BUFFALO, NY – Senior goaltender Jordan Ruby (Tavistock, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) stopped all 19 shots he faced for his second career shutout and classmate Matt Garbowsky (St. George, Ontario/Powell River Kings) scored a goal and added an assist to lift the RIT men's hockey team (3-6-2, 2-4-2 AHC) to a 3-0 win over league foe Canisius (4-5-3, 3-3-2 AHC) in front of 1,203 fans at the brand new HARBORCENTER in downtown Buffalo on Saturday night.
 
"I thought we played really smart and were in control tonight," said RIT head coach Wayne Wilson. "We competed much harder, grittier and were really strong defensively."
 
Garbowsky scored the eventual game-winning goal in the second period and set up Brad McGowan (Langley, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles)'s goal with 3:33 left that made it 3-0 RIT. Danny Smith (Edmonton, Alberta/Sherwood Park Crusaders) scored RIT's second goal just 1:09 into the third period.
 
Defensively, RIT was tremendous, allowing just 19 Canisius shots, five in the first period, nine in the second, and five in the third. RIT's defensive unit of Alexander Kuqali (Pittsburgh, PA/Sioux City Musketeers), Brady Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers), Chase Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers), Greg Amlong (O'Fallon, MO/UMass Lowell), Matt Abt (Leduc, Alberta/Whitecourt Wolverines ), and Alex Perron-Fontaine (St. Mathieu de Beloeil, Quebec/Chilliwack Chiefs) also helped RIT block 15 Canisius shots and limit their chances all evening.
 
Overall, RIT out-shot Canisius, 29-19. Both teams were 0-for-3 with the man-advantage.
 
RIT played a strong first period, despite zero goals on the scoreboard, out-shooting Canisius, 10-5.
 
Just over five minutes into the contest, Todd Skirving (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Sioux Falls Stampede) came in alone on a partial breakaway, tried to beat Asmundson with a shot to the far post but the Canisius goaltender held his ground with a big save.
 
Garbowsky had two excellent chances on one shift midway through the period, missing the net twice on chances from the slot. Amlong had a good chance on an odd-man rush that was stopped by Asmundson.
 
Chase Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers) made the best defensive play of the period for the Tigers, blocking a shot on a 2-on-1 odd-man rush for the Golden Griffins later in the period.
 
Garbowsky got the Tigers on the board while the two teams were playing 4-on-4 at the 11:22 mark of the second. Brady Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers) fired a pass up the boards that eluded a Canisius defender and hit Josh Mitchell (Osoyoos, British Columbia/Alberni Valley Bulldogs), setting up a 2-on-1. Mitchell calmly waited out the defenseman and fed Garbowsky in tight. Garbowsky was able to beat Asmundson up high for his ninth goal. Mitchell's assist was his 12th of the year, tops in all of Division I.
 
RIT ran into penalty problems and had to kill off a pair of Canisius power-plays, and did so with a good chunk of play in the Canisius zone.
 
Ruby's best save of the period came on Doug Beck from the slot on a rush. Beck tried to beat Ruby high, but the RIT goaltender was there with a big glove save.
 
Smith scored a big insurance goal for the Tigers 1:09 into the final period, taking a feed from Brandon Thompson (Vancouver, British Columbia/Handsworth) in front and firing a shot just inside the right post for his second goal of the season. Myles Powell (Courtenay, British Columbia/Cowichan Valley Capitals) also assisted on the goal.
 
McGowan took a feed from Garbowsky on a 2-on-1 with 3:33 left to complete the scoring. The senior captain recorded five points on the weekend and now has 15 points in 11 games this season on nine goals and six assists.
 
"It's always good to get three points on the road," said Wilson. "We have to keep this momentum going next weekend at home against Sacred Heart, who will be a tough test for us."
 
Last night, Garbowsky recorded the seventh hat-trick in RIT's Division I history, including the game-tying goal with 2:52 left in regulation, as RIT and Canisius played to a 3-3 tie. Ruby made 22 saves, as RIT out-shot the Golden Griffins, 40-25. It was the first tie between the two schools since RIT moved to Division I in 2005.
 
RIT and Canisius have enjoyed a long rivalry, both as members of the ECAC West Conference and as AHA schools. RIT is 58-19-2 all-time against the Golden Griffins and 19-9-1 since the start of the 2005-06 season. The Tigers now have a four-game unbeaten streak against Canisius dating back to last season.
 
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.
 
RIT is back in action next weekend with a pair of games against Sacred Heart at the Gene Polisseni Center. Both Friday and Saturday's games get underway at 7:05 p.m.