Men's Hockey | 12/30/2011 4:33:00 PM

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BURLINGTON, VT -- For the first time since the 2010 NCAA East Regional, the RIT men's hockey team (10-6-2) defeated ranked opponents on consecutive days. On Friday, the Tigers defeated No. 16 Lake Superior State (12-8-2) 3-1 to win the 2011 Sheraton/TD Bank Catamount Cup at Gutterson Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Vermont.  Junior defenseman Chris Saracino (St. Louis, MO/Green Bay Gamblers) was named the Catamount Cup Most Valuable Player.

Sophomore goaltender Josh Watson (Lititz, PA/Powell River Kings) picked up his first collegiate win, making 32 saves to earn Game MVP honors.

The win is the first over Lake Superior State and the second straight win over a ranked opponent, as RIT defeated No. 11 Ferris State 3-0 on Thursday afternoon.

Adam Mitchell (Crofton, MD/Baystate Breakers) and Ben Lynch (Blaine, MN/Lincoln Stars) each had a goal and an assist for the Tigers. Jeff Smith (Spokane, WA/Tri-City Storm) had the other goal, while Chris Saracino (St. Louis, MO/Green Bay Gamblers), Eliot Raibl (Vancouver, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires), Brandon Thompson (Vancouver, British Columbia/Handsworth) and Mike Colavecchia (Maple, Ontario/Lindsay Muskies) each had assists.

Colavecchia and Shane Madolora (Salinas, CA/) were All-Tournament team selections. Madolora stopped all 23 shots in the 3-0 win over Ferris State on Thursday.  Colavecchia tallied three points in the two wins.

Lake Superior State held a 33-28 edge on shots. RIT went 0-for-3 with the man advantage, but held the Lakers to zero goals in two power play chances.  The Tigers were 11-for-11 on the penalty kill over the last two days.

RIT Head Coach Wayne Wilson was impressed by his team's effort in both games.

"I thought we were strong in all aspects over the two games," said Wilson, who coached his 400th career game behind the bench for RIT today, improving to 245-120-35 in 13 seasons.  "We received great goaltending, our special teams were strong, and we competed hard all week. This is a great way to start the second half of the season."

Lynch gave RIT a 1-0 at 7:03 of the first period on his second tally of the season. He tipped home a one-timer past Lakers goaltender Kevin Murdock off an centering feed from Thompson. Mitchell had the other assist on the play.

Watson came up big, making 15 saves in the first period.

RIT came out with two goals in a 36 second span in the second period to open up a 3-0 lead. Mitchell tallied at the 3:50 mark, converting a rebound after a shot by Lynch on a breakaway hit the post. Raibl also assisted on the goal to make it a 2-0 Tigers lead.  Smith scored his second of the season off a rebound off a shot from Colavecchia at 4:26 of the second to make it 3-0.

The Lakers turned up the pressure in the second half of the period, finally getting a puck past Watson at 9:22 on Nick McParland's 10th goal of the season cutting RIT's lead to 3-1.

Lake Superior State continued the pressure in the third period, but RIT maintained their poise, keeping the Lakers off the scoreboard giving the TIgers their second straight win and fifth in the last six games.

RIT hits the road next weekend, as they travel to perennial power University of Wisconsin on Jan. 6-7 in a rematch of the 2010 National Semifinal at the Frozen Four in Detroit, Mich at 8:07 p.m. EST.  Friday's game will be aired live by the Big Ten Network.