Men's Hockey | 2/14/2017 10:00:00 AM
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team plays its final two home regular season contests this weekend, as No. 19 Air Force Academy comes to the Gene Polisseni Center for a pair of crucial Atlantic Hockey Conference games on Friday, Feb. 17 and Saturday, Feb. 18. Both contests will begin at 7:05 p.m.
Tickets for both games are available at the Gene Polisseni Center and Gordon Field House Box Offices, or by calling (585) 475-4121 or by visiting
www.rithockey.com.
On Saturday, RIT will honor seniors
Caleb Cameron (Sundridge, Ontario/Listowel Cyclones),
Michael Holland (Rye, NH/Chicago Steel),
Garrett McMullen (Churchville, NY/Trail Smoke Eaters),
Alex Perron-Fontaine (St. Mathieu de Beloeil, Quebec/Chilliwack Chiefs),
Mike Rotolo (Rochester, NY/Cedar Rapids Roughriders),
Todd Skirving (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Sioux Falls Stampede),
Danny Smith (Edmonton, Alberta/Sherwood Park Crusaders), as they play in their final regular season home game.
The two-time defending Atlantic Hockey Champion Tigers have three regular season games remaining. RIT (12-18-1, 12-13-0 Atlantic Hockey) enters the weekend seventh in the league standings with 22 points, while Air Force (19-8-5, 16-5-3 Atlantic Hockey) is second in Atlantic Hockey with 35 points. RIT can finish as high as third or as low as ninth. Air Force has clinched a top-four seed.
Last weekend, RIT earned a home split against league foe Holy Cross, losing 4-0 on Friday, while winning 2-1 in overtime on Saturday.
Adam Brubacher (Elmira, Ontario/Powell River Kings) scored the overtime winner on Saturday, while
Erik Brown (Keene, Ontario/Kemptville 73's) also scored and
Liam Kerins (Caledon, Ontario/North York Rangers) added two assists. Rotolo made 27 saves in the victory.
Brown leads the Tigers in scoring with 15 goals and 25 points, while
Caleb Cameron (Sundridge, Ontario/Listowel Cyclones),
Myles Powell (Courtenay, British Columbia/Cowichan Valley Capitals), and
Gabe Valenzuela (Brampton, Ontario/North York Rangers) have 20 points apiece. Brubacher leads all Atlantic Hockey rookies and is second among all league defensemen with 19 points. Thirteen different players have at least 10 points, while eight have at least 16 points. In net, Rotolo has played in 30 games this season and has a 2.69 goals against average and an .899 save percentage.
Air Force comes into the weekend series ranked 19th in the USCHO.com Division I national poll. The Falcons enter the weekend riding a six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) and are 12-2-2 over their last 16 games. Last weekend, Air Force earned three points on home ice vs. American International, winning 5-0 on Friday and rallying from a 3-0 third period deficit to earn a 3-3 tie Saturday. Jordan Himley leads Air Force in scoring with 15 goals and 27 points, while Evan Giesler has a team-high 17 assists. Five players have at least 20 points. Shane Starrett has played 27 games in net for Air Force, with an 18-4-4 record, 2.14 goals against average and a .922 save percentage.
This weekend marks the third and fourth meetings between the two schools this season. Air Force holds a 25-20-4 edge in the all-time series, including a 23-17-4 mark since RIT moved to Division I in 2005. Air Force won both previous meetings earlier in the season at Cadet Ice Arena in Colorado Springs, by identical 4-3 scores on Nov. 11-12. RIT knocked off the Falcons in the 2016 Atlantic Hockey Semifinal at Blue Cross Arena.
Both games will be aired live on Time Warner Cable Sports 26 in Rochester, with Gene Battaglia and John DiTullio on the call from the Polisseni Center. The new pregame show with host Kevin Roche airs at 6:30 p.m. In addition, both contests will be broadcast over the airwaves on WITR 89.7 FM and
witr.rit.edu, while streaming
video and
live stats will available.
Come out and support the Tigers as they attempt to win their straight Atlantic Hockey Championship.
