| 12/11/2004 10:41:02 PM
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GENESEO, NY - First-year forward
Matt Smith (Toronto, Ont./Kitchener Dutchmen) (Toronto, ONT) scored what proved to be the game-winner with 54 seconds left in regulation play, giving the RIT men's ice hockey team, ranked seventh in the nation, a dramatic 4-3 win over SUNY Geneseo in front of 1,722 fans at the Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena on Saturday evening.
Tiger goaltender George Eliopoulous (Markham, ONT) was tremendous in net, stopping a career-high 45 shots, including 20 in the first period. The third-year netminder stopped several Ice Knight point-blank chances throughout the contest. He is now 7-2-1 on the season, with a sparkling 2.46 goals against average and .931 save percentage.
Sophomore
Brad Harris (Portage La Prairie, Man./Leamington Flyers) (Portage La Praire, MAN) opened the scoring with a short-handed tally just 5:52 into the game to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Harris stole the puck in the Ice Knights zone and wristed a shot past Geneseo goaltender Brett Walker for his fourth tally of the season.
RIT took a 2-0 lead early in the second period, when
Darren Doherty (Duoro, Ont./Cobourg Cougars) (Douro, ONT) slipped a shot just inside the far post on a 2-on-1 break after receiving a pass from
Tristan Fairbarn (Innisfill, Ont./Newmarket Hurricanes) (Inisfill, ONT). The goal was Doherty's first of the year.
Ricky Walton (Hamilton, Ont./Hamilton Kilty Bees) (Hamilton, ONT) also assisted on the goal.
Geneseo cut the Tiger lead to 2-1 after two periods.
RIT regained their two-goal lead at 2:32 of the third period, as
Brent Macovi (Stoney Creek, Ont./Hamilton Kilty Bees) (Stoney Creek, ONT) converted a perfect pass from
Rob Tarantino (Oakville, Ont./Oakville Blades) (Oakville, ONT) for his first tally of the season.
The Tigers ran into penalty trouble soon after taking five of the next six penalties, and the Ice Knights made them pay, scoring two straight goals on the man advantage to tie the game at 3.
This set the stage for Smith's game-winning goal. His shot from the point changed direction in front of the Ice Knights net and got by Walker to give RIT the win.
Geneseo finished 2-of-12 on the power-play, while RIT converted 1-of-5 attempts with the man advantage. The Ice Knights out-shot RIT 48-33 in the game.
Ice Knights goaltender Brett Walker finished with 29 saves, Mitch Stephens finished with a goal and two assists for Geneseo (8-3-1), while Michel Bond tallied a goal and an assist and Jay Kuczmanski recorded two assists.
The win gives RIT a five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1) and snaps Geneseo's five-game winning streak.
RIT (7-2-1, 3-1-1 ECAC West) is back in action on Friday and Saturday, as they host the U.S. National Under-18 team at the Ritter Arena. Face-off for both contests is at 7 p.m.
