Men's Hockey | 1/8/2013 10:37:00 AM

Click here for RIT Game Notes --- Click here for Bentley Game Notes

ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team returns home for its first home games of the 2013 calendar year, as Atlantic Hockey Association foe Bentley University comes to Ritter Arena on Friday and Saturday. Both games will get underway at 7:05 p.m.

Tim Horton's is Friday's game sponsor, while Canandaigua National Bank and At Home Builders will sponsor Saturday's contest. On Friday, Tim Horton's will have a booth set up with free hot beverages while supplies last. The first 500 fans through the doors on Saturday will receive a free ice scraper, courtesy of At Home Builders, while the first 300 fans will also receive a free fleece winter hat, courtesy of Canandaigua National Bank. In addition on Saturday, Hockey This Morning on “SiriusXM's NHL Network Radio” will be in attendance to check out the Ritter Arena atmosphere and college game.

RIT (5-9-4, 3-5-3 AHA) played its final non-conference games of the regular season, splitting a weekend series at St. Lawrence last weekend, winning 4-3 and losing 4-3. On Friday, RIT rallied from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits to defeat the Saints 4-3. Alexander Kuqali (Pittsburgh, PA/Sioux City Musketeers) tied the game with 4:04 left in regulation, while Adam Hartley (West Vancouver, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles) tipped in a Kuqali shot with 1:30 remaining to give RIT the win. The following night, Mike Colavecchia (Maple, Ontario/Lindsay Muskies) scored two goals.

Adam Mitchell (Crofton, MD/Baystate Breakers) and Chris Saracino (St. Louis, MO/Green Bay Gamblers) lead the team in scoring with 15 points apiece. Greg Noyes (Lucan, Ontario/Salmon Arm Silverbacks) and Saracino are the tied for the highest scoring defensive duo in the country with 29 points. Beginning this weekend, RIT will play its final 16 regular season games against AHA foes. The Tigers have eight home games and eight away games remaining. The RIT penalty-killing unit has killed off 53 of its opponents last 58 chances with the man-advantage (91.4 percent) spanning the last 11 games. They have been shorthanded 88 times this season, as opposed to receiving just 69 power-play attempts.

Bentley enters the weekend having defeated Northeastern by a score of 6-3 on Jan, 5. The Falcons boast the national leader in points per game, junior Brett Gensler, who has 29 points on 11 goals and 18 assists in 17 games (1.71 PPG). The Falcons are the top scoring team in the nation, averaging 3.82 goals per game. Seven Falcons have at least 10 points, including the co-highest scoring defensive tandem in Division I (Steve Weinstein and Matt Blomquist - 29 points). Bentley has outscored its opponents 65-58 this year. In net, Branden Komm has appeared in 15 games and is 6-8-0 with a 3.42 goals against average and .903 save percentage.

RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 15-5-2 and is 13-4-2 against the Falcons since 2006. It is a rematch of the 2012 AHA Quarterfinal series won by RIT in three dramatic games. Bentley took RIT to the brink of elimination, winning game one, 4-1, before RIT won game two, 5-4 in double overtime and game three, 3-0.

Tickets are available for both games at the Gordon Field House and Activities Center Box Office or by phone at (585) 475-4121. Fans can also purchase tickets at www.rithockey.com. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for RIT faculty, staff and alumni and $5 for students with ID. Fans can also buy special reserved seats in Section 100 or 101 for $13 (adults), $11 (faculty/staff/alumni) or $8 (students). Buying a reserved section ticket will guarantee you a seat for the game.

Both 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 from Ritter Arena.  In addition, both games will be broadcast over the airwaves on WITR 89.7 FM and witr.rit.edu. Live stats are also available here.

Come out and support the Tigers as they begin their quest for the 2013 Atlantic Hockey Championship.