Men's Hockey | 2/26/2010 10:12:14 PM

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ROCHESTER, NY - The RIT men's hockey team (21-11-1, 21-5-1 AHA) tied a Division I program record with its most lopsided victory, defeating Canisius (15-13-5, 13-10-4 AHA), 8-0 before 1,363 fans at Ritter Arena on Friday evening. Seven different Tigers scored a goal, while 13 different players recorded a point.

RIT dominated from start to finish, out-shooting the Golden Griffins, 48-22.  The eight goals scored and 48 shots on goal are both season highs.  RIT has now won five straight games.

The Tigers also defeated American International, 8-0 on Oct. 21, 2006.

RIT set an AHA record with its 21st conference win and 43rd point. Last season, RIT and Air Force recorded 20 wins and 42 points.

Mike Janda (Glen Ellyn, IL/) scored a pair of goals to lead RIT. Tyler Brenner (Linwood, Ontario/), Mike Janda (Glen Ellyn, IL/), Jeff Smith (Spokane, WA/Tri-City Storm), Adam Hartley (West Vancouver, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles), Cameron Burt (Detroit, MI/), and Chris Haltigin (Oakville, Ontario/) also scored for the Tigers. Smith's goal was the first of his collegiate career.

Burt also added a pair of assists for the Tigers. He has 18 points (4-14-18) over has last eight games.

The goaltending duo of Jared DeMichiel (Avon, CT/) and Jan Ropponen (Espoo, Finland/) split the shutout, RIT's second straight, and seventh of the season, which ties a team record, set in 1983-84. DeMichiel played the first 51 minutes and stopped 20 shots. Ropponen made two saves in nine minutes.

All 18 skaters were at least a plus-1 for RIT. The defensive duo of Dan Ringwald (Oakville, Ontario/) and Chris Tanev (Toronto, Ontario/) were plus-4 apiece. Cornacchia and Taylor McReynolds (Sherwood Park, Alberta/) were both plus-3.

RIT Head Coach Wayne Wilson was very pleased with his team's effort, especially coming off exam week.
“We typically have not played very well coming off exam week,” said Wilson. “Everything went our way, we skated well. Our goals came quick and early. We have to prepare for a much tougher game tomorrow night. Canisius will come out much harder.”

The Tigers got off to a great start, scoring twice in the first 2:35 en route to a 3-0 lead after one period. RIT held an 18-13 edge in shots.

Brenner got RIT on the board just 1:25 into the contest, as he pick-pocketed a defenseman after his initial shot was stopped and surprised Morrison with a shot in front for his 10th goal of the season.

Just 1:10 later, Janda took a feed from Mark Cornacchia (Unionville, Ontario/) in the slot and roofed a shot past Morrison from the high slot for his third goal of the season. Tanev also assisted on the goal.  Tanev dumped the puck in and allowed Cornacchia to beat a Canisius defenseman for the puck behind the net. Cornacchia found a streaking Janda who went high for the goal.

Smith tallied his first goal at the 12:10 mark, converting a feed from Burt in close past a surprised Morrison. Burt stole the puck from a Canisius defenseman behind the net and found Smith in tight for the goal.

The Tigers continued their strong play from the first period and continued its domination of the Golden Griffins over the second 20 minutes, scoring three more times and out-shooting them 19-5.

Hartley gave RIT a 4-0 lead 2:37 into the frame, ripping a shot from the right face-off circle past Morrison after the initial shot by Scott Knowles (Riverside, Ontario/) was stopped. Brent Alexin (West Seneca, NY/) also assisted on Hartley's goal, his sixth of the season.

Burt scored his team-leading 13th goal of the year, midway through the period, converting a rebound after Tanev's shot was stopped to give RIT the 5-0 lead. Sean Murphy (Owatonna, MN/) was in front of the net and fed a pass back to the point to Tanev. Tanev's shot was stopped by Morrison, but Burt shoved home the rebound.

Cornacchia potted his fifth goal of the year with 5:48 left in the second period to make it 6-0. Taylor McReynolds (Sherwood Park, Alberta/) came out from the corner and was pushed into Morrison. Cornacchia picked up the rebound and put the puck in the open net.

Janda buried his second goal of the game early in the third period, slamming home a shot off his own rebound. It was his first multi-goal game of his career. After the goal, Janda was slammed from behind into the boards by Canisius' Peter MacDougall. MacDougall was given a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct.

RIT tallied its eighth goal on the ensuing power-play, as Haltigin ripped a blast past Morrison on a 5-on-3 advantage. Burt and Ringwald assisted on the goal.

RIT is 12-2-0 this season at home. The Tigers have out-scored foes 61-22 in those 14 games. In 27 AHA games this season, RIT has outscored its opponents, 104-47. The Tigers have allowed 1.72 goals per game in AHA play, and 2.10 goals overall. The 2.10 goals allowed per game are second fewest in Division I.

RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 48-14-1. Since the start of the 2005-06 season, RIT is 9-4-0 against the Golden Griffins. Last season, RIT won both games against Canisius in Buffalo, 5-2 and 4-3.

Dan Morrison stopped 40 shots in defeat for Canisius.

The Tigers conclude the regular season on Saturday against the Golden Griffins at 7:05 p.m. RIT will honor its senior class before the game.