Men's Hockey | 2/11/2015 2:08:00 PM
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ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team returns to action this weekend with a pair of games at Atlantic Hockey Conference rival Holy Cross. Both games from the Hart Center start at 7:05 p.m.
The Tigers enter the weekend fifth in AHC play with 25 points, just two points out of fourth place and four out of second place. Holy Cross is right behind RIT in sixth with 23 points.
RIT (11-12-5, 10-7-5 AHC) recorded three points last weekend, scoring a season-high seven goals in a 7-3 win at Niagara on Friday, while the two teams skated to a 4-4 draw on Saturday. On Friday, six different players scored a goal, while 13 had at least one point.
Max Mikowski (Cheekotwaga, NY/Buffalo Jr. Sabres) scored his first collegiate goal, while Hobey Baker candidate
Matt Garbowsky (St. George, Ontario/Powell River Kings) had two goals and an assist, and
Alexander Kuqali (Pittsburgh, PA/Sioux City Musketeers) tied a career-high with three points on a goal and two assists. On Saturday, RIT led 3-1 in the third period before Niagara stormed back with three goals in nine minutes to make it 4-3 before
Josh Mitchell (Osoyoos, British Columbia/Alberni Valley Bulldogs) scored with 30 seconds left in regulation to tie the game. Mitchell had a goal and two assists and now has eight points over his last three games and 12 over his last five contests.
RIT honored fifth-year student manager Joe Vicario, better known as "Part Time Joe" on Saturday, wearing special jerseys that were auctioned off with proceeds going to the Testicular Cancer Foundation of Western New York, which Vicario founded and the Lipson Cancer Center at Rochester General Hospital through the RIT United Way Foundation. Vicario, who suffers from Goldenhar Syndrome and is a testicular cancer survivor, took the ceremonial first puck drop and was named the game's first star. More than $10,000 was raised
RIT is seventh nationally in penalty-killing percentage at 88.6 percent. Garbowsky leads Division I with 463 face-off wins, is second with 21 goals, and fifth with 39 points. Garbowsky has had a hand on 46.9 percent (39-of-83) of RIT's goals this season, among the highest in the nation. He is one point shy of becoming the seventh player in RIT's Division I history to reach 100 for his career and has 11 points (6-5-11) over his last five contests. Mitchell, who entered the season with 33 points in his first 75 games, has 35 points (10-25-35) in 28 contests this season. Goaltender
Mike Rotolo (Rochester, NY/Cedar Rapids Roughriders) is unbeaten in his last six starts (5-0-1) and has stopped 221 of his last 239 shots faced (.925 save percentage) over the last nine games.
RIT is 6-2-2 over its last 10 games and plays its final six games against AHC opponents
Holy Cross enters the weekend with a 10-14-5 mark overall and is 9-9-5 in league play, sixth with 23 points. Last weekend, the Crusaders dropped a pair of games against Bentley, 4-3 on Friday and 5-2 on Saturday. Mike Barrett leads the team with 20 points on seven goals and 13 assists. T.J. Moore and Scott Pooley have eight goals each to lead the squad. Holy Cross is out-scoring its opponents, 72-70 this season. In net, Matt Ginn has played in 23 games with an 8-9-5 mark, 2.22 goals against average and .927 save percentage.
It is a rematch of the 2014 AHA First Round Series, which Holy Cross won in three hotly contested games, including two that went to overtime. RIT is 23-11-5 all-time against Holy Cross and 19-6-5 at the Division I level. The two teams met at RIT on Nov. 7-8, with the two teams skating to a 3-3 draw the first night and Holy Cross pulling out a 2-1 win the next night.
Video, audio, and live stats are available for both contests this weekend.
