BUFFALO, NY – Sophomore forward #Mike Janda (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Chicago Steel)# (Glen Ellen, IL) scored with 2:14 left in regulation to break a 3-3 tie, as the RIT men's hockey team (16-9-1, 15-4-1 AHA) won its 11th straight game, 4-3 over AHA rival Canisius 4-3 (9-10-4, 7-8-2 AHA) on Sunday afternoon. RIT rallied from a 3-1 deficit and trailed with less then six minutes to play.

Janda took a sensational cross-ice feed from senior captain #Brennan Sarazin (Nepean, Ontario/Nepean Raiders)# (Nepean, Ontario) and tipped a shot past Canisius goaltender Dan Morrison for his fifth goal of the year. #Bobby Raymond (Lucknow, Ontario/Owen Sound)# (Lucknow, Ontario) started the rush and fed Sarazin, who went wide around the Canisius defensemen and found Janda streaking toward the net.

Sarazin tied the game at 3 just moments earlier, as he fired a shot from the slot past Morrison while RIT was on the power-play. #Alan Mazur (Burnaby, British Columbia/Merritt Centennials)# (Burnaby, British Columbia) kept the puck in at the right point and kicked a pass to #Tyler Brenner (Linwood, Ontario/Elmira Sugar Kings)# (Linwood, Ontario). Brenner's pass in front deflected off a Canisius defenseman, right to Sarazin, who fired a low shot past Morrison for his 13th goal of the season.

Sarazin finished with three points on a goal and two assists. Sarazin now has 11 points in his last six games (5-6-11). Mazur added a goal and an assist, while #Jesse Newman (Kelowna, British Columbia/Trail Smokeeaters)# (Kelowna, British Columbia) also scored for the Tigers.

Andrew Favot (King City, Ontario/Aurora Tigers) (King City, Ontario) recorded an assist, stretching is point-scoring streak to 11-games, tying the Division I team record set last season by Simon Lambert (Ste.-Therese, PQ/Cumberland Grads). Favot has three goals and 13 assists for 16 points during the streak.

Head Coach Wayne Wilson was happy to see his team fight back after falling behind.

”We showed a lot of character coming back,” said Wilson. “With us winning as many games as we have, we have a strong belief that we could come back. It was great to have our fans travel. It was great support from our fans and administration.”

The Tigers have out-scored their opponents, 53-26 during the 11-game winning streak.

It was the second time RIT has come from two goals down this season. RIT defeated Connecticut 5-4 on Nov. 22 after falling behind 2-0. It was also the first time Canisius lost this season when leading after two periods of play.

Canisius out-shot RIT 30-24. #Louis Menard (Chicoutimi, Quebec/Ottawa Senators)# (Chicoutimi, Quebec) was strong in goal for RIT, stopping 27 shots, including several point-blank chances.

The Tigers killed off 36 seconds of a Canisius two-man advantage to start the third period.

RIT played an uncharacteristically sloppy first period, allowing several good Canisius scoring chances. RIT trailed 2-1 after 20 minutes of play. Canisius out-shot RIT 12-7.

Canisius opened the scoring 5:27 in, as a point shot by John Patera was deflected by a Tiger defenseman, through a series of bodies and past Menard, who never saw the shot.

RIT answered back just under eight minutes later, as Newman out-worked his man in front of the Canisius net, took a feed from Favot and slid a shot past Morrison for his eighth goal of the season.

Menard made a handful of big saves to keep the game tied. Unfortunately for RIT, a giveaway a canter ice turned into an odd-man rush for the Golden Griffins. Ryan Klusendorf found Paul Kenney parked to the left of Menard. Kenney redirected the pass home at the 17:20 mark to give Canisius a 2-1 lead.

Both teams tallied once in the second period.

Derek Danowski gave Canisius a 3-1 lead 1:55 into the second period. Pete MacDougall split a pair of RIT defensemen at the blueline, streaked in alone and found Danowski who had slipped behind the defense as well, all alone to the left of Menard. Menard had no chance on the tap-in goal.

RIT got back to within 3-2 on a 5-on-3 man-advantage midway through the period. Mazur ripped a slap-shot from the top of the right circle past Morrison for his fourth goal of the year. #Cameron Burt (Detroit, Mich./Green Bay Gamblers)# (Detroit, MI) and Sarazin assisted on the tally.

The Tigers had a handful of golden opportunities to tie the game, as they were on a continuous two-man advantage for a full two minutes. Morrison made a few huge saves, while Canisius defenseman John Patera robbed Burt who was all alone in front of the net with Morrison out of position.

Both teams fired nine shots during the period.

RIT leads the all-time series between the two teams, 47-14-1 and is 8-4-0 against the Golden Griffins since moving to Division I in 2005. Last season, the two teams split four contests, with each team winning on home ice. RIT won both games at Ritter Arena, 4-3 and 4-1, while Canisius tallied two victories at Buffalo State Ice Arena, 6-2 and 5-4.

On Thursday, #Matt Crowell (Kelowna, British Columbia/Williams Lake Timberwolves)# (Kelowna, British Columbia) recorded his first collegiate hat-trick to lead the Tigers to a 5-2 win over the Golden Griffins. Freshman defenseman #Trevor Eckenswiller (Lions Head, Ontario/Oakville Blades)# (Lions Head, Ontario) and #Anton Kharin (Twin Lake, Mich./Bay State Breakers)# (Moscow, Russia) also scored for the Tigers.   

It was RIT's first Sunday game of the season. A strong RIT contingent highlighted a Buffalo State Sports Arena crowd of 1,698 fans. 

The Tigers are back in action on Friday, as they host the U.S.A. Under-18 national team at Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester. Face-off for that game is at 7:05 p.m. RIT returns to conference play the following weekend, as they host Sacred Heart.