Men's Hockey | 1/10/2017 9:53:00 AM

ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team heads back on the road to face Atlantic Hockey Conference foe American International on Friday, Jan. 13 and Saturday, Jan., 14 from the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Mass. Friday's contest begins at 7:05 p.m., while Saturday's game gets underway at 2:05 p.m.
 
RIT (9-11-2, 9-6-0 Atlantic Hockey) looks to keep pace in the bunched up Atlantic Hockey standings. The Tigers enter the weekend fourth with 18 points, just three out of first place. Last weekend, RIT split a pair of home games against league foe Sacred Heart, winning 3-1 on Friday, while falling 5-1 on Saturday. That loss snapped a six-game winning streak against league foes. Erik Brown (Keene, Ontario/Kemptville 73's) scored two goals on Friday, while Matt Abt (Leduc, Alberta/Whitecourt Wolverines ) recorded RIT's lone tally on Saturday. Abt also added a pair of assists in Friday's win.
 
Brown leads RIT in scoring with 11 goals and 18 points. Myles Powell (Courtenay, British Columbia/Cowichan Valley Capitals) is right behind with 10 goals and 17 points. Seven players have at least 12 points in league play this season. In goal, Mike Rotolo (Rochester, NY/Cedar Rapids Roughriders) has nine wins, a 2.69 goals against average, and an .896 save percentage. He needs just nine saves to become the first RIT goaltender in the Division I era to record 2,000 for his career.
 
American International enters the weekend with a 4-11-6 overall record and is 3-7-5 in league play, good for ninth place. Last time out, the Yellow Jackets dropped a pair of road games at Robert Morris, losing by scores of 3-0 and 4-3. Blake Christensen leads the team in scoring with 16 points on six goals and 10 assists, while Martin Melberg, Shawn McBride, and Hugo Reinhardt are tied for second with 12 points apiece. Dominik Florian leads the team with seven goals. In net, Zackarias Skog and Alex Murray have split time. Skog is 2-6-4 with a 3.03 goals against average and a .902 save percentage in 12 games, while Murray is 2-5-2 with a 3.16 goals against average and an .889 save percentage in 11 contests.
 
RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 28-4-3. Last year, RIT went 3-1 against the Yellow Jackets, out-scoring them 17-11, including 10-4 in two contests in Springfield. The Tigers are 13-1-2 in the last 16 games against American International.
 
Both games will be broadcast over the airwaves on WITR 89.7 FM and witr.rit.edu, while streaming video and live stats will available.