Men's Hockey | 12/10/2012 1:43:00 PM

ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team wraps up play for the 2012 calendar year, as they make the quick drive West on I-90 to play Atlantic Hockey Association foe, No. 16 Niagara in a single contest from Dwyer Arena on Wednesday evening at 7:05 p.m.
 
The Tigers (4-8-3, 3-5-2 AHA) enter Wednesday's contest looking for their third straight win, as they picked up their first two home wins of the season, while snapping a Division I record six-game winless streak, sweeping Sacred Heart by scores of 5-3 on Friday and 5-2 on Saturday. On Friday, Mike Colavecchia (Maple, Ontario/Lindsay Muskies), Alexander Kuqali (Pittsburgh, PA/Sioux City Musketeers), and Josh Mitchell (Osoyoos, British Columbia/Alberni Valley Bulldogs) combined for nine points, while Jordan Ruby (Tavistock, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) picked up his first win of the season, stopping 25 shots. On Saturday, Colavecchia and Chris Saracino (St. Louis, MO/Green Bay Gamblers) recorded a goal and two assists apiece, as the power-play went 3-for-6 and Josh Watson (Lititz, PA/Powell River Kings) made 25 saves in the 5-2 win.
 
RIT is starting to generate excellent scoring depth, as six players have at least 10 points and nine are averaging at least 0.5 points per game. The duo of Saracino and Greg Noyes (Lucan, Ontario/Salmon Arm Silverbacks) continue to rack up the points from the blue-line. Saracino is tied for third nationally among scoring by defensemen, with 14 points and 0.93 points per game, while Noyes is right behind with 13 points, averaging 0.87 points per game. RIT's power-play is up to sixth nationally at 23.7 percent.
 
Niagara (10-2-3, 9-0-0 AHA) enters Wednesday's contest riding an 11-game unbeaten streak (9-0-2), currently the longest in Division I. They have out-scored opponents 41-14 with five shutouts over that stretch to vault into the national poll. Last time out on Dec. 1-2, they defeated Sacred Heart at home by scores of 5-3 and 5-2. Giancarlo Iuorio leads the team in scoring with 12 goals and 20 points. Ryan Murphy is right behind with 18 points on eight goals and 10 assists, while Kevin Ryan leads the squad with 12 assists. In goal, Carsen Chubak is off to an incredible start, with a 10-1-3 record, while leading all of Division I with a 1.21 goals against average, .962 save percentage, and five shutouts.
 
The Tigers are just 3-9-6 all-time against the Purple Eagles and 1-7-4 in the Division I era, but that one win was in the last meeting, the 2012 AHA Semifinal a 2-1 overtime decision at Blue Cross Arena. RIT has never won at Dwyer Arena, going 0-5-3. Last season, RIT went 1-1-2 against the Purple Eagles.
 
The game will be aired live on Time Warner Cable Sports channel 26 or 1026 for high definition subscribers with Kevin Sylvester and Andrew Peters bringing you the action from Dwyer Arena.  In addition, the game will be broadcast over the airwaves on WITR 89.7 FM and witr.rit.edu. Live stats are also available here.