ROCHESTER, NY – The No. 5 seed RIT men's hockey team (16-14-6) used a strong team effort to defeat fourth-seeded Mercyhurst (17-15-4) 4-1 in game two of the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinal series from the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Saturday evening. RIT wins the series two games to none and moves on to the Atlantic Hockey Semifinal for the seventh straight season.

RIT will play at yet to be determined opponent on Friday, March 18 in one semifinal at the Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester. Game times will be announced on Monday, March 14. Army West Point and Air Force have also advanced to Rochester. Bentley and Robert Morris will play a decisive game three of the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinal series Sunday night at 7:05 p.m.

Chase Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers), Greg Amlong (O'Fallon, MO/UMass Lowell), Andrew Miller (Chicago, IL/Chicago Steel), and Erik Brown (Keene, Ontario/Kemptville 73's) scored for the Tigers, who improved to 14-4 all-time in Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinal series games. Josh Mitchell (Osoyoos, British Columbia/Alberni Valley Bulldogs), who became the program's all-time leader in games played tonight, dished out a pair of assists.

In goal, Mike Rotolo (Rochester, NY/Cedar Rapids Roughriders) was tremendous, stopping 31 of 32 shots, coming just 2:34 shy of a shutout to pick up his third career win in the postseason. Overall, Rotolo stopped 52 of 54 shots over the weekend after missing the last 16 games due to injury.

Jonathan Charbonneau scored Mercyhurst's lone goal, while Brandon Wildung made 31 saves in the loss, as the Lakers season was ended by the Tigers for the second straight year.

RIT out-shot Mercyhurst, 35-32. The Tigers were 2-for-5 with the man-advantage, while holding Mercyhurst scoreless in six chances with the power-play.

"I thought once again the difference was special teams tonight, and getting the lead was key," said RIT head coach Wayne Wilson. "Mike (Rotolo) was really strong in net and we got a big goal by Andrew Miller (Chicago, IL/Chicago Steel) early in the third which was critical for us. Overall, we have a lot to be happy about with how we played over the weekend."

Neither team scored in an incredibly physical first period, as both teams laid out some heavy hits. RIT held a 10-7 edge in shots.

Matt Abt (Leduc, Alberta/Whitecourt Wolverines ) had a great chance for the Tigers 6:37 in, as he intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and with Mercyhurst on a change, was able to walk in and fire a hard slap shot from the left circle that Wildung made a nice save on. Garrett McMullen (Churchville, NY/Trail Smoke Eaters) was denied on a 2-on-1 rush, while Liam Kerins (Caledon, Ontario/North York Rangers) had an excellent chance towards the end of the period turned aside.

Rotolo had make two big saves on a Mercyhurst flurry midway through the period, including a rebound at the side of the net. Jonathan Charbonneau had the Lakers best chance with 10 seconds left in the period, hitting the post while all alone in front on a Merychurst power-play chance.

RIT would win the battle of the special teams in the second period, scoring a pair of power-play goals to take a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes of play.

Chase Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers) would get RIT on the board 2:30 into the period, taking a feed from Mitchell on the right side and ripping a rocket of a one-time past Wildung for his eighth goal of the season. Gabe Valenzuela (Brampton, Ontario/North York Rangers) also assisted on the goal.

Rotolo would continue his tremendous play during the period, as had made several key saves, including one on a breakaway opportunity by Taylor Best, who was sprung right as a Merychurst penalty ended. Moments later, Rotolo went post to post with no stick to deny Matthew Whittaker on a power-play chance.

The Tigers would double their lead with 1:52 left in the period, as Kerins did a great job to keep the puck in the zone on a power-play, diving to fish the puck to Mitchell in the slot. Mitchell faked a shot and made a quick pass to Amlong in the slot, who blasted a one-timer over a sliding Wildung for his sixth goal of the season and first since Nov. 13 vs. Bentley.

In the third, RIT poured it on, scoring two more goals to put the Lakers away.

Just 2:36 into the period, Miller tallied the all-important third goal for RIT, giving them a 3-0 lead. Alex Perron-Fontaine (St. Mathieu de Beloeil, Quebec/Chilliwack Chiefs) won an offensive zone faceoff forward with Miller driving to the net. Miller beat his defender to the net and walked around Wildung for his third goal of the season.

Brown would put the game out of reach with 7:31 left in regulation, intercepting an errant pass in the Mercyhurst zone, taking a few strides towards the left face-off circle, before unleashing a hard wrist shot that beat Wildung high for his seventh goal of the season, making it 4-0 Tigers.

Mercyhurst pulled Wildung for the extra attacker with just under six minutes left and put on some intense pressure, finally breaking the shutout with 2:34 left, as Charbonneau fired a shot through traffic past a screened Rotolo.

Last night, Kerins scored two goals, including the game-winner with 4:08 left in regulation, while Rotolo made 21 saves his first start in more than two months, RIT skated past Mercyhurst, 2-1, in game one.

The Tigers are 26-12 all-time in the postseason at the Division I level, including a 5-1 mark last season en route to winning the league title and advancing to the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship game. RIT is 14-4 all-time in Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal games and have won six straight Atlantic Hockey postseason contests.

Tonight was the sixth and final meeting between the two schools this year, as RIT took the season series, 4-2 lead. RIT won the first two meetings by scores of 4-2 and 7-3 on Jan 2-3, while the Lakers took a pair of one-goal games, 4-3 and 3-2 on Feb. 26-27. RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 37-20-6, including a 21-11-3 mark in the Division I era. Both teams were Division III rivals in the late 1980s and 1990s.

"We are happy to be going back to Blue Cross Arena next weekend," said Wilson. "Regardless of who we play, we know we will have our hands full, but are looking forward to the challenge."