Men's Hockey | 12/28/2010 8:01:28 AM

ROCHESTER, NY - The RIT men's hockey team closes out the 2010 calendar year and rings in 2011 with a pair of contests. The Tigers travel to the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. to play Robert Morris in a battle of the top two teams in the Atlantic Hockey Association on Thursday, Dec. 30 at 3 p.m. RIT returns home to play No. 17 Merrimack at Ritter Arena on Saturday, Jan. 1 at 7:05 p.m.

Saturday's home game is a RIT Youth Hockey contest. Any youth hockey player in eighth grade or below who wears their jersey to Saturday's game gets in free.

The Tigers (9-7-2, 8-3-1 AHA) are riding a three-game winning streak and moved into first place in the AHA standings after defeating Canisius, 4-1 on Dec. 17 at Ritter Arena. RIT trailed 1-0 before exploding for four third period goals. The line of Andrew Favot (King City, Ontario/), Tyler Brenner (Linwood, Ontario/), and Ben Lynch (Blaine, MN/Lincoln Stars) combined for eight points in the win, Lynch was named the AHA Rookie of the Week on Dec. 20.

Shane Madolora (Salinas, CA/) is one of two Division I goaltenders (Ryan Rondeau of Yale) who have played enough minutes to qualify for the national leaders without a loss this season. Madolora is 10th overall in goals against average (2.01) and save percentage (.926) nationally. Favot is tied for fourth nationally with 17 assists, while Brenner is tied for seventh with 12 goals.

Robert Morris (12-4-2, 7-4-2 AHA) has won five straight contests and have a six-game unbeaten streak heading into Thursday's contest. The Colonials, who are off to their best start in program history, swept a pair of home contests against Colgate on Dec, 18-19, by scores of 3-2 and 3-1, respectively. They are 5-0-0 in non-conference play this season. Nathan Longpre leads the squad in scoring with nine goals and 26 points in 17 games. Defenseman Denny Urban is right behind with 25 points with a team-high 18 assists. Urban leads all defensemen nationally in scoring. In goal, Brooks Ostergard has seen most of the action this season, and is 10-3-1 with a 2.20 goals against average and .925 save percentage.

Tickets for Thursday's game range from $15.50-$35.50 and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com.

The Tigers/Colonials contest is part of a doubleheader with that contest getting underway at 3 p.m. followed by the Pittsburgh Penguins' AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, meeting rival Hershey, the Washington Capitals AHL affiliate at 7:30 p.m. The double dip is part of the Penguins' weeklong celebration of hockey leading up to the Penguins taking on the Capitals in the Bridgestone Winter Classic on New Year's Day at Heinz Field.

Both games are included in the ticket prices.

Former Tiger Steve Pinizzotto (Mississauga, ON/Oakville Blades) is currently playing for Hershey and has 13 points (5-8-13) in 26 games. The Bears are the two-time defending Calder Cup Champions.

This will be the second of three meetings between RIT and Robert Morris this season. On Oct. 29, Adam Mitchell (Crofton, MD/Baystate Breakers) scored with 1:10 left in overtime to lift the Tigers to a dramatic. 3-2 win over the Colonials at Ritter Arena. The two teams will also meet on Feb. 19, 2011 in Robert Morris at 7:05 p.m. The all-time series between the two schools is even at 1-1-1.

Merrmiack (7-4-4, 5-4-3 Hockey East) will also play on Dec. 30 at Army before heading to Rochester. Last time out, the Warriors, ranked 17th in the latest USCHO.com Division I poll, split a pair of Hockey East games against Northeastern on Dec. 3-4. On Dec. 3, Merrimack defeated Northeastern on the road, 2-1. The following night, Northeastern reversed the outcome, winning 2-1 at Merrimack. Sophomore Stephane Da Costa leads team in scoring with seven goals and 16 points in 15 games. Junior Joe Cannata has played in all 15 games and has a 2.07 goals against average, and .925 save percentage.

The Tigers are 5-0-1 at Ritter Arena this season, and are riding a 12-game unbeaten streak (11-0-1) at home dating back to Feb, 19, 2010.

Tickets for Saturday's game 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 for $12 (adults), $9 (faculty/staff/alumni) or $6 (students). Buying a reserved section ticket will guarantee you a seat for the game.

In addition, Saturday's contest will be the only home game of the 2010-11 season not to be aired live on Time Warner Cable Sports, so the only way to see the contest is to head out to Ritter Arena.

Come out and support the Tigers in their quest for an Atlantic Hockey Association Championship.