Men's Hockey | 10/17/2009 10:42:10 PM

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POTSDAM, NY – The RIT men's hockey team (0-3-0) out-shot its opponent by a wide margin for the second night in a row, but once again ran into a hot goaltender, and was on the losing end, falling 5-3 at Clarkson University before a sold out crowd at Cheel Arena on Saturday.

The Tigers fired 45 shots on net, besting the 43 they recorded on Friday at St. Lawrence. Once again, RIT fired more than 20 shots in the third period, putting 21 on goal.  RIT out-shot Clarkson 21-8 in the third period.  Clarkson goaltender Paul Karpowich saved his best for last in the final frame, making several great saves.

Sophomore forward Cameron Burt (Detroit, MI/) scored two third period goals for RIT.  Freshman defenseman Chris Tanev (Toronto, Ontario/) scored his first collegiate goal, while classmate Jeff Smith (Spokane, WA/Tri-City Storm) tallied his first collegiate assist.

Matt Beca scored two goals to lead Clarkson.  Louke Oakley and Nick Tremblay added a pair of assists.  Kaporwich made 42 saves.

Both teams were 1-for-5 with the man-advantage.  RIT allowed a shorthanded goal for the second time in three games this season.

RIT Head Coach Wayne Wilson, still searching for his program record 189th win, knows his team must keep sticking to the basics.

"We are doing a lot of good things, but not getting rewarded," said Wilson.  "We went into two tough arenas and fired nearly 90 shots in two games.  We have come a long way in the last few years, now we just have to finish our chances and stay positive.  We get right into conference play with a tough opponent in Air Force, so we must be sharp."

DeMichiel, who was sharp at times, stopped 24 shots in the loss for RIT.
 
The first period was an up-and-down affair, with Clarkson holding a 2-1 edge.

DeMichiel made an unbelievable save in the first two minutes, robbing Clarkson's Scott Freeman on a breakaway, sticking his right arm out to keep the puck out of the cage.

Clarkson got on the board first, 10:43 into the game, as Matt Beca scooped up a juicy rebound in the slot and slid the puck around a sliding DeMichiel.

Tanev tied the game just 1:35 later, taking the puck in his own zone, going coast-to-coast, using a defenseman as a screen and ripping a wrist shot past Karpowich on the short side. Andrew Favot (King City, Ontario/) and Smith received assists on the goal.

Clarkson went right back up, 2-1 at 14:47 of the first, while shorthanded, as RIT had all five players caught deep in the Clarkson zone. Louke Oakley batted a loose puck out of mid-air and sprung Freeman on a breakaway. This time, Freeman made no mistake and roofed a shot over DeMichiel's glove.
Both teams fired 12 shots on goal.

RIT came out buzzing early in the second period, but could not get the tying goal. Alan Mazur (Burnaby, British Columbia/) rang a shot off the crossbar past a screened Karpowich. Smith and Adam Hartley (West Vancouver, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles) had great chances down low off of a few Karpowich rebounds, but were unable to convert.

DeMichiel made a few great saves of his own, robbing Beca from in tight, and Adam Pawlick on a point-blank chance.

RIT got into penalty trouble and Clarkson made them pay, at the 4:44 mark of the frame, as Pawlick roofed a shot from the slot off the crossbar and past DeMichiel to make it 3-1. RIT had a few chances to clear, but could not. Clarkson moved the puck around, getting the Tigers defense moving. Paelick was able to find a seam and put the puck home.

Clarkson's two third period goals came on wrap-arounds, with DeMichiel nearly getting back to stop both.  Tim Marks scored to make it 4-1 4:43 into the third period.  The play was reviewed, and it was determined that the puck crossed the line.  Beca tallied his second of the game with 6:09 left to give the Knights a 5-2 advantage.

Burt's first goal came on a power-play.  Tyler Brenner (Linwood, Ontario/) passed the puck back to Dan Ringwald (Oakville, Ontario/) at the left point.  Ringwald fed Burt who ripped a slap-shot past Karpowich from the high slot.

With 55 seconds left, Burt tallied his second, converting a rebound off a blocked shot by Chris Haltigin (Oakville, Ontario/).  Chris Saracino (St. Louis, MO/Green Bay Gamblers) tallied the second assist.

Karpowich made his best save of the night early in the third period, robbing Brenner on a point-blank chance in front, with a great glove save.

Clarkson leads the all-time series between the two schools, 10-2-1. The Golden Knights are 4-0-0 against the Tigers since RIT moved to Division I in 2005. Last season, Clarkson defeated RIT, 6-4 at Ritter Arena. The Golden Knights defeated RIT the last time the two teams played at Cheel Arena, 4-2 on Oct. 7, 2006.  RIT has never won at Cheel Arena since it opened in 1991.

Last night, RIT out-shot St. Lawrence 23-5 in the third period, and 43-20 overall, but ran into a hot goaltender in Robby Moss, as RIT fell, 3-1. The loss snapped a nine-game road unbeaten streak for the Tigers dating back to Dec. 6, 2008.

The Tigers return to action next weekend, as they travel west to open Atlantic Hockey Association play at Air Force. Both Friday and Saturday's contests begin at 9:05 p.m.