| 2/13/2006 9:33:16 PM
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ROCHESTER, NY -- The RIT (6-22-2) men's hockey team trailed 2-0 to Air Force (7-17-1) with less than five minutes to play in the third period. Tristan Fairbarn (Innisfill, ON/Newmarket Hurricanes) (Innisfill, ON) tied the game with 24.3 seconds to play in the third, only to lose to the Falcons 3-2 on Monday evening.
Neither team could get on the board in the opening 20 minutes. Both Air Force and RIT created plenty of opportunities, but both Peter Foster and Jocelyn Guimond (St.-Edouard-de-Lotbiniere, PQ/Williams Lake) (Quebec City, PQ), were up to the task. Air Force out-shot RIT 17-6 in the first, but RIT had the best opportunity.
While killing a penalty, Darrell Draper (Tigard, OR/Cowichon Capitals) (Tigard, OR) blocked a shot at the Tigers' blue-line and raced in with Rob Tarantino (Oakville, ON/Oakville Blades) (Oakville, ON) on a 2-on-1 break. Draper fed a perfect pass over to Tarantino at the right side of the net, but Tarantino partially fanned on the attempt, pushing the puck wide of the open net.
Guimond was great in the first, stopping 17 shots.
The Falcons had a big territorial edge in the middle stanza, generating plenty of chances throughout.
Air Force got on the board first at the 10:38 mark of the second, as Andrew Ramsey backhanded a shot from the slot that seemed to bounce off a Tigers defenseman and past Guimond. Eric Ehn and Mike Phillipich assisted on the goal.
Steve Farrer (Belle River, ON/Chatham Jr. Maroons) (Belle River, ON) had RIT's best chance of the second period, as he found himself all alone in front of Foster, but could not lift the puck over the sprawling netminder.
Brian Reese gave Air Force a 2-0 lead just 10 seconds into the third period. Off the opening face-off the Falcons rushed in on Guimond. Ehn centered a pass that Reese kicked in with his skates. However, the referees were caught behind the play and let the goal stand.
It looked as if RIT was down and out but Steve Pinizzotto (Mississauga, ON/Oakville Blades) (Mississauga, ON) gave the Tigers a boost with 4:57 to play with his third goal in as many games. With RIT on the power play he skated in and wristed a shot from the right side, beating Foster over his shoulder.
The Tigers pulled Guimond with less than a minute to play and it paid off as RIT was able to get the game-tying goal.
Brent Patry (Ottawa, ON/Cumberland Grads) (Ottawa, ON) was able to hold off three Falcons and keep the puck in the zone. Steve Farrer (Belle River, ON/Chatham Jr. Maroons) dug the puck out of the scrum and fed a cross-ice pass to Tony Bifulco (Falmouh, ME/Tulsa Crude) (Falmouth, ME). He ripped a slap shot that was re-directed by Tristan Fairbarn (Innisfill, ON/Newmarket Hurricanes) who was parked beside the net.
Just 1:51 into the overtime, Air Force's first rush into RIT's zone produced the game-winner. Theo Zaccour fed a pass over to Reese who wristed a shot past Guimond, giving the Falcons the 3-2 win.
This was the fourth and final meeting between the two teams this season. Air Force won the season series 2-1-1.
The Tigers finish their 2005-06 season on Friday, February 24 and Saturday February 25, as they host the U.S. Under-18 team at the Ritter Arena.
