Men's Hockey | 3/14/2016 3:20:00 PM

ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team heads to Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester looking to defend its Atlantic Hockey Conference crown, as the 2016 championship weekend is here. On Friday, March 18, the fifth-seeded Tigers face No. 2 seed Air Force in the second AHC semifinal at 8:30 p.m. If RIT wins, they will play the winner of No. 1 seed Robert Morris and sixth-seeded Army West Point in the championship on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. The winner of the AHC Championship will advance to the NCAA Division I Tournament.
 
Tickets are $16 for adults, $12 for students, and $6.75 for children. Fans can buy tickets online at www.ticketmaster.com. In addition, fans can head to the Gene Polisseni Center in person to purchase student and adult tickets starting Tuesday, March 15 at 10 a.m. and ending Thursday, March 17 at 6 p.m. All area Wegmans locations are offering a special $12 adult ticket voucher offer. Those vouchers can be purchased at the service desk.
 
RIT (16-14-6, 14-9-5 AHC) advanced to the Atlantic Hockey Semifinal for the seventh time in nine seasons after sweeping No. 4  Mercyhurst by scores of 2-1 and 4-1 in the best-of-three quarterfinal series from the Mercyhurst Ice Center. On Friday, Liam Kerins (Caledon, Ontario/North York Rangers) scored both RIT goals, including the game-winner with 4:08 remaining in regulation, while Mike Rotolo (Rochester, NY/Cedar Rapids Roughriders) stopped 21 shots. The following evening, 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 the RIT goals, while Rotolo made 31 saves.
 
Senior forward Josh Mitchell (Osoyoos, British Columbia/Alberni Valley Bulldogs) leads the team in scoring with 34 points on six goals and 28 assists in 36 games. Myles Powell (Courtenay, British Columbia/Cowichan Valley Capitals) and Gabe Valenzuela (Brampton, Ontario/North York Rangers) have 12 goals apiece to lead the squad. Powell has 27 points, while Valenzuela is right behind with 26. Chase Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers), an All-Atlantic Hockey first team selection, leads all RIT defensemen with 21 points on eight goals and 13 assists. In net, Rotolo returned to the lineup last weekend after missing the last 16 games due to injury and stopped 52 of 54 shots. Overall, he has six wins this season with a 2.75 goals against average and a .904 save percentage.
 
RIT is in the top-20 nationally in goals scored per game (3.03) power-play (19.9 percent), penalty-killing (83.9 percent), shots on goal per game (33.8), shots allowed per game (26.5) and face-off percentage (53.9 percent).
 
The Tigers are 6-4 all-time at Blue Cross Arena in the Atlantic Hockey playoffs, going 4-2 in the semifinals and 2-2 in championship games. Overall, RIT has won six straight Atlantic Hockey playoff games, and is 26-12 in the postseason at the Division I level, having won the 2010 and 2015 Atlantic Hockey Championships. RIT advanced to the 2010 Frozen Four and 2015 NCAA Midwest Regional Final. It is RIT's second straight appearance in the semifinals and seventh in nine seasons since becoming eligible for postseason play in 2008.
 
Air Force enters Friday's game with a 20-11-5 record, having finished tied for second in the AHC standings with a 16-7-5 mark. The Falcons advanced to the semifinals after knocking off No. 7 seed Canisius in the quarterfinals, winning by consecutive 4-1 scores. Air Force comes into the weekend on a 13-2-3 tear over its last 18 games, and is out-scoring its opponents, 109-84 this season. Tyler Ledford leads the Falcons in scoring with 27 points on seven goals and 20 assists. Ben Kucera and Ben Carey are right behind with 25 points apiece. Kucera has a team best 15 goals. In goal, All-Atlantic Hockey first team selection Shane Starrett is 16-8-5 with a 1.93 goals against average and .923 save percentage.
 
Robert Morris won the Atlantic Hockey regular season title for the second straight season with an 18-6-4 mark in league play and is 23-10-4 overall. Robert Morris advanced to the semifinals after defeating No. 8 seed Niagara in the quarterfinals, losing game one 4-3, before rebounding to win game two, 4-1, and game three, 6-3. Zac Lynch leads the team in scoring with 52 points on 24 goals and 28 assists. Greg Gibson is right behind with 49 points on 28 goals and 21 assists. The Colonials are the third highest scoring team in the nation, averaging 4.11 goals per game and out-scoring their opponents, 152-98. Eight players have at least 25 points. In goal, Rochester native Terry Shafer is 18-9-2 with a 2.45 goals against average and a .930 save percentage.
 
Army West Point enters Friday's game with a 14-14-9 record, finishing sixth in the AHC standings with an 8-11-9 mark. The Black Knights won a hard-fought two-game series over No. 3 Holy Cross in the quarterfinals by scores of 3-0 and 2-1. Army West Point also dispatched No. 11 seed American International in three games in the opening round. Conor Andrle leads the team in scoring with 33 points on 13 goals and 20 assists. Tyler Pham has 23 points. Army and its opponents have each scored 87 goals this season. In goal, Parker Gahagen is 14-10-9 with a 2.02 goals against average and incredible .937 save percentage this season. In five postseason games this season, he is 4-1 with and a 0.80 goals against average and a .972 save percentage with three shutouts.
 
RIT went 0-1-1 against Air Force this season, skating to a 2-2 tie at Cadet Ice Arena on Feb 5, while the Falcons earned a 4-0 win the next night. Air Force leads the all-time series between the two schools, 23-19-4, including a 21-16-4 mark in RIT's Division I era. The 40 meetings since 2005 is the most for RIT against a team in the Division I era. Air Force is 3-2 all-time in the postseason against RIT. Last year, RIT eliminated the Falcons in the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinal series at the Gene Polisseni Center. Air Force defeated RIT in the 2011 and 2012 Atlantic Hockey Championship games at Blue Cross Arena.

 The Tigers and Robert Morris split a pair of games at the Gene Polisseni Center on Dec. 4-5. Robert Morris won the opening game, 4-0, while RIT rebounded for a 6-3 victory the next night. Robert Morris leads the all-time series between the two schools, 10-6-4. The two schools have never met in the postseason.
 
RIT earned three points on the road at Army West Point in a pair of games on Nov. 6-7. RIT won the opening game, 4-0, while the two teams skated to a 2-2 tie the following evening. Mike Rotolo (Rochester, NY/Cedar Rapids Roughriders) stopped all 25 shots he faced for the shutout in the RIT victory. RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 15-3-6. The two schools have never met in the postseason.

Both semifinals and the championship game will be aired live on Time Warner Cable Sports channel 26. WITR 89.7 FM will broadcast any RIT games this weekend. Video and audio will also be available online, along with live stats for all three games.

Come out and support the Tigers in their quest towards a second straight league championship.