| 3/1/2008 9:49:08 PM

Click here for game stats

ROCHESTER, NY – Anton Kharin (Twin Lake, MI/Bay State Breakers) (Moscow, Russia) scored two goals, leading the RIT men's hockey team (17-11-6, 15-8-5 AHA) to a 5-2 win over Bentley (9-19-6, 9-13-6 AHA) in the regular season finale for both clubs on Saturday.  RIT will be the #2 seed in the upcoming Atlantic Hockey Tournament and will host #9 Holy Cross in quarterfinal action next weekend.

With RIT leading 3-2 early in the period, Kharin took a feed from Al Mazur (Burnaby, BC/Merritt Centennials) (Burnaby, BC) and went in all alone on Bentley goaltender Joe Calvi.  Kharin went to the backhand and slid the puck between Calvi's legs for his fourth goal of the year.  He now has three goals in the last two games after scoring just once in his first 30 contests.

Freshman forward Mike Janda (Glen Ellyn, IL/Chicago Steel) (Winfield, IL) salted the game away with his fourth goal of the year on a 2-on-1 break midway through the frame.

RIT is now riding a five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2).  The five goals tied a season-high.  Complete Atlantic Hockey standings are available here.

The Tigers out-shot Bentley 39-32.  Louis Menard (Chicoutimi, PQ/Ottawa Jr. Senators) (Chicoutimi, PQ) won his 16th game of the season, stopping 30 shots.  He is riding a five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1).  Calvi stopped 34 shots in the loss for the Falcons.

It marked the ninth straight game that the Tigers have scored a power-play goal.  The Tigers are 15-for-37 with the man advantage during that span.

RIT Head Coach Wayne Wilson was pleased with his team's effort and is looking forward to the postseason.

“It is great to get the secondary scoring going and it is coming at a great time,” said Wilson, who won his 163rd game with RIT tonight.  “We have great depth and I like where we are at and now, it is all business as we head into the postseason.

For the second straight game, Kharin got the Tigers on the board, as he grabbed a loose puck at center ice, flew into the Falcons zone and ripped a wrist shot over the glove of Calvi for his fourth tally of the year.  The goal came just past the halfway mark of the period, 10:04 in.

RIT kept coming after the goal, dominating play inside the Bentley zone for the next five minutes.  Bentley weathered the storm and had a significant edge over the final five minutes.  Bentley's work paid off with 1:40 left in the frame, as Dustin Cloutier slammed in a loose puck at the side of the Tiger net to tie the game.

RIT thought they had took the lead right as the period was expiring, as Simon Lambert (Ste.-Therese, PQ/Cumberland Grads) (Ste. Therese, PQ), Matt Crowell (Kelowna, BC/Williams Lake Timberwolves) (Kelowna, BC) and Sean Murphy (Rochester, MN/Green Bay Gamblers) (Owatonna, MN) broke in on a 3-on-1 break.  Lambert fed Crowell in the slot, but his shot was turned away by Calvi.  Murphy grabbed the rebound, but had his attempt blocked by Calvi, as time ran out.

RIT out-shot the Falcons, 15-12 over the first 20 minutes of play.

Bentley took its first lead of the weekend, just 1:40 into the period, as Jeremy Robert slammed home a rebound off a shot from Marc Menzione.  Menard misplayed the initial shot, giving up a big rebound that was put home.

Bentley had a power-play midway through the period, poised to go up two.  Fortunately for RIT, Calvi made a rare misstep, misplaying the puck behind the net.  Brennan Sarazin (Nepean, ON/Nepean Raiders) (Nepean, ON) stole the puck from Calvi behind the net, spun around and backhanded the puck into the open net for his fifth goal of the season.  Sarazin scored his team-best second shorthanded goal of the year.  It was RIT's third shorthanded tally in the last four games.

Lambert found sophomore defenseman Al Mazur (Burnaby, BC/Merritt Centennials) (Burnaby, BC) all alone in the slot late in the period, and Mazur slammed a shot past Calvi on the power-play to give RIT the 3-2 advantage.  It was Mazur's fifth tally of the season.

Lambert extended his point-scoring streak to nine games.  He has nine goals and seven assists during that span.  He now has 45 points on the year.

RIT tried to extend its lead, as Murphy had a golden chance at the side of the net, after getting a great pass from Smith.  Calvi came across and made a tremendous skate save to keep it 3-2 Tigers.

Tonight's contest was the final regular season meeting between the two teams this season.  RIT won the season series, 3-0-1.  The Tigers went 1-0-1 at Bentley in a two-game series in Waltham, Mass. from Nov. 30 to Dec. 1.  RIT scored three second period goals to win the opening game 3-2.  The two teams played to a 2-2 draw the following  evening.

Last night, Jesse Newman (Kelowna, BC/Trail Smokeeaters) (Westbank, BC) broke a 2-2 tie late in the second period, leading the Tigers to a 5-2 win.  Lambert scored twice.

In an odd scheduling quirk, the four meetings between the two teams, despite being played back-to-back on two separate weekends, were played in four different months (Nov. 30, Dec.1, Feb. 29, March 1).

RIT leads the all-time series between the two teams, 7-3-1.  Last season, the two teams split a four-game series.

It is the first postseason game for the Tigers as a Division I program.  RIT's last postseason game came on March 4, 2005 against Manhattanville.  The Tigers last home postseason contest came on March 8, 2003 in the ECAC West Championship against Elmira.

The best of three quarterfinal series will be held from Friday, March 7 to Sunday March 9.  The Friday and Saturday contests start at 7:05 p.m. and if necessary, the Sunday game will start at a time to be determined.  Tickets for each game of the playoff series will be $10 for adults and $5 for students with ID and children under 18. Playoff tickets are now on sale.  Tickets are available at the Gordon Field House and Activities Center Box Office or by phone at (585) 475-4121.  If the Sunday, March 9 game is necessary, the Gordon Field House box office will be open on that day from 1-5 p.m.