Orange Ready for Robert Morris, Senior Weekend

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The end of the regular season is among us. Syracuse hosts Robert Morris for a pair of games this weekend (7 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday) at Tennity Ice Pavilion. The Orange (12-18-2, 10-6-2 CHA) will celebrate their seniors in a pregame ceremony on Saturday. A crucial four points are on the line, as a weekend sweep over the Colonials (18-10-4, 12-4-2 CHA) would mean a first-round bye in next week's College Hockey America (CHA) tournament. Parking and admission to all Orange ice hockey games are free, and the contests will be streamed live at Cuse.tv

Syracuse's eight seniors are: Amanda Bäckebo, Logan Hicks, Lindsay Eastwood, Kelli Rowswell, Savannah Rennie, Allie Olnowich, Anonda Hoppner and Ady Cohen.

Finishing Strong
The CHA tournament runs March 5-7 in Buffalo, N.Y. Syracuse is the defending champion, having taken down Lindenwood (4-1), Mercyhurst (4-3) and Robert Morris (6-2) in last year's tournament to win the first CHA title in program history.

Since 2015, the Orange have fared well in their final four games. Syracuse holds a 13-8-1 record in these contests over the past five seasons.

The Orange hold a 12-10 record in the CHA Tournament, scoring 64 goals while allowing 46. Syracuse's most frequent postseason foe is Mercyhurst. The two programs have met eight times in the tournament and the Lakers lead the postseason series 7-1.

CHA Standings
Team (points)......... CHA.............. Overall
Mercyhurst (27)....... 12-3-3........... 18-9-5
Robert Morris (26)... 12-4-2........... 18-10-4
Syracuse (22)........... 10-6-2........... 12-18-2
Penn State (17)........ 6-7-5............. 11-13-8
RIT (9)..................... 4-13-1........... 11-18-3
Lindenwood (7)....... 3-14-1........... 5-22-4

Last Time Out
Syracuse was swept by CHA-leader Mercyhurst last weekend. During Friday's matchup, Allie Olnowich and Jessica DiGirolamo both tallied a goal, but the Lakers' 46 shots and six goals were too much to overcome. The next day, Syracuse's defense met the challenge, but their offense was unable to score, as the Orange lost, 1-0, and were shut out for the third time this year. The two losses ended a six game winning streak for 'Cuse.

Record Watch
Lindsay Eastwood became the program's leading scoring defenseman with her goal against Mercyhurst on Jan. 11. Her 72 points are five points away from tying the record for most points by a defender.

Abby Moloughney (18-30-48) is on the cusp of hitting 50 career points. She could be the sixth player this season to hit 50, joining Eastwood, DiGirolamo, Rowswell, Rennie, and Emma Polaski .

DiGirolamo (eight) and Eastwood (six) are a few goals away from tying the Syracuse record for most goals in a season for a defender (10).

Series History
Syracuse trails the all-time series 19-20-9. The two teams last met in mid-January, a road series for the Orange. Syracuse lost the first game, 5-1, but followed up with a 1-0 win.

Syracuse Rankings
                - The Orange rank 15th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 2.97 goals per game.
                - Lindsay Eastwood (6-19-25) ranks 16th in the nation in points per game by a defender.
                - Abby Moloughney (8-18-26) and Eastwood are both in the top-10 of the CHA for scoring, standing eighth and 10th, respectively.
                - Three of the top five defenders in the league skate for the Orange. Eastwood is third, followed by DiGirolamo and Mae Batherson (5-15-20).
                - Syracuse has the top offensive freshman in Batherson. The New Minas, Nova Scotia, native has a two-point lead on RIT's Jaymee Nolan.

Scouting the Colonials
                - Jaycee Gebhard (18-41-59) is number one in the conference in point scoring, and ranks fourth nationally.
                - Michaela Boyle (20-7-27) is the Colonials leading goal scorer and ranks 14th in the nation and third in the conference in goal scoring.
                - Robert Morris' 12 conference wins put them at second in the CHA behind Mercyhurst. The Colonials are 7-4-3 on the road this season.
                - RMU's power play unit converts 25.7 percent of the time, making it the third-best in the nation.
                - Freshman goaltender Raygan Kirk has had a great start to her young career between the pipes. She holds a 13-6-1 record. Her 2.11 GAA , .922 save percentage, and .675 winning percentage are all top-three in the conference.

For complete coverage of Syracuse ice hockey, follow us on Facebook (Syracuse Women's Ice Hockey), Twitter (@CuseIce) and Instagram (@CuseIce).

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Players Mentioned

Amanda Bäckebo

Mae Batherson

Ady Cohen

Jessica DiGirolamo

Lindsay Eastwood

Logan Hicks

Anonda Hoppner

Abby Moloughney

Allie Olnowich

Emma Polaski

Savannah Rennie

Kelli Rowswell

Syracuse University Athletics