Men's Hockey | 10/20/2009 7:52:16 PM

ROCHESTER, NY - The RIT men's hockey team ventures west across two times zones to play the three-time defending Atlantic Hockey Association Champions, Air Force, on Friday, Oct. 23 and Saturday, Oct. 24 at 9:05 p.m. (EST) in the first two AHA regular season contests of the 2009-10 season.  Last season, the two clubs shared the AHA regular season crown with identical 20-6-2 records in league play.

RIT (0-3-0) is looking for its first win of the season after losing road contests at St. Lawrence and Clarkson last weekend.  The Tigers played well, out-shooting St. Lawrence, 43-20, and Clarkson, 45-29, but were unable to convert on their chances.  Freshman Adam Hartley (West Vancouver, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles) scored his first collegiate goal in Friday's 3-1 loss.  On Saturday, freshman Chris Tanev (Toronto, Ontario/) scored his first collegiate goal, while sophomore Cameron Burt (Detroit, MI/) tallied two third period goals for the Tigers in a 5-3 loss.

Like RIT, Air Force (0-4-0) is looking for its first win of the season after losing a pair of home contests against Alabama-Huntsville last weekend, by consecutive 4-2 scores.  Forwards Jeff Hajner, Jacques Lamoureux, and Derrick Burnett each have four points apiece to lead the squad. Air Force is getting out-scored by its foes, 18-8 this season.

This will be the 18th and 19th meetings between the two squads since 2005.  The all-time series between the two teams is even at 10-10-2. This will be the 18th and 19th match-ups between the two schools in the last four seasons. Air Force is 8-7-2 over that stretch.  Last season, the two teams split the season series, 2-2-0, with each team winning at home and on the road.  In Colorado Springs last season, Air Force defeated RIT 2-0 on Dec. 5, and RIT received an overtime goal from Andrew Favot (King City, Ontario/) to claim a 3-2 victory the following evening.