Men's Hockey | 2/1/2012 10:20:00 AM
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team heads back on the road to play a pair of crucial Atlantic Hockey Association contests at heated rival Air Force on Friday and Saturday at Cadet Ice Arena. Friday's game will be aired live on CBS Sports and will get underway at 10:05 p.m., while Saturday's game starts at 9:05 p.m.
Television coverage for Friday's game begins at 10 p.m. and is the second game of a doubleheader on the network. CBS College Sports is channel 232 on Time Warner Digital Cable in the Rochester area, 613 on DirecTV, and 152 on Dish Network. It is a premium channel on all three carriers. On Time Warner, CBS College Sports is also available in high definition on channel 1027. Please check with your local cable provider for availability.
Matt McConnell will call the action, with Jim Paradise serving as color commentator.
The Tigers come into this weekend's contests riding a six-game unbeaten streak and are in sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Hockey Association standings after a win and a tie against Mercyhurst in a battle of the top two teams in conference play last weekend. On Friday, the Tigers, playing their first home game in 48 days, scored three power-play goals, and five different skaters tallied goals in a dominating 5-1 win over the Lakers. The following night,
Jeff Smith (Spokane, WA/Tri-City Storm) scored with 2:03 left in regulation, as RIT settled for a 2-2 tie.
Shane Madolora (Salinas, CA/) made 34 saves.
Senior defenseman
Chris Haltigin (Oakville, Ontario/) tallied three points on a goal and two assists and is currently riding a six-game point-scoring streak with nine points (1-8-9) during that span. He led the Tigers with 10 points in January.
Cameron Burt (Detroit, MI/) moved into sole possession of third place in career points in RIT's Division I era, recording his 126th career point.
Mike Colavecchia (Maple, Ontario/Lindsay Muskies) leads the team in scoring with 22 points on 11 goals and 11 assists. In net, Madolora is now 13-4-2 this season, third nationally with a 1.78 goals against average, .937 save percentage, and tied for first with six shutouts. In AHA play, he leads all goalies with a 1.39 goals against average and is second with a .950 save percentage.
The RIT defense is on quite a roll, having allowed just four goals over its last six games, by far its best stretch in program history. RIT recorded three consecutive shutouts for the first time in program history from Jan. 14 to Jan. 20. The Tigers have allowed two goals or less in 12 of their last 14 games and are 10-1-1 in those 12 contests. RIT is tied for second nationally in scoring defense, allowing 2.00 goals per game. The Tigers are outscoring their opponents, 24-4 over their six-game unbeaten streak.
Air Force (12-7-6, 10-4-5 AHA) enters the weekend riding a four-game unbeaten streak to move into second place in the conference standings. On Sunday and Monday, the Falcons went to Western New York and garnered three points at Canisius, winning by a score of 3-0 on Sunday and skating to a 1-1 draw on Monday. Kyle De Laurell leads the squad with 25 goals and 29 points in 24 games, while Cole Gunner leads the way with 18 assists. Tim Kirby is one of the highest scoring defensemen in the league, with 18 points (8-10-18) this season. In goal, Stephen Caple has seen the majority of playing time, and is 11-4-5 with a 2.18 goals against average and .910 save percentage.
It will be the second and third meetings between the two schools this season, with RIT earning a hard-fought 3-1 win over the Falcons at Ritter Arena on Nov. 11 behind two goals from
Bryan Potts (Niagara Falls, Ontario/Markham Waxers) and 25 saves from Madolora. RIT and Air Force have developed into one of the best and most competitive rivalries in all of college hockey, as the all-time series between the two schools is tied, 14-14-3. Since the start of the 2005-06 season, RIT is 11-12-3 against Air Force. An astounding 17 of the last 26 meetings between the two schools have been a tie or decided by one goal.
