Men's Hockey | 2/16/2010 2:31:17 PM

ROCHESTER, NY - The RIT men's hockey team looks to clinch its third Atlantic Hockey Association regular season title in four years, as they host the Air Force Falcons at Ritter Arena on Friday, Feb. 19 and Saturday, Feb. 20 in a pair of exciting Atlantic Hockey contests. Both games get underway at 7:05 p.m.

Park Point and the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences is sponsoring Friday's contest. On Saturday, Park Point is the game sponsor. In addition, the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is sponsoring a “white out” on Saturday. SAAC will be giving away white t-shirts to everyone coming to the game in order to create a “white out” in the crowd. Shirts will be handed out in the RITz Sports Zone prior to the game, as well as inside the arena.

RIT (18-11-1, 18-5-1 AHA) needs just one win to clinch the top seed for the 2010 Atlantic Hockey Postseason Tournament. RIT has 37 points in AHA play, and leads second place Sacred Heart by six points, and third place Air Force by seven points with four games to play.

Last weekend, the Tigers secured a road sweep at Army for the first time, winning, 3-0 on Friday, and 5-2 on Saturday. On Friday, RIT used a smothering defense to allowing just 10 even strength shots, while Jared DeMichiel (Avon, CT/) recorded his fourth shutout in the last five weeks. The following night, sophomore Cameron Burt (Detroit, MI/) dished out a career-best four assists, while classmate Tyler Brenner (Linwood, Ontario/) tallied three helpers in a 5-2 win.

RIT is fifth nationally, allowing just 2.27 goals per game. Goaltender Jared DeMichiel (Avon, CT/) was named the Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week on Monday, and is seventh in the nation with a 2.19 goals against average. RIT has five players with at least 20 points, and 13 in double figures this season. The Tigers have allowed just 45 goals in 24 Atlantic Hockey contests this season, by far the fewest in the league.

Air Force, (12-12-6, 12-6-6 AHA) the three-time defending AHA Champions, enter this weekend's contests third in AHA play with 30 points. The Falcons were idle last weekend. Last time out, the Falcons gave No. 2 Denver all they could handle before losing in overtime, 2-1 on Jan. 30. Jacques Lamoureux, a 2009 Hobey Baker Award finalist, leads the team in scoring with 18 goals and 35 points in 30 games this season. Derrick Burnett is second on the squad with 27 points and leads the team with 20 assists. Goaltender Andrew Volkening has played in all 30 games this season, and has a 12-12-6 record, 2.54 goals against average, and .915 save percentage.

Last season, the two teams were forced to share the regular season title at Ritter Arena to end the season. The Tigers will be looking for revenge on the Falcons, after losing a pair of one-goal games on the road in October. Air Force scored with 1:45 left in regulation to win 5-4 on the first night. Just 24 hours later, the Falcons scored with one second left in overtime to defeat RIT, 3-2. It was the first and only time that RIT was swept in a weekend series in four years of AHA play. Air Force leads the all-time series between the two schools, 12-10-2.

Tickets are available for this weekend's games 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.

Both games will be aired live on Time Warner Cable Sports channel 26 or 98, with Gene Battaglia and John Ditullio bringing you the action.