Men's Hockey | 11/27/2012 2:30:00 PM

Click here for RIT Notes -- Click here for Air Force Notes

ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team makes its annual trek to Colorado Springs, Colorado to face Atlantic Hockey Association rival Air Force. The two teams will hook up in a single contest on Sunday, Dec. 2 at 8:05 p.m. EST.

RIT (2-7-3, 1-4-3 AHA) will look to snap a five-game winless streak on Sunday. Last time out, on Nov. 23, the Tigers skated to a 3-3 draw against Clarkson in front of a sellout crowd at Ritter Arena. Ben Lynch (Blaine, MN/Lincoln Stars), Greg Noyes (Lucan, Ontario/Salmon Arm Silverbacks), and Brad McGowan (Langley, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles) scored for the Tigers, while Josh Watson (Lititz, PA/Powell River Kings) made a season-high 41 saves. Chris Saracino (St. Louis, MO/Green Bay Gamblers) recorded two assists. The Tigers allowed two shorthanded goals in the game for the first time since Jan. 6, 2007 vs. Niagara. Lynch picked up his 50th career point in the tie.

Adam Mitchell (Crofton, MD/Baystate Breakers) leads the team in scoring with 13 points on six goals and seven assists. Greg Noyes (Lucan, Ontario/Salmon Arm Silverbacks) and Chris Saracino (St. Louis, MO/Green Bay Gamblers) are both tied for fifth among defensemen nationally with 0.93 points per game. Each player has 11 points in 12 games, tied for second on the team in scoring with Jeff Smith (Spokane, WA/Tri-City Storm). RIT is 58th out of 59 teams nationally in scoring defense, allowing 4.33 goals per game. In net, Watson is 2-3-2 with a 3.22 goals against average and .922 save percentage.

Air Force (3-6-3, 2-3-1 AHA), like RIT, comes into the weekend, struggling, having lost three in a row. They host Mercyhurst on Friday at 9:05 p.m, EST before playing the Tigers. Last weekend, the Falcons lost two one goal games at Connecticut, 2-1, and 3-2 in overtime. Air Force has scored and allowed 33 goals this season. Tony Thomas leads the team in scoring with nine points on three goals and six assists, while Jason Fabian leads the squad with five goals.  In net, RIT nemesis Jason Torf has played in all but 32 minutes for the Falcons this season and is 3-6-3 with a 2.39 goals against average and .923 save percentage.

RIT and Air Force has developed into one of the best and most competitive rivalries in all of college hockey, as Air Force now leads the all-time series between the two schools, 17-14-3. Since the start of the 2005-06 season, RIT is 11-15-3 against Air Force. In seven trips to Air Force since 2005, the Tigers are 0-7 on the first night or lone game of the weekend series and 2-9-2 overall.
 
The two teams will meet later in the season for a pair of games at Ritter Arena on Feb. 22-23, 2013. Both games will begin at 7:05 p.m.
 
Sunday's game will be carried live online and audio will be provided by WITR 89.7. Fans can also follow Air Force's live stats.