Men's Hockey | 10/10/2017 2:40:00 PM
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team will open the 2017-18 regular season by hosting No. 14 Northeastern University on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 7:05 p.m. from Blue Cross Arena as part of Brick City Homecoming & Family Weekend.
Tickets remain for Saturday's game. Fans can purchase tickets at the Gene Polisseni Center or Blue Cross Arena box offices or also online at
www.rittickets.com. RIT has sold out seven consecutive Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend games at Blue Cross Arena dating back to 2010. The first 7,000 fans in attendance will receive a free Brick City weekend t-shirt.
The Tigers are 10-9-3 all-time at the downtown arena, riding a current six-game unbeaten streak. RIT won the 2015 and 2016 Atlantic Hockey Championships and skated to a 1-1 tie in last year's homecoming game against Connecticut.
RIT, picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic Hockey Preseason Coaches poll, defeated Brock University, 3-1 in an exhibition contest from the Gene Polisseni Center last Saturday.
Myles Powell (Courtenay, British Columbia/Cowichan Valley Capitals) scored two goals, while
Abbott Girduckis (Belleville, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) also tallied and
Chris McKay (Edmonton, Alberta/Sherwood Park Crusaders) added a pair of assists. Goaltenders
Christian Short (Vaughan, Ontario/Surrey Eagles),
Logan Drackett (Calgary, Alberta/Calgary Canucks) and
Ian Andriano (Barrie, Ontario/Ottawa Jr. Senators) played one period apiece in the win, combining to make 27 saves.
RIT returns its top six scorers and 10 of 11 overall from last season, which includes six 20-point players.
Erik Brown (Keene, Ontario/Kemptville 73's) led the team in scoring with 16 goals and 27 points last season, while Powell had 13 goals and 24 points, a season after scoring 15 goals and 32 points. In addition, the Tigers return seven defensemen from last season, including senior captains
Matt Abt (Leduc, Alberta/Whitecourt Wolverines),
Brady Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers),
Chase Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers) along with 2017 Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Year,
Adam Brubacher (Elmira, Ontario/Powell River Kings).
Northeastern, ranked No. 20 in the USCHO.com Division I Hockey poll, opened the season with a pair of resounding wins over Sacred Heart University last weekend, 7-3 and 7-0. Cayden Primeau earned the shutout in last Saturday's 7-0 win. Zach Solow led the Huskies with six points (three goals and three assists) in the weekend sweep, while Matt Filipe, Dylan Sikura and Adam Gaudette recorded five points apiece.
Northeastern, a member of Hockey East, went 18-15-5 last season and advanced to the league quarterfinals. Sikura tallied 57 points on 21 goals and 36 assists, while Gaudette had 52 points on 26 goals and 26 assists, including 16 power-play tallies. The Huskies have seven NHL draft picks on their roster.
Saturday's contest will mark the first meeting between the two schools.
Saturday's game will be broadcast
online. In addition, the game will be broadcast over the airwaves on
WITR 89.7 FM.
Live stats are also available.
Come out to Blue Cross Arena and be a part of history.
