Men's Hockey | 3/8/2011 10:11:03 AM

ROCHESTER, NY - The RIT men's hockey team hosts the American International College Yellow Jackets in the 2011 Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals. The best of three series at Ritter Arena takes place on Friday, March 11, Saturday, March 12 and Sunday, March 13 (if necessary). Each game will start at 7:05 p.m. RIT, who is gunning for its second straight tournament title, is the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament, while American International enters as the 12-seed.

The Tigers (16-10-8, 15-5-7 Atlantic Hockey) enter this weekend's contests having won four straight AHA postseason contests. RIT is 6-1 all-time in AHA postseason games at Ritter Arena, scoring 36 goals in those contests. The Tigers are 8-2-4 at home this season, outscoring foes 51-34.

Senior Andrew Favot (King City, Ontario/) leads the Tigers in scoring with 40 points (12-28-40). It is his second straight season of at least 40 points. Tyler Brenner (Linwood, Ontario/) is tied for sixth in the nation with 24 goals. He is one point shy of 100 in his career. Brenner has 13 goals and 22 points over his last 16 games. Freshman forward Ben Lynch (Blaine, MN/Lincoln Stars) has a six-game point-scoring streak, and has 17 points (5-12-17) over his last 13 games. In goal, Shane Madolora (Salinas, CA/) is 14-2-7 and leads the nation with a .929 save percentage. He is seventh nationally with a 2.09 goals against average.

American international (8-22-1, 7-19-1 AHA) defeated Army by a score of 6-3 in an Atlantic Hockey Play first round game on Saturday. Nielsson Arcibal, Tom Mele, and Adam Pleskach tallied a goal and two assists apiece, as the Yellow Jackets scored three times in the final 10 minutes to break a 3-3 tie. Ben Meisner made 36 saves.  Pleskach leads the squad with 13 goals, 15 assists, and 28 points. Meisner has played in 25 games, posting a 7-16-1 record with a 3.63 goals against average, and .905 save percentage.

RIT went 1-1 against American International this season, with the teams trading four-goal victories. RIT defeated American International, 4-0 on Dec. 3, while Yellow Jackets returned the favor with a 6-2 win the following afternoon. Madolora recorded his first collegiate shutout in the 4-0 win, while six different players scored goals for the Yellow Jackets in their victory. The Tigers are 15-3-1 all-time against American International.

Tickets are available for this weekend's games 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 and $5 for students with ID. Fans can buy special reserved seats in Section 100 for $12 and $7 for students with ID. If the Sunday, March 13 game is necessary, the Gordon Field House box office will be open on that day from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Friday and Saturday's games will be aired live on Time Warner Cable Sports channel 26 or 1026 for high definition subscribers, with Gene Battaglia and John DiTullio bringing you the action. If RIT plays on Sunday, the game will be also be aired on Time Warner Cable Sports channel 98.

If RIT advances, they will play in the Atlantic Hockey Final Four at Blue Cross Arena on Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19.

Come out and support the Tigers in their quest for the 2011 Atlantic Hockey Championship.