Women’s hockey receives eighth seed, to take on Northeastern

Womens+hockey+rolled+no.+1+Northeastern+for+their+first-round+NCAA+Tournament+matchup.+Photo+Credit%3A+Nathan+Breisinger

Women’s hockey rolled no. 1 Northeastern for their first-round NCAA Tournament matchup. Photo Credit: Nathan Breisinger

Tyler Gallo

After their 1-0 CHA Tournament victory against Syracuse, Robert Morris women’s hockey now has their opponent lined up for the NCAA Tournament, and it is top-ranked no. 1 seed Northeastern on March 15 at 2 p.m. in Erie.

Robert Morris garnered the eighth seed in the tournament. This season, they played to a 16-7-1 record and 11-7-1 in-conference. They knocked off RIT, Mercyhurst and Syracuse in the tournament en route to their third CHA title and first since 2017. Sophomore Maggy Burbidge was named tournament MVP after scoring three goals and an assist in the three games.

The team was led on offense by senior forward Lexi Templeman who scored seven goals and 22 assists for 29 points in her final season as a Colonial. They were also strengthened by elite goaltending corps who combined for eight shutouts, a .940 save percentage and 1.65 GAA among Raygan Kirk, Arielle DeSmet and Molly Singewald.

Northeastern dominated College Hockey East this season, skating to a 20-1-1 record overall and 17-1-1 in-conference, ranked first in the USCHO poll and earning the top seed outright in the NCAA Tournament with their only regulation loss coming to Boston College on December 13. They laid waste to the conference tournament, beating New Hampshire, Connecticut and Providence and outscoring the three teams 15-3 in those three games.

On the offensive side, Northeastern was led by junior Alina Mueller who scored 11 goals and 24 assists for 35 points on the season as well as a stellar season from senior goaltender Aerin Frankel, who in 20 games had nine shutouts, a .969 save percentage and allowed just 14 goals all season long.

The Colonials will have a week to prepare for the powerhouse that is Northeastern as puck drop will be Monday, March 15 at 2 p.m. at Erie Insurance Arena. It can be watched via a free stream on NCAA.com.