Men's Hockey | 1/9/2009 10:53:17 PM

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ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT (11-9-1, 10-4-1) men's hockey team started off slow but scored four third-period goals en route to a 5-3 win over the University of Connecticut on Friday night. RIT extended its winning streak to six straight, longest since joining Division I in 2005.

"I thought Connecticut came at us aggressively," said RIT Head Coach Wayne Wilson. "We had to keep working hard and be patient and we would catch a few brakes and we did that."

RIT senior defenseman Bobby Raymond (Lucknow, Ontario/Owen Sound) (Lucknow, ON) scored the game-winning goal, poking home a rebound with a diving effort off a shot from Brennan Sarazin (Nepean, Ontario/Nepean Raiders) (Nepean, ON) at 10:55 of the third period.  That made the score 4-2 in favor of the Tigers.   Sarazin earned the game's first star with a goal and two assists.

RIT out shot the Huskies 33-26. The Tigers went just 1-for-8 on the power play, while holding Connecticut to 2-for-8 with the man-advantage.  RIT killed off a full two minutes of a 5-on-3 Connecticut power-play in the second period.

Tyler Brenner (Linwood, Ontario/Elmira Sugar Kings) (Linwood, ON) had three assists on the night, while Justin Hofstetter (Bright, Ontario/Cambridge Winterhawks) (Bright, ON) added a pair of goals.

RIT and Connecticut were tied 1-1 after the first period of play. The Tigers held a 13-11 shot advantage but went 0-for-5 on the power play.

Pat McAuley gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead at 2:31 of the first when he poked home a rebound off a shot from Corey Jendras.

RIT tied the score on Hofstetter's fourth goal of the season at 12:16 of the first. He took a pass from Matt Crowell (Kelowna, British Columbia/Williams Lake Timberwolves) (Kelowna, BC) and roofed a shot from the right face-off dot over Beau Erickson's shoulder as RIT came off the power play.

Both teams generated plenty of scoring chances in the second period but came out scoreless. RIT fired 11 shots on goal compared to just six for the Huskies.

The Tigers woes on the power play continued in the second period, going 0-for-2 in the second period. RIT's penalty-kill was solid, killing all four power plays by Connecticut, including a two-minute 5-on-3 midway through the frame.

Cameron Burt (Detroit, Mich./Green Bay Gamblers) (Detroit, MI) opened the scoring in the third period. He poked home a rebound off a shot by Sarazin at 2:02 of the third giving RIT a 2-1 lead.

The Huskies tied the game with a power play goal at 5:54 of the third period. Jason Krispel scored off a face-off on assists from Sean Erickson and Andrew Olson.

Hofstetter's second goal of the night gave RIT the lead for good at 9:11 of the third. He took a pass from Andrew Favot (King City, Ontario/Aurora Tigers) (King City, ON) and ripped a slap shot from the left point, that went through a maze of bodies, giving the Tigers a 3-2 lead. With the assist, Favot extended his point-scoring streak to six games.  He has 10 points (3-7-10) during that span.

Raymond's first goal since the season opener against Bowling Green made it 4-2 RIT. Sarazin and Brenner had the assists on the play.

Chris Waterstradt made it 4-3 with a power play goal at 17:12 of the third to make it a bit tighter down the stretch for RIT.

Sarazin eased the tension with his team-leading ninth goal of the game, giving the Tigers their sixth straight win.

Jared DeMichiel (Avon, Conn./Chicago Steel) (Avon, CT) picked up his eighth win of the season and fifth in a row, making 23 saves for RIT.

These same two teams will face-off on Saturday night beginning at 7 pm.