| 10/23/2004 8:25:03 PM
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ROCHESTER, NY - The RIT Men's Hockey team scored three unanswered goals in a six minute span in the third period to overcome a 3-1 deficit and defeat St. Clair College 4-3 before 1,123 fans at Ritter Arena on Saturday night.
Junior defenseman Tony Bifulco (Falmouth, Maine/Tulsa Crude) (Falmouth, ME) capped the rally, scoring with 7:24 left in the third period, wristing a shot just inside the right post on a 3-on-2 rush. Bifulco was named the game's second star.
Junior David Wrisley (Ithaca, NY/Northwood Prep) (Ithaca, NY) earned the win in net, stopping 11-of-12 third period shots. He made two crucial saves, one on a breakaway that kept the score 3-1 St. Clair, and then another on a partial breakaway with just over five minutes left to preserve the win. Wrisley was named the game's third star.
St. Clair opened the scoring on the power-play 3:50 into the second period as Franco Subrani slid a shot through the pads of George Eliopolous (Markham, ON). The Saints made it 2-0 as Jesse Quimet tallied on a partial breakaway after a RIT giveaway.
The Tigers cut the lead to 2-1, as senior Roberto Orofiamma (Woodbridge, Ont./Vaughn Vipers) tapped in a pass from classmate Michael Tucciarone (Richmond Hill, Ont./Stouffville Spirit) (Richmond Hill, ON) into a wide open net on a 5-on-3 man advantage.
St. Clair upped the lead to 3-1 just 39 seconds into the third period, as Rob Simpson tallied on a 2-on-1 break.
RIT began its comeback at the 6:39 mark of the final stanza. Rob Tarantino (Oakville, Ont./Oakville Blades) (Oakville, ONT) received a perfect pass from Ian Fazzi (San Jose, CA/Northwood Prep) (San Jose, CA) and one-timed a shot into the back of the net to cut the lead to 3-2.
Four minutes later, Ricky Walton (Hamilton, Ont./Hamilton Kilty Bees) (Hamilton, ON) scored a power-play goal, assisted by Tarantino and Brad Harris (Portage La Prairie, Man./Leamington Flyers) (Portage La Prairie, ON).
Tarantino was named the game's first star, finishing with a goal and an assist. Walton also finished with a goal and a helper. Fazzi recorded two assists. Brent Patry (Ottawa, Ont./Cumberland Grads) (Ottawa, ON) and Jason Chafe (Stoney Creek, Ont./Burlington Cougars) (Stoney Creek, ON) also had an assist apiece.
Eliopolous stopped 19-of-21 shots in two periods of action.
There were 37 penalties called in the contest, totaling 106 minutes of action. St. Clair finished 1-of-15 on the power-play, while RIT scored two power-play goals in 18 chances with the man advantage.
The Tigers out-shot St. Clair 41-33.
RIT opens the regular season on Friday and Saturday with a two-game trip to play top-ranked St. Norbert College in Wisconsin. Friday's game is at 5 p.m., while Saturday's contest begins at 8 p.m.
