Men's Hockey | 12/14/2010 1:28:35 PM

ROCHESTER, NY - The RIT men's hockey team plays its final home game of the 2010 calendar year against Atlantic Hockey Association rival Canisius at Ritter Arena on Friday, Dec. 17 at 7:05 p.m. RIT, the defending AHA champions can move into first place in the conference standings with a win.

Austin Spencer Collision is sponsoring Friday's game.

RIT (8-7-2, 7-3-1 AHA) enters Friday's game having moved over the .500 mark for the first time all season after winning a pair of games at Mercyhurst last weekend, both by identical 4-2 scores. On Friday, freshman defenseman Greg Noyes (Lucan, Ontario/Salmon Arm Silverbacks) scored the game-winner with 13:50 left in regulation. The following night, RIT rallied from a 2-0 deficit, as Cameron Burt (Detroit, MI/) scored with 6:18 left in the final period to break a 2-2 tie. Goaltender Shane Madolora (Salinas, CA/) made a career-high 43 saves in Saturday's win.

Burt is riding an eight-game point-scoring streak, with three goals and eight assists during that span. He has a goal in three straight games. Madolora is one of just two starting goalies in Division I who have yet to suffer a loss this season, as he is 6-0-1 overall and 6-0-0 in AHA play. He has a sparkling 1.65 goals against average and .944 save percentage in conference play. Madolora's 43 saves on Saturday were the most in a game by a Tiger goaltender since Jocelyn Guimond (Quebec City, PQ/Williams Lake) made 47 in a 2-2 tie at Union on Oct. 14, 2006.

Canisius (6-6-4, 5-5-4 AHA) will play its first game in three weeks on Friday. Last time out, the Golden Griffins split a weekend series at Bentley, losing 3-2 on Nov. 27, and rebounding to win 3-2 the following evening. Cory Conacher, the 2010 Atlantic Hockey Association Player of the Year, leads the team in scoring with 17 points (8-9-17) in 16 games this season. Canisius has five players with at least 10 points. Goaltender Dan Morrison has played the majority of games in net this season. Morrison is 4-6-3 with a 2.70 goals against average, and .921 save percentage

This will be the first of three regular season meetings between the two schools who are located just 65 miles apart this season. RIT is 50-14-1 all-time against the Golden Griffins and have won five straight over the last two seasons. Last season, RIT went 3-0 against Canisius, outscoring them 17-4 with a pair of shutouts, including a 4-0 win in the Atlantic Hockey Semifinal at Blue Cross Arena. The two teams will meet at Ritter Arena on Feb. 11, then conclude the season series at Buffalo State Ice Arena on Feb. 13.

Tickets are available at the Gordon Field House and Activities Center Box Office or by phone at (585) 475-4121. Fans can also purchase tickets via ticketmaster.com. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for RIT faculty, staff and alumni and $5 for students with ID. Fans can also buy special reserved seats in Section 100 or 101 for $12 (adults), $10 (faculty/staff/alumni) or $7 (students). Buying a reserved section ticket will guarantee you a seat for the game.

Friday's game will be aired live on Time Warner Cable Sports channel 26, with Gene Battaglia and John DiTullio bringing you the action.