Men's Hockey | 1/20/2010 9:39:31 AM
ROCHESTER, NY - The RIT men's hockey team looks to get back in the win column with a pair of crucial Atlantic Hockey Association contests at American International College this weekend. Both Friday and Saturday's contests get underway at 7:05 p.m.
Last weekend, the Tigers split a pair of games at Connecticut, winning 4-0 on Friday, then falling 2-1 on Saturday.
Alan Mazur (Burnaby, British Columbia/) recorded four points (1-3-4) in the two games last weekend. RIT (12-9-1, 12-3-1 AHA) remains in second place in the AHA standings with 25 points, two points behind Air Force, and one ahead of Mercyhurst. RIT has four games in hand on both teams.
Goaltender
Jared DeMichiel (Avon, CT/) made 25 saves in Friday's shutout win over Connecticut, lowering his conference goals against average to a league-leading 1.57. The week before he shutout Holy Cross and has not allowed a goal in the last 134:14 dating back to early in the third period against the Crusaders on Jan. 8. DeMichiel leads the conference with a .939 save percentage in conference games and has a .821 winning percentage (11-2-1) in conference games.
American International (3-16-2, 3-12-2 AHA) comes into this weekend's contests looking to extend a two-game unbeaten streak. Last weekend, the Yellow Jackets scored just two goals, but earned a tie and a win over Holy Cross. On Friday, the two teams skated to a 1-1 tie, as Churchville native Dan Ramirez made 38 saves. The following night, Tom Mele scored a first period power-play goal, while Ben Meisner made 39 saves in a 1-0 win. American International is the second lowest scoring team in the nation, averaging 1.76 goals per game. Adam Pleskach leads the squad with eight goals and 12 points in 21 games. Mike Little leads the team with eight assists. In net, Ramirez and Meisner have played in 11 games apiece. Meisner is 3-6-0 with a 3.23 goals against average and .907 save percentage, while Ramirez is 0-9-2 with a 3.84 goals against average and .893 save percentage.
This weekend will mark the only two regular season meetings between the two schools this season. RIT is 12-2-1 overall and 9-2-0 against American International since moving to Division I in 2005. Last season, RIT went 2-0 against the Yellow Jackets, winning both games in Rochester, 5-3, and 6-1.
