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USCHO.com Team Preview - Democrat and Chronicle Season Preview and Meet the Tigers
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team plays its first two regular season games at the brand new Gene Polisseni Center this weekend, hosting St. Lawrence on Friday and Clarkson on Saturday. Both games get underway at 7:05 p.m. On Saturday, RIT will host its inaugural One SpiRIT: Global Hockey Festival at the new facility.
On Friday, every 214th fan through the door wins a large pizza courtesy of Salvatore's. One lucky fan will win free pizza for a year. In addition, all fans in attendance will receive a 2014-15 RIT replica jersey rally towel. There will also be a face painting station, photo booth, and more for fans to enjoy.
In a global celebration of RIT hockey, RIT's main campus will be connected with its international campuses in Croatia, Dubai and Kosovo via advanced Cisco Systems telecommunications technology on Saturday. This technology will allow students from around the world to interact with each other in real time.
On the main campus in Rochester, festival-goers will be treated to an assortment of food, tailgating games, giveaways, live music and much more prior to Tigers' men's and women's hockey games.
Tickets for both contests are available at the Gene Polisseni Center and Gordon Field House Box Offices, by calling (585) 475-4121, or by visiting
www.rithockey.com.
RIT opened the 2014-15 season by defeating Brock University, 5-2 in an exhibition contest before 2,973 fans at the Gene Polisseni Center on Saturday.
Garrett McMullen (Churchville, NY/Trail Smoke Eaters) scored goals 12 seconds apart early in the first period, while
Matt Garbowsky (St. George, Ontario/Powell River Kings),
Alexander Kuqali (Pittsburgh, PA/Sioux City Musketeers), and
Michael Holland (Cambridge, MA/Chicago Steel) also scored.
Jordan Ruby (Tavistock, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) and
Ken MacLean (Concord, MA/Kalamazoo Wings) split time in net, each playing half of the contest. Ruby made 18 saves on 19 shots, while MacLean stopped 15-of-16 shots.
St. Lawrence opened its season with a 4-0 exhibition win over Carleton on Saturday. Patrick Doherty had a goal and an assist to lead the Saints, while all three goaltenders combined to stop all 19 shots faced in the shutout win. St. Lawrence finished 15-19-4 last season. Gavin Bayreuther is St. Lawrence's top returning scorer, having tallied 36 points on nine goals and 27 assists. Goaltender Tyler Parks was 2-1-0 last season with a 2.99 goals against average and .861 save percentage. St. Lawrence was picked to finish 11th in the 2014-15 ECAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Clarkson opened its season with an 8-0 trouncing of Queen's in an exhibition contest on Sunday. Clarkson broke the game open with six second period goals. James de Hass and Joe Zarbo had a goal and two assists each to lead the way. Three goaltenders combined to stop all 15 shots in the shutout. The Golden Knights finished 21-17-4 last season, advancing to the ECAC Quarterfinals. Jeff Di Nallo is the team's leading returning scorer, having tallied 25 points on 11 goals and 14 assists last season. In goal, Steve Perry and Greg Lewis split time last season. Perry was 11-10-3, while Lewis was 9-6-1. Clarkson was picked to finish eighth in the 2014-15 ECAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Tigers are 4-9-0 all-time against St. Lawrence, 4-6-0 in the Division I era and 2-11-3 all-time against Clarkson, 0-5-2 in the Division I era. Last season, RIT hosted St. Lawrence in a pair of games and split, falling 5-3 and winning 6-4. The Tigers went up to Clarkson for a pair of games, losing 4-1 and skating to a 3-3 draw.
Both games will be aired live on Time Warner Cable Sports Channel 26. As always Gene Battaglia and John DiTullio are on the call from the Gene Polisseni Center. The contests will be broadcast over the airwaves on WITR 89.7 FM and
witr.rit.edu, and on
America One. Saturday's game is available
online for free.
Live stats are also available for both contests.
Come out and support your Tigers in their first season at the Gene Polisseni Center.
