| 2/14/2004 10:03:07 PM
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ROCHESTER, NY -- On senior night at Ritter Arena the 10th ranked RIT (12-5-5) men's hockey team skated to a 2-2 tie against #7 Manhattanville College(14-3-2). The tie keeps RIT in first place with 14 points in the ECAC West conference, while Manhattanville drops to third place behind Hobart College.
The game was tightly contested throughout. Both teams sparred back and forth in the first five minutes of the game until the 5:19 mark when Neil Clark banged home a rebound for the Valiants giving them a 1-0 lead. RIT kept plugging away and their hard work finally paid off when Mike Tarantino (Oakville, Ont./Oakville Blades) (Oakville, Ont.) put in his own rebound, tying the score at 1-1. He took a shot from right in front that was saved by Jay Chrapala, but the rebound came right back to Tarantino who buried the second shot for his 15th goal of the season. Manhattanville had a golden opportunity to take the lead late in the period. Neil Clark took a shot from the right side that Eliopoulos saved. The rebound came to Billy Foulds who had three cracks at it from point blank range, but Eliopoulos was right there and made all three saves.
The second period was just as exciting as the first. Manhattanville took the lead again at the 9 minute mark on a power play goal by Jordan Menzies giving Manhattanville a 2-1 lead. But the Tigers would not stay down for long. Brad Harris (Portage La Prairie, Man./Leamington Flyers) (Portage La Prairie, Man.) scored on a nice pass from Roberto Orofiamma (Woodbridge, Ont./Vaughn Vipers) (Woodbridge, Ont.) just as the Tigers power play expired, tying the game at 2-2. George Eliopoulos (Markham, Ont./St. Michaels Buzzers) (Markham, Ont.) came up with some huge saves in the second to keep the game tied.
That set up an exciting third period. RIT controlled the bulk of the play in the third, outshooting the Valiants 14-3. However, Chrapala was outstanding for Manhattanville making big save after big save, keeping the game tied. RIT had several chances right in front of Chrapala but he didn't yield an inch as time ran out in regulation tied at 2-2.
In the overtime RIT found themselves down a man when Jason Chafe (Stoney Creek, Ont./Burlington Cougars) took a five-minute spearing penalty at 1:01 giving Manhattanville a power play for the remainder of the overtime. The Valiants fired eight shots on George Eliopoulos (Markham, Ont./St. Michaels Buzzers) but he was strong, turning away all eight. RIT had a golden opportunity to win the game when Manhattanville turned the puck over in the neutral zone. Brent Macovi (Stoney Creek, Ont./Hamilton Kilty Bees) (Stoney Creek, Ont.) scooped up the loose puck and skated in alone on Chrapala. Macovi tried to beat Chrapala to the glove side but the sophomore netminder stood tall making the save.
RIT is 12-5-5 overall and 6-1-2 in the ECAC West. The Tigers will face Hobart College in Geneva, New York at 4 p.m.
