Men's Hockey | 12/1/2015 9:49:00 AM
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team returns home to face Atlantic Hockey leader Robert Morris University in a pair of contests on Dec. 4-5 from the Gene Polisseni Center. Both Friday and Saturday's contests get underway at 7:05 p.m.
Tickets are available for both games online at
www.rithockey.com, the Gene Polisseni Center Box Office, or by calling (585) 475-4121. Friday is "Holiday Ugly Sweater" night. Any fan that wears a holiday themed sweater will receive free hot chocolate, courtesy of Tim Horton's. On Saturday, Rochester Regional Health is sponsoring a Tiger Toss. Fans are encouraged to bring a new stuffed animal to the game and throw on the ice after RIT's first goal. There will be a limited number of stuffed tigers for purchase at the door. In addition, all students can receive a free ticket for Saturday's game, courtesy of Student Affairs, which must be picked up at the Polisseni Center Box Office. Any student who already purchased a ticket can visit the Student Affairs booth for a free food voucher.
Also on Saturday, author Jim Mandelaro and former RIT student manager Joe Vicario will be on hand to sign copies of Mandelaro's new book "Outside The Game", a collection of inspirational sports stories from 5:30-7 p.m. in the main lobby. Vicario is one of Mandelaro's featured subjects in the book, published by RIT Press.
RIT enters the weekend looking to snap a four-game winless streak. Last Saturday, The Tigers raced out to a 2-0 lead vs. No. 2 Boston College on goals by
Abbott Girduckis (Belleville, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) and
Erik Brown (Keene, Ontario/Kemptville 73's) before the Eagles roared back with six unanswered tallies to defeat RIT, 6-2.
Mike Rotolo (Rochester, NY/Cedar Rapids Roughriders) made 30 saves in net.
The Tigers (3-7-2, 3-2-1 Atlantic Hockey) play their final 22 regular season games against league opponents, starting this weekend.
Mark Golberg (Ottawa, Ontario/Cumberland Grads) leads RIT in scoring with 11 points on two goals and nine assists in 11 games.
Greg Amlong (O'Fallon, MO/UMass Lowell),
Gabe Valenzuela (Brampton, Ontario/North York Rangers), and
Josh Mitchell (Osoyoos, British Columbia/Alberni Valley Bulldogs) are tied for second on the team with seven points each. Amlong leads the way with five goals. In goal, Rotolo is 2-5-2 with a 3.25 goals against average and an .889 save percentage.
Robert Morris enters the weekend with a 7-2-3 record, including a 6-1-3 mark in league play. Last weekend, the Colonials swept a two-game series against AHC foe Sacred Heart, winning by scores of 6-3 and 5-4. Robert Morris is out-scoring its opponents, 55-31 this season, as eight players have at least 10 points. The Colonials are the highest scoring team in the nation, averaging 4.58 goals per game. Zach Lynch leads the team in scoring with 21 points on nine goals and 12 assists. Greg Gibson and Brandon Denham also have nine goals. In net, Dalton Izyk is 4-0-1 with a 2.53 goals against average and a .921 save percentage, while Rochester native Terry Shafer is 3-2-1 with a 2.99 goals against average and a .909 save percentage.
Robert Morris leads the all-time series between the two schools, 9-5-4 and won the regular season series last season, 3-1. RIT is 2-3-3 all-time against the Colonials in Rochester. The Tigers and Colonials enjoyed a memorable series last February in Rochester, with both teams winning by identical 4-3 scores. The 4-3 win by the Tigers jumpstarted them on their eight-game winning streak that saw them advance to the NCAA Midwest Regional Final.
Both games will be aired on Time Warner Cable Sports with Gene Battaglia and John DiTullio on the broadcast. In addition, both contests will be broadcast over the airwaves on WITR 89.7 FM and
witr.rit.edu. Live stats and
online video are also available.
Come out and support the Tigers as they look to repeat as Atlantic Hockey Champions.
