Men's Hockey | 2/6/2010 6:42:45 PM

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MILFORD, CT – Despite scoring at least four goals for the sixth straight game, the RIT men's hockey team (16-11-1, 16-5-1 AHA) fell to Sacred Heart (14-10-4, 12-7-3 AHA) by a score of 5-4 on Saturday afternoon at the Milford Ice Pavilion.

Down 5-4 late in the third period, RIT just missed tying the game with 2:25 left, as Scott Knowles (Riverside, Ontario/) shot from in tight that was marked for the top right corner was snatched out of the air by Sacred Heart's Steven Legatto, saving the game.

RIT kept pushing late and pulled goaltender Jared DeMichiel (Avon, CT/) for the final 1:17, but could not get the equalizer.

Knowles, Chris Haltigin (Oakville, Ontario/), Tyler Brenner (Linwood, Ontario/), and Andrew Favot (King City, Ontario/) scored for the Tigers. Cameron Burt (Detroit, MI/) had two assists. Knowles and Haltigin also added assists.

With the game tied at 3 entering the third period, Sacred Heart netted the next two goals to go up 5-3.
Paul Ferraro crashed the net and tipped in a pass by Erik Boisvert, who appeared to be a step offside as he gained the zone at the 5:11 mark to make it 4-3.

Five minutes later, Nick Johnson's low shot from the left wing eluded RIT goaltender Jared DeMichiel (Avon, CT/) to give Sacred Heart a 5-3 lead.

The Tigers did not quit, however, getting right back in the game with 8:16 left, as Haltigin followed up on the play and collected a blocked shot in the slot and ripped a shot over the glove of Legatto for his second goal of the weekend and fifth of the year. Knowles fed Brent Alexin (West Seneca, NY/) in the neutral zone. Alexin carried the puck along the left wing, cut to the middle and had his shot blocked. Haltigin followed the play and was able to get his shot through traffic.

From there, RIT kept coming, forcing Sacred Heart to ice the puck several times. Unfortunately, the Tigers could not tie the game.

Sacred Heart out-shot RIT, 34-31. Legatto made 27 saves to pick up the win, while DeMichiel stopped 29 shots in the defeat.

RIT leads the AHA standings by three points over Air Force. Sacred Heart is just five points back of the Tigers, tied for third with Mercyhurst.

Both teams came out strong once again, as Sacred Heart took a 2-1 lead after one period of play.
Taylor McReynolds (Sherwood Park, Alberta/) had a great chance early on, taking a feed from Mike Janda (Glen Ellyn, IL/) in front with Legatto down. McReynolds' shot went off both posts and stayed out.

The Tigers grabbed the early lead, as Knowles took a feed from Adam Hartley (West Vancouver, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles) in the neutral zone, scooted up the left wing and ripped a bad angle shot that caught Legatto off balance and snuck into the top corner, short side with 6:34 left in the period. Alan Mazur (Burnaby, British Columbia/) also assisted on the goal, Knowles' fourth of the season.

Sacred Heart tied the game at 1, 1:15 later, as Patrick Knowlton jammed in a perfect cross-ice feed from Nick Johnson.

Favot nearly gave RIT the lead back on a power-play, but his tip-in attempt from in close just went wide of the open side.

The Pioneers took the lead with 15 seconds left in the period. RIT had the puck cleared with Sacred Heart on a delayed offside, but the whistle was never blown as a Pioneer stayed in the zone. Sacred Heart was able to keep the puck in illegally, and was rewarded, as Paul Ferraro took a feed from Dave Jarman at the left point and ripped a shot that eluded a screened DeMichiel.

Sacred Heart held a 16-11 edge in shots after the opening period of play.

Corey Laurysen gave the Pioneers a 3-1 lead just 1:18 into the second period, taking a rebound that slid to the slot and ripping it into the open net. DeMichiel made a great save on the initial 2-on-1 chance by Knowlton. The puck slid off the post and came to the high slot, where Laurysen was there to slam in the shot.

RIT came right back at the 4:08 mark, while the teams were skating 4-on-4. Burt fed a streaking Chris Haltigin (Oakville, Ontario/), who came in to the zone with Brenner and worked the give-and-go to perfection. Haltigin's pass found a wide open Brenner at the doorstep, and the second-year forward made no mistake, tallying his sixth goal in the last six games, and ninth of the season to make the score 3-2 Pioneers.

The Tigers were awarded 1:47 of 5-on-3 time late in the period, and finally converted with just 26 seconds left on the two-man advantage, as Favot caught Legatto cheating to one side, and slid a low shot between the pads for his ninth goal of the season and 30th point. Dan Ringwald (Oakville, Ontario/) toed the line and fed Burt, who slid the pass down low to Favot. Favot faked the pass and fired from the left side.

Tyler Mazzei (Kelowna, British Columbia/) had his point streak snapped at seven games.

RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 8-4-1. Tonight's contest was the fourth and final meeting between the two schools this season, as RIT won the season series, 3-1. On Nov. 20-21, RIT swept the Pioneers by scores of 3-2 and 5-3 at RIT. In the first contest, Favot broke a 2-2 with a late power-play goal. The next afternoon, Brenner broke a 3-3 tie, scoring with 3:37 left, and Shane Madolora (Salinas, CA/) picked up his first collegiate win in the second game.

Last night, Favot, Brenner, and Burt combined for 10 points in a 5-2 RIT win. Favot tallied a career-best four points (2-2-4), as the RIT power-play finished 3-for-9. The Tigers snapped Sacred Heart's 12-game unbeaten streak.

The Tigers return to action on Friday, as they travel to AHA foe Army for a two-game series. The contest begins at 7:05 p.m.