MOON TOWNSHIP, PA — The RIT men's hockey team (11-16-1, 11-11-0 Atlantic Hockey) snapped a five-game losing streak with a 4-1 road victory against Robert Morris (15-9-3, 11-8-2 Atlantic Hockey) at 84 Lumber Arena on Friday night.
 
Nine Tigers recorded points in the win. Abbott Girduckis (Belleville, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) led the way with two goals, while Caleb Cameron (Sundridge, Ontario/Listowel Cyclones) added two assists. Liam Kerins (Caledon, Ontario/North York Rangers) and Brady Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers) also scored for RIT. It was Norrish's first game back since Dec. 30, and the goal was his first of the year. Gabe Valenzuela (Brampton, Ontario/North York Rangers), Erik Brown (Keene, Ontario/Kemptville 73's), Michael Holland (Rye, NH/Chicago Steel), Myles Powell (Courtenay, British Columbia/Cowichan Valley Capitals), and Matt Abt (Leduc, Alberta/Whitecourt Wolverines ) each had one helper

RIT goaltender Mike Rotolo (Rochester, NY/Cedar Rapids Roughriders) was tremendous between the pipes, stopping 34 of 35 shots for his 11th win of the season.

For the Colonials, Alex Tonge had a goal, while Eric Israel and Daniel Leavens had assists. Dalton Izyk made 27 stops in defeat.

Robert Morris out-shot RIT 35-31, including 20-10 on the power-play. The Colonials were 1-for-9 on on the man advantage, compared to 1-for-5 by the Tigers. Eight of Robert Morris' nine power-plays came in the first two periods.
 
"We were playing really well in the past few games, but weren't getting timely goals, or timely shots," said RIT men's hockey head coach Wayne Wilson. "Tonight was a team effort. We have to now continue to attack each game and not look ahead. We need to have that mentality tomorrow."

The first period began slow, with both teams failing to convert on power-play chances. Rotolo kept the Colonials from scoring first with 7:12 left in the period, as he slid across the crease to stop a 2-on-1 chance.

The Tigers got on the board first, with 4:51 left in the period. Israel had his cross-ice pass intercepted by Brown at center ice, and Brown brought it in and was denied on a partial breakaway. Valenzuela picked up the rebound and tossed a pass across the crease to Girduckis, who finished it off and made it 1-0 for his fourth goal of the season. The Tigers killed off three penalties and were out-shot 17-7 in the frame.
 
The second period was a battle of special teams. Robert Morris was given five power-plays in the frame, compared to just one for RIT.

With just five seconds left on a RIT penalty midway through the period, a shot from Israel was tipped by Tonge in front of Rotolo, and just squeaked through and across the line. Just over five minutes later, RIT jumped back on top. Kerins potted his ninth goal of the season, on a rebound in front. The chance came after Holland kept the puck in at the blue line and fed Cameron, who fired a wrist shot on net. Kerins was able to lift the rebound over Izyk.
 
The Tigers came out strong again in the third, making it 3-1 just 5:07 in, when Norrish fired home his first goal of the season, on the power-play from the right side, ripping a shot short side over the shoulder of Izyk. Assists came from Abt and Powell.

With 9:12 left, Rotolo stood tall, stopping a short-handed breakaway try. He would make a handful of big saves throughout.

The Tigers would add one more goal, on Girduckis' second of the night and fifth of the season, with 1:04 left after Cameron intercepted a clearing attempt by Izyk.
 
"I thought it was a great effort by our penalty killing unit and Mike (Rotolo) made some key saves for us throughout the game," said Wilson. "When we weren't as mentally tough as we needed to be in other games, I think tonight we were. I don't think it was our best game, but it was one of our grittiest games."
 
Robert Morris leads the all-time series between the two schools 11-9-4, but the Tigers have now won four of the past five against the Colonials.
 
The Tigers and Colonials will face-off in game two Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. Saturday's game will be the fourth and final regular season matchup between the two schools this year.