Women's Hockey | 2/17/2015 7:46:00 AM

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ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT women's hockey team wraps up the regular season with a home-and-home series against College Hockey America foe Syracuse this weekend. RIT travels to Syracuse to play the Orange on Friday at 7, while the two teams return to the Gene Polisseni Center for the regular season finale on Saturday at 3:05 p.m.
 
On Saturday, RIT will honor seniors Morgan Scoyne (Drumbo, Ontario/Stoney Creek Sabres), Kolbee McCrea (Wawa, Ontario/Burlington Barracudas), Marissa Maugeri (Ajax, Ontario/Durham West Lightning), Emilee Bulleid (Waterdown, Ontario/Stoney Creek Sabres), Lindsay Grigg (Oakville, Ontario/Oakville Hornets), Celeste Brown (Great Falls, MT/National Sports Academy), and Ali Binnington (Oakville, Ontario/Mississauga Chiefs). This group has led RIT to an excellent 74-49-14 record in four years, making history by winning RIT's first NCAA title in any women's sport as freshmen in 2012. That year, RIT won a Division III record 28 games. Last season, the group led RIT to its first College Hockey America Championship in just its second season as a Division I program. This year, RIT is playing in its first season at the Gene Polisseni Center and has 10 wins. The Class of 2015 is the only class at RIT to win a national title, move to Division I, win a Division I league title, and open a new building (Gene Polisseni Center).
 
Tickets for Saturday's game are $5 for adults, $4 for RIT staff, faculty, and alumni, and $3 for youth. RIT students receive free admission (one ticket limit per valid RIT ID). Tickets are available at the Gene Polisseni Center and Gordon Field House Box Offices, by calling (585) 475-4121 or by visiting www.rithockey.com.
 
The Tigers (10-17-5, 4-11-3 CHA) tied both games in a weekend series for the first time since becoming a Division I team in 2012 and first time overall since Jan. 21-22, 2011 against SUNY Plattsburgh. Both Friday and Saturday's games against Robert Morris ended in 2-2 ties. The Tigers led 1-0 and 2-1 in both games before Robert Morris rallied. On Friday, Maugeri had a goal and an assist, while Mackenzie Stone (Kars, Ontario/South Carleton) also scored. On Saturday, McCrea and Jess Paton (Woodstock, Ontario/Waterloo K-W Rangers) scored, while Binnington made 37 saves. Binnington stopped 64 of 68 shots over the weekend. Paton's goal was RIT's first shorthanded tally of the season and first overall since Feb. 22, 2014.
 
Brown and McCrea lead the team in scoring with 15 points apiece. Brown has a team-high nine goals, while Grigg has nine assists. In goal, Binnington is 7-9-3 with a 1.86 goals against average and .932 save percentage.
 
RIT is currently sixth in the CHA standings with 11 points and can finish as high as fifth. RIT can potentially travel to Penn State, Syracuse, or Robert Morris for a best-of-three first round series from Feb. 27 to March 1.
 
Syracuse enters the weekend with a 9-13-10 overall record and 7-5-6 mark in league play, currently tied for second place in the CHA standings. The Orange earned three points last weekend vs. Lindenwood, skating to a 4-4 tie on Friday, while earning a 3-1 win on Saturday. Stephanie Grossi leads the team in scoring with 29 points on nine goals and 20 assists, while Melissa Piacentini has a team-high 17 goals, including 10 on the power-play. The Orange are being outscored 93-68 this season.  In net, Jen Gilligan is 9-13-9 with a 2.57 goals against average and .896 save percentage.
 
Syracuse leads the all-time series between the two schools, 6-4-1. This weekend marks the third and fourth meetings between the two schools this season, as the season series is knotted at 1-1. Syracuse defeated RIT 4-2 on Dec. 6. In that game, Alysha Burris had the hat-trick for Syracuse, as the Orange scored three times to break a 1-1 tie in the third period. Jess Paton (Woodstock, Ontario/Waterloo K-W Rangers) and Marissa Maugeri (Ajax, Ontario/Durham West Lightning) scored for the Tigers. On Jan. 23, Emilee Bulleid (Waterdown, Ontario/Stoney Creek Sabres) scored two goals, including the game-winner in overtime, as RIT pulled out the dramatic, 4-3 win. Nine of the 11 previous games have ended in a tie or one goal difference, with six going to overtime.
 
Saturday's contest will be shown on Time Warner Cable Sports (TWCS) Channel 26 with Gene Battaglia and former RIT standout Katie Stack '11 brining you all the action from the Gene Polisseni Center. The game will also broadcast online at witr.rit.edu and on America One. Live stats are also available as well Friday and Saturday.
 
Come out and support your Tigers in their first season at the Gene Polisseni Center, and honor the Class of 2015.