Men's Hockey | 1/24/2014 9:37:00 PM

Box Score

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NY – The RIT men's hockey team (8-12-3, 7-8-1 AHA) had its two game winning streak snapped, falling to rival Niagara University (6-14-3, 6-7-1 AHA) by a score of 3-0 at Dwyer Arena on Friday evening.
 
The contest was nationally televised by CBS Sports Network. RIT was shutout for just the second time this season.
 
Niagara goaltender Adrian Ignagni was sensational in goal, stopping all 29 shots he faced for his first collegiate shut out. Ignagni made three tremendous saves in the final period and received help from the cross bar on a shot by Eliot Raibl (Vancouver, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires) late in regulation.
 
Ignagni made two huge saves on Ben Lynch (Blaine, MN/Lincoln Stars) in the third period, one coming on a clear-cut breakaway with 8:30 left. Ignagni robed Alex Perron-Fontaine (St. Mathieu de Beloeil, Quebec/Chilliwack Chiefs) in the slot right as the final buzzer sounded to preserve the shut out.
 
Issac Kohls, T.J. Sarcona, and Ryan Rashid scored for the Purple Eagles, while Vince Muto had two assists. Niagara out-shot the Tigers, 37-29.
 
RIT goaltender Jordan Ruby (Tavistock, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) was excellent in defeat, stopping 34 shots and keeping his team in the game all evening.
 
The Tigers allowed their first shorthanded goal of the season, going 0-for-4 with the man-advantage. Niagara finished 1-for-8 on the power-play.
 
"I thought we were tentative and poor, we played with a poor effort, and were not tough enough tonight," said head coach Wayne Wilson. "We need to toughen up and work a lot harder. Tomorrow it is pretty simple, we need to be much better to win."
 
Niagara scored the lone goal in the opening period, out-shooting RIT, 11-8. The Tigers got off to a slow start, but picked up play as the period progressed.
 
Muto hit the crossbar in the opening minute on a 3-on-2 rush for the Purple Eagles. RIT had two good chances of its own later in the period, as Lynch came in on a rush and tried to beat Ignagni to the backhand, but his shot rolled wide. Later in the period, Andrew Miller (Chicago, IL/Chicago Steel) came into the zone on a 2-on-1 and fired a shot from the right circle that Ignagni got a shoulder on.
 
Niagara would get on the board at the 14:10 mark, as RIT got trapped in its own zone and Kohls took a feed from Muto in the slot and wired a wrist shot through traffic past a screened Ruby to make it 1-0 Purple Eagles.
 
The Purple Eagles would tack on a pair of goals in the second period, including a shorthanded goal to take a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes of play.
 
Niagara would make it 2-0 at the 3:29 mark of the second, shorthanded, as T.J. Sarcona intercepted an errant pass at the RIT blue line and skated in alone on Ruby. Sarcona made a strong deke on the RIT goaltender, slipping a one-handed shot from in close against the grain and past the RIT goaltender.
 
Ruby had to make a tremendous save not long after as Niagara broke in on a 4-on-2 rush. The puck came to Hugo Turcott in the slot, who whistled a shot destined for the top corner, but Ruby stuck the glove out to make the brilliant save.
 
RIT had its chances with a pair of power plays later in the period, but could not cash in. The Tigers held the puck in the Niagara zone for a bulk of the second power play, and fired four shots, but were unable to solve Ignagni. His best save came on a backhand in front from Josh Mitchell (Osoyoos, British Columbia/Alberni Valley Bulldogs).
 
Niagara would up its lead to 3-0 with 2:08 left in the period on the power play, as Muto would fire a shot from the point that was tipped past Ruby by Rashid for his eighth goal of the season.
 
Tonight was the second of three meetings between the two schools this season. On Dec. 14, the two teams skated to a 2-2 draw at Frontier Field in downtown Rochester in the first outdoor game for both teams.
 
RIT is 3-13-9 all-time against Niagara, 1-11-7 in the Division I era. RIT has never defeated Niagara at Dwyer Arena. Eight of the last 12 meetings between the two schools have gone to overtime.
 
Tonight was RIT's fourth nationally televised game on CBS Sports Network. RIT played at Army on Jan. 7, 2011 and hosted Niagara on Feb. 25, 2011. The Tigers also played on CBS Sports at Air Force on Feb. 3, 2012. They are 0-3-1 in games played on CBS Sports and 2-4-1 all-time in nationally televised contests.
 
The two teams conclude the regular season series on Saturday night at Ritter Arena, also at 7:05 p.m. RIT will honor members of the 1983 and 1985 NCAA Championship teams, as well as the squad that made the 2010 Frozen Four and any All-Americans as part of Ritter Arena's "Night of Champions."  Niagara head coach Dave Burkholder was the goaltender on the 1983 NCAA Championship team.
 
This is RIT's final season at famed Ritter Arena before moving into the 4,200-seat Gene Polisseni Center on campus in 2014-15.