Men's Hockey | 2/12/2013 2:43:00 PM

Click here for RIT game notes -- Click here for Mercyhurst game notes

ROCHESTER, NY - The RIT men's hockey team goes West on I-90 to play a pair of Atlantic Hockey Association road contests at Mercyhurst on Friday and Saturday. Both games from the Mercyhurst Ice Center will get underway at 7:05 p.m. Both teams are jockeying for positioning in the bunched up AHA standings. Mercyhurst is clinging to second place with 26 points, while RIT is eighth, just six points behind the Lakers. Just four points separate the fourth and tenth place teams.

RIT (10-13-5, 8-9-4 AHA) is coming off of its second straight split against AHA foes, this time at Robert Morris, losing 3-0 then rallying for a 4-3 win in regulation. In the win on Saturday, Dan Schuler (Webster, NY/Powell River Kings) scored the game-winner with 8:56 remaining in. Mike Colavecchia (Maple, Ontario/Lindsay Muskies) scored a goal and added two assists, while Matt Garbowsky (St. George, Ontario/Powell River Kings) dished out a career-high three assists. Adam Hartley (West Vancouver, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles) also scored a power-play goal, as both teams tallied three power-play goals in the contest.

RIT has the nation's top power-play, clicking at 25.9 percent (28-for-108) on the season. The Tigers are 11th nationally in scoring, averaging 3.25 points per game. The duo of Chris Saracino (St. Louis, MO/Green Bay Gamblers) and Greg Noyes (Lucan, Ontario/Salmon Arm Silverbacks) are the highest scoring pair of defensemen in the country this season. Saracino is third nationally in scoring by a defensemen, with 25 points in 28 games, while Noyes is right behind with 22. In goal, Jordan Ruby (Tavistock, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) has started RIT's last four games, going 2-2 during that stretch with a 2.26 goals against average and .935 save percentage.

Mercyhurst (14-11-3, 12-7-2 AHA) enters this weekend's games looking to get back into the win column after a one-point weekend at home last weekend against Air Force, losing 4-2, and tying 2-2. Previously, the Lakers had won their last two games by identical 8-1 scores. Mercyhurst is the fourth highest scoring team in the country, averaging 3.39 goals per game. They have five players with at least 11 goals. Ryan Misiak leads the Lakers in scoring with 31 points on 12 goals and 19 assists, while Matthew Zay is right behind with 30 points. Paul Chiasson and Chris Bodo both have 13 goals to pace the squad. Mercyhurst has outscored its opponents, 95-76 this season. In net, Max Strang has seen the bulk of playing time. Strang is 11-6-2 with a 2.38 goals against average and .927 save percentage to go along with two shutouts.

This weekend's contests will mark the second and third meetings between the two schools this season. On Nov. 9, Mercyhurst defeated RIT at Ritter Arena, 5-3. Noyes and Garbowsky recorded two points apiece in the loss for the Tigers.
 
RIT is 28-15-6 all-time against the Lakers, as the two schools were also rivals at the Division III level in the ECAC West conference from 1988-99. The Tigers are 12-6-3 against Mercyhurst at the Division I level, including a 7-2-1 mark at the Mercyhurst Ice Center over that time period.