Men's Hockey | 10/19/2011 9:42:00 AM
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ROCHESTER, NY -- The RIT men's hockey team is back in action this weekend with a pair of tough tests. On Thursday, the Tigers play their first road contest of the season at Buffalo State Ice Arena against Atlantic Hockey Association foe Canisius. RIT then returns home to the friendly confines of Ritter Arena to play No. 12 Union in a non-conference tussle. Both games begin at 7:05 p.m.
M and T Bank is Saturday's game sponsor.
RIT enters the weekend fresh off a wild, 6-5 overtime win over St. Lawrence last Saturday before a sellout crowd of 10,556 fans at Blue Cross Arena.
Adam Mitchell (Crofton, MD/Baystate Breakers) scored 14 seconds into overtime to lift RIT to the win. The Tigers, who trailed 5-3 with 13 minutes left, got a goal from
Bryan Potts (Niagara Falls, Ontario/Markham Waxers) to cut the Saints lead to 5-4 with 11:14 left, then
Adam Hartley (West Vancouver, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles) sent the crowd into a frenzy, converting a rebound in front with nine seconds left to tie the game at 5-5.
Senior forward
Cameron Burt (Detroit, MI/) tied a RIT Division I team record and his own career-high with five points on two goals and three assists, while Potts tied a career-high with two goals and three points. Freshmen
Brad McGowan (Langley, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles) and
Matt Garbowsky (St. George, Ontario/Powell River Kings) recorded their first collegiate points in the win.
Canisius enters Thursday's game looking for its first win of the 2011-12 season. The Golden Griffins opened the season with a pair of losses at Quinnipiac last weekend, 7-1, and 4-0, getting out-shot by a combined total of 81-23. Kyle Gibbons scored Canisius' lone goal on Saturday.
RIT has won eight straight against the Golden Griffins dating back to the 2008-09 season. RIT is 53-14-1 all-time against Canisius and 14-4-0 since moving to Division I in 2005-06. RIT won all three meetings last season by a combined score of 13-1. RIT has outscored Canisius, 39-10 during the eight-game winning streak.
Union, ranked No. 12 in the current USCHO.com poll, played at Niagara on Friday, and opened the season with a three-game unbeaten streak. Last weekend, the Dutchmen played to a pair of home ties against No. 11 Western Michigan, 2-2, and 3-3. Union led in the third period of each game, but could not hold on. Jeremy Welsh recorded the hat-trick in Saturday's 3-3 tie. The Dutchmen opened the season by beating AHA foe Army, 8-1. The Dutchmen are coming off its first NCAA Tournament Appearance since moving to Division I in 1991-92.
The Tigers are 12-5-3 all-time against the Dutchmen. RIT and Union were strong Division II and III rivals in the 1980's and early 90's. They have faced each other four times since RIT moved to Division I, with Union holding a 3-0-1 advantage. Last year, Union handed RIT its most lopsided loss of the season, 7-2 in Schenectady.
Tickets are available for Saturday's game 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 $13 (adults), $11 (faculty/staff/alumni) or $8 (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 1026 for high definition subscribers. On Thursday, Dave Miller and Andrew Peters will bring you the action from Buffalo, while Gene Battaglia and John DiTullio will call the game as always from Ritter Arena on Saturday. In addition, the games will be broadcast over the airwaves on WITR 89.7 FM and witr.rit.edu.
Come out and support the Tigers as they begin their quest for the 2012 Atlantic Hockey Championship.
