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ROCHESTER, NY - For the second straight evening, the RIT men's hockey team (4-5-2, 3-3-2 Atlantic Hockey) played Army to a tie, 1-1 in front of 1,446 fans at the Ritter Arena on Saturday.  The game featured 19 power-plays and a penalty shot in overtime.

 

Stevan Matic (Burnaby, BC/Langley Hornets) (Burnaby, BC) received a penalty shot 17 seconds into overtime, after a Army defenseman closed his hand on the puck in the goal crease.  Matic came in on Army netminder Jay Clark and deked right to his backhand, but Clark stood his ground and made the save.

 

Army was given a power-play chance with 2:56 left in overtime, but RIT's penalty killing led by defensemen Bobby Raymond (Lucknow, ON/Owen Sound Greys) (Lucknow, ON) and Justin Hofstetter (Bright, ON/Cambridge Winterhawks) (Bright, ON) was able to keep the Black Knights scoreless.

 

RIT's penalty killing was excellent, holding the Black Knights, who came into the weekend in the top-10 nationally, to just one goal on 11 attempts with the man-advantage.   RIT was scoreless on eight power-play attempts, but did have 17 shots.

 

The Tigers ended regulation with a power-play.

 

RIT out-shot Army 37-27, including 31-12 after the first period of play.

 

Clark made 36 saves for the Black Knights (5-5-2, 5-2-2 Atlantic Hockey) and was named the game's first star.  RIT goaltender Louis Menard (Chicoutimi, PQ/Ottawa Jr. Senators) (Chicoutimi, PQ) stopped 26 shots and was the second star.

 

RIT Head Coach Wayne Wilson was happy with his team's effort, and thought both teams played well over the weekend.

 

"Tonight's game was just a hard-fought goaltenders dual," said Wilson.  "Both teams played great team defense and went at it, making for some great hockey.  We expect to see them (Army) at the end of the year in the playoffs.  We will take a lot of positives out of the weekend series, especially on the defensive end."

 

The Black Knights received a 5-on-3 man-advantage just 1:04 into the contest, and 20 seconds later, took a 1-0 lead, as Luke Flicek tapped in a pass from Robb Ross at the side of the net for his sixth goal of the season. Will Ryan found Ross at the left half wall. Ross then fired a pass across to Flicek who was all alone at the side of the net.

 

Army continued the pressure, but Menard made several big saves, including a spectacular glove save on Chase Podsiad on an Army power-play. Menard slid across to rob Podsiad, who appeared to have a wide open net.

 

Senior forward Matt Smith (Toronto, ON/Kitchener Dutchmen) (Toronto, ON) tied the game at 1-1 12:36 into the period, as he collected a pass from Brent Patry (Ottawa, ON/Cumberland Grads) (Ottawa, ON) in the slot and ripped a shot over the shoulder of Clark for his team-best eighth tally of the season.  Al Mazur (Burnaby, BC/Merritt Centennials) (Burnaby, BC) also assisted on the goal.

 

Army out-shot RIT 15-6 after one period.

 

The Tigers poured on the pressure in the second stanza, but could not push anything past Clark, who stopped all 17 RIT shots in the frame.

 

Both teams had over a minute of 5-on-3 power-play time in the period, but were unable to cash in on the opportunity. The Tigers had five power-play chances and fired 12 shots on net during those chances.

 

RIT out-shot Army 17-5 in the second period and held a 23-20 edge after two periods of play. 

 

Ricky Walton (Hamilton, ON/Hamilton Red Wings) (Hamilton, ON) played in his 100th career game last night, while Smith played in his 100th contest tonight.

 

The all-time series between the two teams is tied, 1-1-2.

 

Bryce Hollweg scored with 30.9 seconds left in regulation to help Army erase a late 2-1 deficit on Friday. Menard made 36 saves for RIT and Josh Kassel stopped 34 shots for the Black Knights in last night's 2-2 draw.

 

Last season, the two teams split at West Point. Army defeated the Tigers 2-1 on Dec. 29, while the Tigers rebounded to win 5-3 the following night.

 

RIT is riding a three-game unbeaten streak and has played three straight overtime games, winning one and tying the other two.

 

These were the only two meetings between the two teams this season.

 

The Tigers are now on the road for the next 10 games, starting at Bentley on Friday at 7:05 p.m. RIT's next home contest is on Friday, January 18 against Sacred Heart.