ERIE, PA – The RIT men's hockey team (13-20-1, 13-15-0 Atlantic Hockey) wrapped up the regular season by rolling to a 7-1 win at Atlantic Hockey foe Mercyhurst University (12-18-4, 11-13-4 Atlantic Hockey) on Saturday night. With the win, RIT finishes tied for sixth in the final Atlantic Hockey regular season standings.
 
The Tigers are the No. 6 seed in the upcoming Atlantic Hockey Postseason Tournament, which will start with a best-of-three first round series on Friday, March 3. The Tigers will host No. 11 seed Niagara at the Gene Polisseni Center.
 
The seven-goal outburst tied a season-high for the Tigers, also set on Dec. 2 at Niagara.
 
Twelve different Tigers hit the scoresheet. Junior defenseman Matt Abt (Leduc, Alberta/Whitecourt Wolverines ) would enjoy a career-game, scoring twice, while adding an assist for a three-point night. Abbott Girduckis (Belleville, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) and Garrett McMullen (Churchville, NY/Trail Smoke Eaters) had a goal and an assist apiece, while Myles Powell (Courtenay, British Columbia/Cowichan Valley Capitals), Ryan Kruper (Sherwood Park, Alberta/Sherwood Park Crusaders), and Shawn Cameron (Sherbrooke, Quebec/Cumberland Grads) also scored for RIT.
 
Senior goaltender Mike Rotolo (Rochester, NY/Cedar Rapids Roughriders) made 20 saves to earn his 13th win of the season and 39th of his collegiate career, moving him into a tie for second in RIT's Division I era with Louis Menard, who played from 2005-09.
 
Matthew Whittaker scored an early first period goal for Mercyhurst, who will be the No. 7 seed in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament. Colin DeAugustine would get the start for the Lakers, stopping 23 of 28 shots before being pulled in favor of Brandon Wildung to start the third period. Wildung made 11 third period shots.
 
The Tigers dominated not only on the score board but on the shot clock as well, out-shooting the Lakers, 41-21. RIT was 1-for-4 with the man-advantage, while Mercyhurst was 0-for-2.
 
"I thought we played well and didn't expect that type of game," said RIT head coach Wayne Wilson. "We played a smart and controlled game throughout and I was happy with our play. It's good to go forward into the postseason on a positive note."
 
The Lakers would take the lead just 2:45 into the contest, as Whittaker would take a feed from Taylor Best in the slot and fire a shot in for his seventh goal of the season.
 
RIT would respond, scoring three straight goals to end the opening period and take a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes of play.
 
Powell would slip a shot from a tight angle past DeAugustine for his 12th goal of the season after taking a feed from Chris McKay (Edmonton, Alberta/Sherwood Park Crusaders) at the 7:52 mark to tie the game. The assist was McKay's first collegiate point.

Abt would give RIT the lead five minutes later, ripping a one-timer from the high slot on the power-play off a feed from Danny Smith (Edmonton, Alberta/Sherwood Park Crusaders) to make it 2-1. With 4:03 left in the period, Kruper would bury a loose puck in the slot after the original shot by Michael Holland (Rye, NH/Chicago Steel) was stopped. Erik Brown (Keene, Ontario/Kemptville 73's) would also assist on the goal, Kruper's sixth of the year.
 
The Tigers would allow just two Mercyhurst shots in the second period and score twice, 1:28 apart late in the frame to lead 5-1 after 40 minutes.
 
RIT would have a golden chance to add to its lead early in the period, as Whittaker was called for a five-minute checking from behind penalty and a game misconduct. The Tigers would threaten, but did not score on the power-play.
 
Girduckis would give RIT a 4-1 lead with 3:22 left in the period, snapping a quick wrist shot from the slot off a rush past DeAugustine for his seventh goal of the season.
 
Just 1:28 later, McMullen would jam home a rebound after a tremendous individual effort by Abt set up the goal. The RIT defenseman came into the Lakers zone with a full head of steam, went around a Lakers defender and tried to slip a backhand around DeAugustine, would made the initial save before McMullen crashed the net for his second goal of the season, giving RIT a 5-1 lead.
 
Abt would race in to the Lakers zone on a 2-on-1 rush early in the third period after Max Mikowski (Cheekotwaga, NY/Buffalo Jr. Sabres) chipped him a pass and fire a hard wrist shot through Wildung for his second goal of the night and third of the season to give the Tigers a 6-1 lead.
 
Cameron would complete the scoring with his fourth goal of the year with two seconds left in regulation, streaking in with a pass from McMullen and putting a backhand past Wildung.
 
RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 39-20-6, including a 23-11-3 mark since moving to Division I in 2005. RIT won both meetings this season. On Nov. 23, Brown scored the game-winner with 47 seconds to play in a 4-3 RIT victory. Powell scored twice, while Gabe Valenzuela (Brampton, Ontario/North York Rangers) added two assists.
 
Tickets for the Atlantic Hockey First Round Series will go on sale at www.rithockey.com at 10 a.m. RIT won both meetings against Niagara earlier in the season.