Men's Hockey | 1/5/2016 10:57:00 AM
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team looks to extend its winning streak, as Atlantic Hockey foe Canisius College makes the short trip east on I-90 for a pair of games at the Gene Polisseni Center on Friday, Jan. 8 and Saturday, Jan. 9. Both games 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. It is Youth Hockey weekend, as any youth in the eighth grade or under who comes wearing their youth hockey jersey get in free.
The Tigers recorded their second weekend sweep of the season, extending their winning streak to three games after 4-2 and 7-3 wins over Mercyhurst to ring in 2016. On Saturday, four different players scored and
Mike Rotolo (Rochester, NY/Cedar Rapids Roughriders) made 27 saves in the win. Sunday,
Myles Powell (Courtenay, British Columbia/Cowichan Valley Capitals) had two goals and an assist, while
Chase Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers) and
Josh Mitchell (Osoyoos, British Columbia/Alberni Valley Bulldogs) added a goal and two assists, as RIT earned a 7-3 win.
Liam Kerins (Caledon, Ontario/North York Rangers),
Andrew Miller (Chicago, IL/Chicago Steel), and
Michael Holland (Cambridge, MA/Chicago Steel) also scored goals. In goal,
Christian Short (Vaughan, Ontario/Surrey Eagles) stopped 20 of 21 shots in relief, including 17 in the third period. RIT had to kill off nine minutes of Mercyhurst power-play time in the final frame.
Chase Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers) recorded five points over the weekend on a goal and four assists. He is the first RIT defensemen to tally five points in a weekend series since Dan Ringwald did so with six (3-3-6) in a sweep over Connecticut on Oct. 30-31, 2009. Fellow defenseman
Alexander Kuqali (Pittsburgh, PA/Sioux City Musketeers) recorded his 50th career point on Sunday. Mitchell enters the weekend just three points shy of becoming the ninth player since RIT moved to Division I in 2005 to record 100 for his career.
Canisius (5-13-2, 5-7-2 Atlantic Hockey) enters the weekend tied for sixth in the Atlantic Hockey standings, three points behind the Tigers. The Golden Griffins are looking to snap a three-game winless streak. Last weekend, Canisius recorded a loss and a tie at American International, falling 3-1 on Saturday, while settling for a 1-1 draw on Sunday. Shane Conacher leads Canisius in scoring with 25 points on 11 goals and 14 assists, while Ralph Cuddemi is right behind with 21 points on 10 goals and 11 assists. In goal, Reilly Turner is 4-10-0 with a 3.42 goals against average and a .904 save percentage, while Simon Hofley is 1-3-2 with a 2.65 goals against average and a .917 save percentage.
RIT is 59-19-2 all-time against the Golden Griffins and 20-9-1 since the start of the 2005-06 season. The Tigers have a five-game unbeaten streak against Canisius dating back to the 2013-14 season. RIT went 2-0-1 against Canisius last season, including a 2-1 win in the Atlantic Hockey Championship Semifinal.
Both games will be aired live on Time Warner Cable Sports in Rochester with Gene Battaglia and John DiTullio on the call. In addition, both contests will be broadcast over the airwaves on WITR 89.7 FM and
witr.rit.edu. Online video is also available, along with
live stats.
Come out and support the Tigers as they look to repeat as Atlantic Hockey Champions.
