakers’ defeat also snapped their 11-year streak of conference titles that dated back to the 2000-01 season, when they played in the Great Lakes Women’s Hockey Association.

Now the Lakers’ hopes for an eighth straight NCAA Tournament berth rests in the hands of the Division I selection committee. The eight-team field is unveiled today at 6:30 p.m. at NCAA.com. But after Saturday’s game, the Lakers’ thoughts were on how they lost to the second-seeded Colonials (19-9-4).

Mercyhurst (23-7-3) outshot RMU 47-15 and totaled 118 overall shots. But Colonials goaltender Kristen DiCiocco made 45 saves while her teammates blocked 50 shots. Twenty-one shots missed the net.

“What are you going to do?” Lakers coach Michael Sisti said of his team’s statistical dominance.

RMU recorded seven of their 15 shots while building a 2-0 first-period lead. Katelyn Scott scored her first goal of the season 3 minutes, 41 seconds into the game. Then Thea Imbrogno scored at the 11:39 mark.

Mercyhurst sliced its deficit in half on Jess Jones’ power-play goal with 3:54 left in the second. But RMU regained a two-goal lead at 3-1 on Brianna Delaney’s goal with 28 seconds left in the period.

Bailey Bram scored 27^th goal of the season with six seconds left for the Lakers. But they weren’t able to score the equalizer to force overtime. Instead, the Colonials and coach Paul Colontino, a former student, player and coach at Mercyhurst, secured the first conference title in the program’s seven-year history.

Sophomore Christine Bestland and senior Pamela Zgoda were named to the all-tournament team.

The CHA champion doesn’t receive an automatic bid to the national playoffs, because NCAA rules require a minimum of six teams in a conference. CHA has four teams, including Niagara and Syracuse.

However, Sisti said he believes his Lakers “have clearly done enough” to earn a berth. He pointed to their 23 wins, CHA regular-season championship and two-game sweeps of St. Lawrence and Providence.

No. 10 St. Lawrence (24-9-4) won the ECAC Hockey title with a 3-1 win Saturday against No. 3 Cornell (29-4-0). Providence (16-16-4) faces Boston University today for the Hockey East Association title.

Mercyhurst also split two games at fourth-ranked Boston College (23-9-3) and lost two of three against Cornell. Sisti said Wisconsin (31-4-2), which lost in the semifinals of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs on Friday, and Cornell will earn berths despite not winning their conference titles.

Sisti figures Saturday’s loss cost his team a top-four national seed and home-ice advantage in next weekend’s NCAA quarterfinals. Yet he said, “I’d like to think we’re going to be playing next week. I think we deserve (a berth). What’s tough now is that it’s up to the committee.”

Mercyhurst senior forward Kelley Steadman headlined the annual College Hockey America Tournament banquet by being unanimously named player of the year.

She led the conference with 15 goals, six power-play goals and two short-handed goals. She also finished with 23 points in 12 CHA games.

Freshman Molly Byrne was named the best defenseman and selected to the All-CHA first team and All-Rookie Team. She led all CHA defensemen with 14 points and has 33 points overall.

Senior forward Bailey Bram, senior defenseman Jill Szandzik and sophomore forward Christine Bestland also were named to the first team. Senior forward Jess Jones was named to the second team as well as a co-recipient of the Best Defensive Award. Robert Morris’ Paul Colontino, a former student, player and coach at Mercyhurst, was named coach of the year.

Delaney Collins, a member of Canada’s National Women’s Team since 1999, has been hired as the assistant coach for the Mercyhurst College women’s hockey team, as announced by Mercyhurst Director of Athletics Joe Kimball earlier today.

She will take over the spot vacated by Louis Goulet, who was promoted to associate head coach last month. The associate position was previously held by Paul Colontino, who is now the head coach at conference-rival Robert Morris. With the hiring at Mercyhurst, Collins is also taking this time to announce her retirement from Hockey Canada.

“I will always be thankful for the memories I have from my years with Team Canada, and for the friends I have made,” said Collins in a statement to Hockey Canada. “Thank you to my teammates, coaches, and everyone who has supported me over the years. I look forward to the next stage of my career, to be able to teach the game as a coach using the experience I have gained in a Team Canada jersey.”

“I am very excited about the prospect of coaching the Lakers and I look forward to sharing my experiences with Team Canada to grow and develop young hockey players,” continued Collins. “I am grateful for the opportunity to work in a hockey program of this magnitude and to express my passion for the game.”

