Men's Hockey | 12/9/2008 3:06:46 PM

ROCHESTER, NY - The RIT men's hockey team takes on the Mercyhurst Lakers at Ritter Arena on Friday, December 12 and Saturday, December 13 at 7:05 p.m. in a pair of exciting Atlantic Hockey contests.   Both teams are tied for second in the AHA standings with 11 points.

Salvatore's Pizza is sponsoring Friday's contest.  There will be a Salvatore's Pizza toss between the first and second periods.  On Saturday, Locker Room Sports is the game sponsor.  During the contest, there will be t-shirt and Locker Room coupon giveaways.  In addition, there is a 40th anniversary celebration of Ritter Arena on Saturday.  Classic photos and mementos will be on display throughout the lobby.

RIT (6-9-1, 5-4-1 AHA) comes into this weekend fresh off a dramatic, 3-2 overtime win at #10 Air Force on Saturday.  Andrew Favot (King City, Ontario/Aurora Tigers) (King City, Ontario) scored the game-winner with 38 seconds left in overtime after Brennan Sarazin (Nepean, Ontario/Nepean Raiders) (Nepean, Ontario) tied the game at 2 with just two minutes left in regulation.  Goaltender Jared DeMichiel (Avon, Conn./Chicago Steel) (Avon, CT) made 39 saves in the win.  It was the highest ranked team that RIT has defeated in four years of Division I play.

DeMichiel was named the Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week, after holding Air Force, the highest scoring team in the nation, to just four goals on 65 shots in two contests.  DeMichiel, who has started five of the last six games, is 4-4-0 with a 2.56 goals against average and .912 save percentage.

Mercyhurst (7-8-1, 5-2-1 AHA) is one of the hottest teams in Division I, riding a six-game winning streak and seven-game unbeaten streak.  Two weekends ago, the Lakers defeated #7 Princeton, 6-4.  Last weekend, Mercyhurst crushed American International in back-to-back games, 6-3 and 11-1.  The Lakers have out-scored their opponents, 39-14 during their six-game winning streak.  Mercyhurst is the third highest scoring team in Division I.  Steve Cameron leads the Lakers with 23 points on 11 goals and 12 assists.  Ryan Zapolski took over as the starting goaltender in late November and is 5-0-1 with a 2.20 goals against average and .941 save percentage.

RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 21-12-4 and is 5-3-1 against Mercyhurst since moving to Division I in 2005.  Last season, Tigers went 2-1-1 against Mercyhurst, losing 6-3 and winning 3-2 at Ritter Arena in November, 2007, while skating to a 3-3 tie and winning 4-2 at Mercyhurst in February.  The Tigers fired 174 shots on goal in the four games last season, including a season-high 54 on November 17.

Tickets are available for this weekend's games at the Gordon Field House and Activities Center Box Office or by phone at (585) 475-4121.  Fans can also purchase tickets via ticketmaster.com.  Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for RIT faculty, staff and alumni and $5 for students with ID.

Both games will be aired live on Time Warner Cable Sports channel 26, with Gene Battaglia and John Ditullio bringing you the action.

Hope to see you on Friday and Saturday at 7:05 p.m.