Men's Hockey | 12/1/2010 10:33:19 AM

ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team heads east to face the American International Yellowjackets in a pair of Atlantic Hockey Association contests this weekend at the Olympia Ice Center. The two teams open their weekend series on Friday, Dec. 3 at 7:05 p.m. and finish the series on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 4:05 p.m.

RIT (5-6-2, 4-2-1 AHA) comes into this weekend's games riding a two-game unbeaten streak after a win and tie against Sacred Heart on Nov. 26-27. In RIT's 6-1 win over the Pioneers last Friday, the squad tied a Division I team record with five first period goals. The following night, the Tigers scored twice in the final 1:48 to rally from a 3-1 deficit and pull out a 3-3 tie. Taylor McReynolds (Sherwood Park, Alberta/) scored the game-tying goal with 29 seconds left.

The Tigers power-play tallied a pair of power-play goals in each game against Sacred Heart and are now tied for 10th nationally at 22.7 percent. Andrew Favot (King City, Ontario/) is eighth nationally with 13 assists and is 19th nationally with 1.31 points per game. He leads the Tigers in scoring with 17 points (4-13-17) in 13 games this season.  Tyler Brenner (Linwood, Ontario/) is tied for eighth nationally with nine goals. Adam Hartley (West Vancouver, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles) has five power-play goals, one off the national lead. Goaltender Shane Madolora (Salinas, CA/) is one of only three Division I goaltenders who have played enough minutes to be eligible for national honors without a loss this season.

The Tigers now lead the nation in penalty minutes, averaging 21.2 per game.

American International (3-7-0, 3-7-0 AHA) comes into this weekend's contests fresh off a road sweep over Mercyhurst, winning 5-2 and 3-0. Goaltender Ben Meisner was named the Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week after stopping 62-of-64 shots. Adam Pleskach leads the team in scoring with five goals, six assists, and 11 points, all in AHA play as well. In goal, Meisner has appeared in all 10 games, with a 3.86 goals against average, and .901 save percentage. The Yellowjackets have been outscored 48-28 this season. They have the nation's eight best power-play, and third worst penalty-killing percentage, at 73.9 percent.

RIT leads the all-time series against American International, 14-2-0. The Tigers are 11-2 against the Yellowjackets since the start of the 2005 season, out-scoring them 64-23. Last season, RIT traveled to AIC and recorded 5-3 and 4-0 victories.