Women's Hockey | 2/9/2016 11:45:00 AM
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT women's hockey team returns to the Gene Polisseni Center for the final time this season, taking on College Hockey America leader Mercyhurst this weekend. Both games on Friday, Feb. 12, and Saturday, Feb. 13 will begin at 2 p.m.
Tickets 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. Student affairs is offering a free food voucher for all RIT students in attendance Saturday.
On Saturday the Tigers (7-22-1, 3-12-1 CHA) will honor the Class of 2016, as forwards
Jess Paton (Woodstock, Ontario/Waterloo K-W Rangers),
Carly Payerl (Kitchener, Ontario/Resurrection Catholic), defenseman
Haley Northcote (Cumberland, Ontario/Minnesota State), and goaltender
Jetta Rackleff (Bend, OR/Summit) will be honored.
The Tigers come off a road split at Lindenwood, picking up a 3-2 victory on Friday, before coming up just short in a 2-1 loss on Saturday. In game one, Payerl opened up the scoring for the Tigers with a first period strike, before
Maddie Grisko (Buffalo, NY/Buffalo Bisons) and
Brinna Dochniak (Marine on St. Croix, MN/Stillwater) scored their first career goals to give the Tigers the advantage.
Jenna de Jonge (Abbotsford, British Columbia/George Elliot) stopped 36 shots to pick up her second career victory. For her effort, de Jonge was named as the CHA Rookie of the Week on Monday.
In game two, it was Lindenwood who opened up with a 2-0 lead after two periods. Payerl and
Logan Land (Turkey Point, Ontario/Holy Trinity Catholic) fed Paton for a goal early in the third period, before RIT turned up the pressure on the Lady Lions. Despite a commanding 16-4 edge on shots on goal in the period, the Tigers were unable to punch the puck in the net, as RIT finished the season series against Lindenwood 1-2-1.
Mercyhurst comes into this weekend with a 14-10-4 record overall, leading the CHA with an 11-3-2 record and 24 points, two above second-place Syracuse. Last weekend, the Lakers swept Robert Morris, 4-0 and 6-3. Mercyhurst goaltender Sarah McDonnell is second in the CHA, and ninth nationally, with a 1.65 goals against average. McDonnell has a save percentage of .923, as she sports a strong 12-5-4 record between the pipes.
On offense, Jenna Dingeldein and Rachael Smith lead the team with 21 points each. Dingeldein, the CHA Player of the Month for January, leads the team with 10 goals along with her 11 assists. Smith is right behind her with nine goals, along with a team-leading 12 assists. Mercyhurst leads the country in penalty minutes per game, with 11.4.
The Lakers have a 13-3 all-time record against the Tigers. The last time the teams met, at the Mercyhurst Ice Rink, the Tigers fell 5-0 on Friday, Oct. 30, before coming up just short in overtime, 4-3. Payerl,
Cassie Clayton (Pickering, Ontario/PEAC School), and
Reagan Rust (Southaven, MS/Moon Area) each scored a goal to provide the scoring punch for RIT. Two out of the three victories for the Tigers over the Lakers have come in postseason play, both at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.
In the league standings, RIT can finish no higher than fifth heading into the postseason, as they are likely to take on either the third or fourth seed in the CHA first round series starting Friday, Feb. 26. Last season, the Tigers made history, becoming the first sixth seed to win the CHA Tournament.
Both games will be aired live on Time Warner Cable Sports (26 on Friday, 98 Saturday) in Rochester with Gene Battaglia and Chuck Hinkel on the call. In addition, both contests will be
aired online, over the airwaves on
WITR 89.7 FM and
live stats are available.
Come out and support the Tigers in their bid for a third straight College Hockey America championship.
