Men's hockey to play at AHA foe Niagara on Friday night

Tigers look to keep up their winning ways

By: Joe Venniro - Director of Sports Information

Dylan Heuer

Taylor McReynolds and the Tigers look to make it three straight wins on Friday evening.

Men's Hockey | 11/18/2010 8:43:13 AM

ROCHESTER, NY - The RIT men's hockey team makes the short trip west on I-90 to play the Niagara University Purple Eagles in an Atlantic Hockey Association contest at Dwyer Arena on Friday, Nov. 19 at 7:05 p.m.

RIT (4-5-1, 3-1-0 AHA) picked up a pair of wins over the weekend, sweeping Connecticut, 6-2 on Friday and 5-3 on Saturday. Tyler Brenner (Linwood, Ontario/) and Adam Mitchell (Crofton, MD/Baystate Breakers) each scored a pair goals in Friday's win, while Andrew Favot (King City, Ontario/) dished out three assists. On Saturday, the line of Mitchell, Michael Colavecchia, and Taylor McReynolds (Sherwood Park, Alberta/) each tallied a goal and assist and were plus-3 in the win.

Favot became the third Tiger at the Division I level to record his 100th career point, doing so with a first period power-play goal on Saturday. He leads the Tigers with nine assists and 13 points this season. Brenner has a team-best seven goals, while Adam Hartley (West Vancouver, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles) has 11 points and is currently riding a five-game point-scoring streak.

Goaltenders Jan Ropponen (Espoo, Finland/) and Shane Madolora (Salinas, CA/) recorded a win apiece over the weekend. Madolora is 2-0-1 this season. The Tigers have scored 19 goals over their last four games and boasts the ninth best power-play in the nation, clicking at 23.9 percent.

AHA newcomer Niagara (5-3-2, 4-1-0 AHA) is riding a four-game winning streak into Friday's game. Last weekend, they earned the sweep over Bentley, winning 4-1 on Friday and 5-3 on Saturday. On Friday, Scott Arnold scored twice, and on Saturday, five different Purple Eagles tallied two points each. Paul Zanette leads Niagara with nine goals and 13 points. Giancarlo Iuorio and Bryan Haczyk have 11 and 10 points, respectively. In goal, Niagara is riding a three-headed rotation, with freshman Carsen Chubak leading the way with three wins, while Andrew Hare has a 2.56 goals against average and .921 save percentage.

Like RIT, Niagara has scored 19 goals in its previous four games. The Purple Eagles have a potent power-play, tallying 13 times and clicking at 22 percent this season.

RIT and Niagara were ECAC West foes in the 1990's when both were Division III teams. The Tigers are 2-6-3 all-time against the Purple Eagles and are 0-4-1 since moving to Division I in 2005. RIT is 0-3-2 all-time at Dwyer Arena and have not defeated the Purple Eagles overall since the 1996-97 season.