Men's Hockey | 2/19/2011 10:23:10 PM

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MOON TOWNSHIP, PA – The RIT men's hockey team (16-9-7, 15-4-6 AHA) had a trio of streaks snapped in a 5-3 loss to Robert Morris (18-9-5, 13-7-5 AHA) on Saturday evening at the Robert Morris Island Sports Arena. RIT had an 11-game unbeaten streak, 15-game unbeaten streak against AHA foes, and eight-game road unbeaten streak snapped.

Robert Morris jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one period of play, and a 5-1 advantage after 33 minutes of play. RIT out-shot Robert Morris, 36-17 over the final 40 minutes and made a valiant comeback attempt, but fell short.

Bryan Potts (Niagara Falls, Ontario/Markham Waxers), playing in his first game since Dec. 4, scored a career-best two goals and added an assist for the Tigers. It was his first two goals of the year. Tyler Brenner (Linwood, Ontario/) dished out three assists, while Ben Lynch (Blaine, MN/Lincoln Stars) added two helpers. Chris Saracino (St. Louis, MO/Green Bay Gamblers) also scored for the Tigers, who continue to lead Atlantic Hockey by five points.

The Tigers were 1-for-8 on the power-play, while Robert Morris was 1-for-5. RIT out-shot Robert Morris, 42-30.

The loss was the first in AHA play for RIT since Dec. 4, 2010 at American International. Overall, it was RIT's first loss since Jan. 1, 2011 against nationally-ranked Merrimack.

Ron Cramer, Adam Brace, Tom Brooks, Cody Crichton, and Zach Hervato scored for the Colonials. Denny Urban and Brock Meadows dished out two assists. Brooks Ostergard made 39 saves to earn the win for Robert Morris.

Shane Madolora (Salinas, CA/) had his 20-game unbeaten streak snapped, making 25 saves to earn his first loss of the season. He started the season, 14-0-6.

RIT Head Coach Wayne Wilson said the RIT's slow start doomed them in defeat.
“We played a very solid final two periods, but unfortunately, our slow start did us in,” said Wilson. “We knew they were going to come out very strong, but didn't play with any jam and were unable to match their intensity early.”

Tonight's game was the third of three meetings between RIT and Robert Morris this season. On Oct. 29, Adam Mitchell (Crofton, MD/Baystate Breakers) scored with 1:10 left in overtime to lift the Tigers to a dramatic. 3-2 win over the Colonials at Ritter Arena. Brenner scored with 1:16 left in regulation to snap a 3-3 tie and give RIT a 4-3 win over Robert Morris at CONSOL Energy Center. The all-time series between the two schools is knotted at 2-2-1.

The Tigers are back in action on Friday, as they host AHA foe Niagara at 7:35 p.m. RIT will honor its five members of the Class of 2011 before the game, which will be nationally televised on CBS College Sports.