Women's Hockey | 2/18/2014 3:02:00 PM
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT women's hockey team wraps up the regular season with a home-and-home series against Syracuse, with third place in the CHA standings on the line. The Tigers host Syracuse at 7:05 p.m. on Friday, while the two teams meet at Syracuse's Tennity Ice Pavilion on Saturday at 4 p.m.
The Orange holds a one-point edge over RIT for third place in the standings. Mercyhurst has clinched the top spot in the CHA Tournament and will host the semifinals and championship on March 7-8. RIT is guaranteed home ice for the best-of-three CHA First Round series from Feb. 28 to March 2.
Friday is the regular season home finale at Ritter Arena before the Tigers move into the 4,200-seat Gene Polisseni Center in 2014-15. RIT will honor seniors
Melissa Bromley (Aurora, Ontario/Aurora Panthers),
Kourtney Kunichika (Fullerton, CA/LA Selects), and
Erin Zach (Elmira, Ontario/Cambridge Fury) before the game.
On Friday, RIT Athletics, in conjunction with the RIT women's hockey team will conduct a free sweepstakes for a chance to shoot three pucks into the net through a five-inch opening for a chance to win Free Textbooks for the Fall 2014 and Spring 2015 Semesters courtesy of Barnes and Noble Bookstore @ RIT (maximum value, $1,000 for registered classes). The odds of winning depend on the number of qualified entries received and successful completion of the Barnes and Noble @RIT shootout.
The Tigers (14-15-3, 9-7-2 CHA) split a weekend series against No. 9 Robert Morris over the weekend, losing 2-1 on Friday, while winning 1-0 on Saturday. On Friday,
Lindsay Grigg (Oakville, Ontario/Oakville Hornets) scored a first period power-play goal. On Saturday,
Celeste Brown (Great Falls, MT/National Sports Academy) scored a first period power-play goal, while
Ali Binnington (Oakville, Ontario/Mississauga Chiefs) and the RIT defense did the rest for the shutout. Binnington stopped 22 shots. RIT's defense was phenomenal, blocking a season-high 38 shots, while killing off all nine Robert Morris power-plays, including a two-minute 5-on-3 in the third period.
Marissa Maugeri (Ajax, Ontario/Durham West Lightning) leads the Tigers with 25 points in 31 games this season and has 18 points (6-12-18) over her last 16 games.
Kolbee McCrea (Wawa, Ontario/Burlington Barracudas) has a team-best 15 goals, one shy of the DI team record set by
Kim Schlattman (Stratford, Ontario/Cambridge Fury) last season. Binnington has a 1.41 goals against average and .953 save percentage in league play. Overall, she is 10-9-2 with five shutouts this season and 13 for her RIT career, second most in school history.
Syracuse enters this weekend's games looking to extend its five-game unbeaten streak. The Orange is 11-3-1 over its last 15 games. Last weekend, Syracuse swept a two-game series at Lindenwood, winning 5-2 on Friday and rallying to earn a 2-1 victory on Saturday. Syracuse is outscoring its opponents, 86-67 this season. Melissa Piacentini leads the Orange in scoring with 26 points on 15 goals and 11 assists, while Nicole Renault and Jessica Sibley are right behind with 24 and 23 points, respectively. In net, Jenesica Drinkwater is 14-4-1 with a 1.88 goals against average and .927 save percentage.
This will be the third and fourth meetings between the two schools this weekend. Syracuse leads the all-time series between the two schools, 5-1-1. All seven games have ended in a tie or one goal difference, with four going to overtime. RIT is 1-1 against Syracuse this season, winning 4-3 on a shorthanded goal from
Cassie Clayton (Pickering, Ontario/PEAC School) with 1:17 left on Jan. 10, while Syracuse won 5-4 in overtime a week later.
Tickets for Friday's game are available at the Gordon Field House and Activities Center Box Office or by phone at (585) 475-4121. Fans can also purchase tickets at www.rithockey.com. Ticket prices are $5 for adults, $4 for faculty/staff/alumni and $3 for students and youth. RIT student admission is free with valid ID (ticket must be picked up at the box office, one per ID).
Friday's game will be aired live on Time Warner Cable Sports Channel 26 with Gene Battaglia and Katie Stack '11 bringing you the action from Ritter Arena. In addition, Friday's will be broadcast at
witr.rit.edu and on
America One. Live stats are also available for
Friday and
Saturday's games.
Come out and support the Tigers in their final season at Ritter Arena. Next season, the Tigers move in to the 4,200-seat Gene Polisseni Center.
