Men's Hockey | 11/8/2016 1:52:00 PM
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team ventures west across two time zones to take on Atlantic Hockey foe Air Force Academy on Friday, Nov. 11 and Saturday, Nov. 12. Friday's contest will start at 9:35 p.m. EST, while Saturday's game begins at 5:05 p.m.
Despite firing 85 shots on goal, the Tigers dropped a pair of Atlantic Hockey contests over the weekend to Canisius, 1-0 on the road Friday and 2-1 at home Saturday. RIT held a 41-23 edge in shots Friday and 44-20 advantage Saturday. RIT netminder
Mike Rotolo (Rochester, NY/Cedar Rapids Roughriders) stopped 22 shots on Friday and 18 on Saturday.
Caleb Cameron (Sundridge, Ontario/Listowel Cyclones) scored RIT's lone goal Saturday.
RIT (3-5-1, 3-3-0 Atlantic Hockey) is second nationally in shots on goal per game, with 37.8 per contest. RIT has out-shot its opponents and tallied at least 30 shots in eight of nine contests this season. The Tigers have not allowed a power-play goal over the last four games, spanning 14 chances.
Erik Brown (Keene, Ontario/Kemptville 73's) leads the team in scoring with 10 points on six goals and four assists. Cameron is right behind with nine points, while
Brady Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers) has a team best eight assists. Seven different players have at least three goals. In net, Rotolo has played in all nine games with a 2.54 goals against average and an .899 save percentage.
Air Force (4-3-1, 2-2-0 Atlantic Hockey) enters the weekend fresh off a split at fellow service academy Army West Point. The Falcons lost the opener to Army, 4-2, but rebounded to win by a score of 3-1 on Saturday. Phil Boje and Matt Serratore are tied for the team lead in scoring with seven points on three goals and four assists. In goal, Shane Starrett, the reigning Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Year, is 4-2-1 with a 2.43 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.
This weekend's contests are a rematch of the 2016 Atlantic Hockey Semifinal, won by RIT, 2-1 in overtime on a goal by
Myles Powell (Courtenay, British Columbia/Cowichan Valley Capitals). The Tigers will be making their 12th straight yearly trip to Colorado Springs. In what has always been a competitive rivalry, Air Force leads the all-time series between the two schools, 23-20-4, including a 21-17-4 mark in RIT's Division I era. The two teams will also meet at the Gene Polisseni Center on Feb. 17-18, 2017.
Both games will available to
watch online. Scott Biggar and Ed Trefzger will also be on the call for
WITR 89.7 FM. Live stats will be available on both
Friday and
Saturday.
Follow the Tigers from Colorado Springs this weekend, in their drive for a third straight Atlantic Hockey Championship.
