BUFFALO, NY – Matt Garbowsky (St. George, Ontario/Powell River Kings) recorded the seventh hat-trick in RIT's Division I history, including the game-tying goal with 2:52 left in regulation, as the RIT men's hockey team (2-6-2, 1-4-2 AHC) skated to a 3-3 tie versus league foe Canisius (4-4-3, 3-2-2 AHC) in front of 1,411 fans at the brand new HARBORCENTER in downtown Buffalo on Friday night.
 
Down 3-2 late in the third period, Garbowsky swatted in a rebound in mid air after a shot from Brad McGowan (Langley, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles) was stopped by Canisius goaltender Keegan Asmundson. Garbowsky also added goals 2:31 apart early in the second period, giving him five goals over his last three games and eight in 10 games this season.
 
Garbowsky joins Matt Smith (twice), Matt Crowell, Alan Mazur, Dan Ringwald, and Mike Colavecchia (Maple, Ontario/Lindsay Muskies) as the only players in RIT's 10-year Division I history to record hat-tricks.
 
Josh Mitchell (Osoyoos, British Columbia/Alberni Valley Bulldogs) dished out a pair of assists for the Tigers, giving him 11 in 10 games this season. Brady Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers), Chase Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers), Alex Perron-Fontaine (St. Mathieu de Beloeil, Quebec/Chilliwack Chiefs), and McGowan also added assists. Chase Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers)'s assist was his first collegiate point. In net, Jordan Ruby (Tavistock, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) made 22 saves.
 
Chris Rumble scored two goals and added an assist to lead Canisius, while Mitch McCrank also scored. Asmundson made 37 saves.
 
RIT out-shot Canisius, 40-25. Canisius was 1-for-4 with the man-advantage, while RIT was 0-for-4.
 
"Matt (Garbowsky) was the best player on the ice tonight, and frankly he has been our best player all season," said RIT head coach Wayne Wilson. "As a whole, we cannot be spectators, we have to work hard, give 110 percent and good results will come."
 
Canisius scored the lone goal in the opening period, as RIT held a 9-6 edge in shots on goal.
 
RIT had a good chance late in the period, when Mitchell took a feed in the slot from Garbowsky, but Asmundson stopped his low shot.
 
Ruby made two big saves of his own with just over five minutes left in the period, as he robbed Nolan Sheeran from in front off a RIT face-off win and then stopped Sheeran moments later from the face-off dot on the rush.
 
Canisius would get on the board with just 1:30 left in the period, taking advantage of RIT not being able to get the puck out of its own zone. Rumble was able to carry the puck from the point to the right side wall, where he found McCrank in the slot. With little room, McCrank was able to fire a shot past a screened Ruby just inside the right post to make it 1-0 Golden Griffins.
 
Garbowsky would score twice in a span 2:31 early in the second to give RIT a 1-0 lead before Canisius tallied the equalizer to make it 2-2 after 40 minutes of play.
 
Right off the opening face-off the period, the Garbowsky, Mitchell, McGowan line was all over Canisius and at the 57 second mark, it culminated in Garbowsky's sixth goal of the year to tie the game at 1-1. RIT kept the puck in the zone, with a shot from Brady Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers) whistling wide of the net. The carom came to Mitchell behind the net, who wheeled and found Garbowsky in front, and the senior captain made no mistake to tie the game at 1-1.
 
Just 2:31 later, right after RIT killed off an abbreviated Canisius power-play, Perron-Fontaine made a pass to Chase Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers) right at the red line boards. Norrish then floated a perfect pass to Garbowsky, who was onside, and behind the Golden Griffins defense. Garbowsky faked the shot, got Asumundson to commit and roofed a shot just under the crossbar for his seventh goal of the year.
 
Canisius would tie the game at the 6:54 mark, as Rumble fired a shot from the left point that went through everyone, off the crossbar and in. 
 
After that the game opened up, with several good chances on each end, with both goaltenders coming up with big saves.
 
Early in the third period, Andrew Miller (Chicago, IL/Chicago Steel) had a wide open net off a rebound in front from a shot by Mark Golberg (Ottawa, Ontario/Cumberland Grads), but somehow, Asmundson got across to keep the puck out and the game tied.
 
Rumble would give Canisius a 3-2 lead 4:20 into the third period on its lone shot of the night on the power-play, as his shot got through traffic and past Ruby for his second goal of the night.
 
RIT and Canisius have enjoyed a long rivalry, both as members of the ECAC West Conference and as AHA schools. RIT is 57-19-2 all-time against the Golden Griffins and 18-9-1 since the start of the 2005-06 season. Tonight marked the first time that the two schools have gone to overtime since RIT joined Division I in 2005.
 
HARBORCENTER, which opened on Oct. 31, is a $172 million facility adjacent to First Niagara Center, home of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, with two NHL-size rinks, including a 1,800-seat arena where Canisius serves as the primary tenant. The facility also houses the team's state-of-the-art locker room, separate athletic training areas, a player's lounge and the IMPACT Sports Performance Center in addition to Tim Hortons and (716) Food and Sport.
 
The two teams complete their regular season series on Saturday night, once again from HARBORCENTER, starting at 7:35 p.m.