A member of Canada’s National Women’s Team since 1999, Collins has played in five International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) championships, winning gold in 2000, 2004, and 2007; and silver in 2005 and 2008. She also appeared in six 3 Nations/4 Nations Cups from 2000-2007. In March of this year, she was invited to the Canadian National Women’s Team selection camp to determine the final roster for the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championships. All told, Collins played 95 games in a Team Canada jersey and sits among the top ten in scoring by a defenseman, recording 39 points (eight goals, 31 assists).

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome Delaney into our program,” said Mercyhurst head coach Michael Sisti, who has won 313 games since starting the program in 1999. “She comes from a great hockey family and has been an elite athlete playing at the highest levels of women’s hockey for over a decade. Her pride and competitiveness fits perfect with the standards of our program.”

“It was awesome to see her excitement to take on the challenges of this position,” Sisti continued. “Our program was built by our past and present player’s passion, commitment, pride, and the constant pursuit of excellence. Delaney has all these intangibles and tons of experience playing and training with some of the best players in the world.”

A native of Pilot Mound, Manitoba, Collins was a member of the Calgary Oval X-Treme in the Western Women’s Hockey League (WWHL) from 2005-2009, having led the team to the WWHL Championship in 2007. She averaged nearly a point-per-game for Calgary, scoring 48 points (10 goals, 38 assists) as a defenseman in 52 games. She also added five points in six career playoff games, scoring a goal and two assists in Calgary’s 2007 Championship season.

Prior to that, Collins played two seasons (2003-2005) at the University of Alberta, leading the Pandas to the 2004 CIS Championship. She was named an All-Canada West and CIS First-Team All-Canadian both seasons. Additionally, she was a member of the 2005 CIS National Championship All-Star Team. During her tenure, the Pandas went 63-1-0, and a perfect 40-0-0 in conference play. Collins made an immediate impact in her first season, scoring 36 points in 13 games. After winning the title on March 14, 2004, Collins scored three goals in the World Championship for Team Canada, leading them to gold with a 2-0 win over Team USA.

Collins also won gold medals at the 2001, 2003, and 2007 Esso Women’s National Championships as a member of Team Alberta. She also won bronze in 2000. In 1998, Collins played for Concordia University, winning the CIAU Championship and she was named to the CIAU All-Canadian Team. Also in 1998, she was a member of Canada’s gold-medal winning National Women’s Under-22 Team at the Christmas Cup. Collins started her career, playing in the Western Shield as a member of the Notre Dame Hounds.

In 2007, Collins was named the Manitoba Female Athlete of the Year.

“It is an honor for me to be named the assistant coach with the Mercyhurst College women’s hockey program,” added Collins. “They have a winning tradition and I am looking forward to working with coach Sisti and the entire team.”

“Delaney has dedicated the last 12 years of her life to Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Women’s Team, and we are sad to see her step away from the international game,” said Kalli Quinn in a release from Hockey Canada. Quinn serves as the director of female national teams for Hockey Canada. “We wish her the best of luck with the next step in her career and look forward to working with her in the future to continue to grow the women’s game.”

- From Mercyhurst College news release

Louis Goulet, an assistant coach with the Mercyhurst College women’s hockey team for the past three years, has been promoted to associate head coach with the Lakers. He replaces Paul Colontino, who resigned last month to become women’s head coach at College Hockey America rival Robert Morris.

Goulet, a native of Kapuskasing, Ontario, has helped the Lakers reach two NCAA Division I Frozen Fours and the 2009 national championship game. “Louis is a great individual who is well-deserving of this position,” coach Michael Sisti said in a statement. “We always try to bring the best out in our student-athletes and strive for excellence. He has been a great addition to our program.”

Paul Colontino, associate head coach of the Mercyhurst College women’s hockey team, has announced his resignation to become the head coach of the women’s hockey team at Robert Morris University, a College Hockey America affiliate located in Moon Township.

Colontino becomes the third head coach in the history of the RMU women’s ice hockey program after the departure of Nate Handrahan, who accepted the same position at The Ohio State University earlier this month.

“Good coaches are hard to come by,” said Mercyhurst Director of Athletics Joe Kimball. “This is a great opportunity for Paul. He has been a valuable asset and has played a major role in the success of our women’s hockey team. We wish him nothing but the best in this new endeavor.”

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