NIAGARA FALLS, NY – The RIT men's hockey team (5-9-2, 5-4-1 Atlantic Hockey) scored a season-high three power-play goals to defeat host Niagara University (3-11-2, 3-6-1 Atlantic Hockey) 4-2 at Dwyer Arena on Saturday and earn a weekend split.
Myles Powell (Courtenay, British Columbia/Cowichan Valley Capitals) scored a goal and added an assist for the Tigers, who bounced back from a 2-0 loss at the Gene Polisseni Center on Friday.
Garrett McMullen (Churchville, NY/Trail Smoke Eaters),
Todd Skirving (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Sioux Falls Stampede) and
Erik Brown (Keene, Ontario/Kemptville 73's) also scored.
Mark Golberg (Ottawa, Ontario/Cumberland Grads) notched two assists, while
Andrew Miller (Chicago, IL/Chicago Steel),
Matt Abt (Leduc, Alberta/Whitecourt Wolverines ),
Alexander Kuqali (Pittsburgh, PA/Sioux City Musketeers), and
Greg Amlong (O'Fallon, MO/UMass Lowell) each added an assist.
Mike Rotolo (Rochester, NY/Cedar Rapids Roughriders) stopped 24-of-26 shots, earning his third victory of the season in net.
The Tigers finished 3-for-10 with the man advantage. Niagara was held to 0-for-7 on the power play, and served 31 penalty minutes in the contest. Shots favored the Tigers, 31-26, who were able to move into fifth place in the Atlantic Hockey standings, a point behind Bentley.
For the Purple Eagles, Sam Rennaker and Tanner Lomsnes scored goals, while Derian Plouffe, Kevin Patterson, Sean King, and Luke Edwards added an assist. Guillaume Therien stopped 31 shots in 40 minutes of play, getting the decision. Joe O'Brien played in goal during the third period, stopping nine shots.
"I thought we played grittier tonight," said RIT men's hockey head coach
Wayne Wilson. "We were still sloppy in some areas, but we got some big power play goals in the second (period), and we killed penalties in the third (period)."
Niagara initially picked up where they left off on Friday's game, getting the first goal, 12 minutes into the contest. Plouffe took a long shot from the left faceoff circle and Rotolo made the initial stop, but the puck bounced wide. Lomsnes picked up the puck, and sank it high off the rebound.
The Tigers would answer back. Four minutes after the opening goal, Niagara got a penalty for high sticking. RIT made them pay on the ensuing power play, as McMullen caromed a rebound off of a
Matt Abt (Leduc, Alberta/Whitecourt Wolverines ) shot from just outside the left faceoff circle, beating Therien to the right.
The Purple Eagles came out of the first intermission aggressive, keeping the puck in the RIT defensive zone. Their aggressiveness paid off 6:55 into the frame, as Rennaker gave Niagara the 2-1 lead, their second goal off a rebound.
With 8:54 remaining in the second period, the Tigers came to life. Skirving started the rally, as he received a pass from Miller on the left side, then skated across the goal, firing a shot that beat Therien to his right. As the goal light came on, Rennaker was called for a major penalty for contact to the head on Miller, and was immediately ejected.
With Niagara serving the five-minute major, the Tigers took advantage Just 2:18 into the major, Brown gave the Tigers a lead they would not relinquish. Brown took advantage of a defensive scramble off an Amlong shot, as he beat Therien high from the right side.
RIT struck again two minutes later, as Golberg, skating up the left side on a rush, fed a pass across the ice to Powell, who fired the shot past Therien.
In the third period, it was RIT's turn to defend, as they were down a man for nearly a five-minute stretch midway through the period, including a few 5-on-3 opportunities for Niagara. Rotolo and the RIT defensive unit made big stops, as they denied Niagara at every turn to preserve the win.
"Mike [Rotolo] played well tonight," said Wilson, "He really played well all weekend long, but it's a shame that we wasted his effort on Friday."
With the win, the Tigers have beaten Niagara at Dwyer Arena for the second straight time. The Purple Eagles lead the all-time series between the two schools, 15-6-11, including a 13-4-9 mark in RIT's Division I era, as RIT and Niagara will square off for two more contests, a home-and-home series on Feb. 19-20.
The Tigers are off for the holiday break, resuming action on Jan. 2, 2016 against Mercyhurst (8-8, 6-4 AHC) at the Gene Polisseni Center.
