SPRINGFIELD, MA – The RIT men's hockey team (10-8-2, 8-6-2 AHA) scored three unanswered second period goals and hung on for a 3-2 win over American International College (9-11-1, 9-7-1 AHA) from the MassMutual Center Saturday afternoon. RIT extended its unbeaten streak to five games (4-0-1) with the win.
 
Kobe Walker (Lloydminster, Alberta/Lloydminster Bobcats), Dan Willett (Bayville, NY/Bloomington Thunder) and Erik Brown (Keene, Ontario/Kemptville 73's) scored three times in a 9:31 span during the second period to account for RIT's offense. Will Calverley (Scarborough, Ontario/Chilliwack Chiefs) had two assists in the win. Goaltender Logan Drackett (Calgary, Alberta/Calgary Canucks) was strong in net for the Tigers, stopping 30 of 32 shots for his 10th win of the season.
 
Tobias Fladeby and Brennan Kapcheck scored goals 1:36 apart in the third period for American International. Kapcheck added an assist for a two-point day, while Shawn McBride assisted on both goals. Zacharias Skog made 19 saves in goal.
 
American International out-shot RIT, 32-22. The Tigers were 1-for-3 on the power-play, while American International finished 1-for-6. RIT had to kill of 35 seconds of a 5-on-3 power-play with 10:05 remaining in regulation and succeeded. Drackett was especially stout on two American International power-plays early in the second period, stopping seven high-pressure shots.
 
"We are finding ways to win," said RIT head coach Wayne Wilson. "We did a good job on the penalty-kill and Logan (Drackett) played a really good game for us today."
 
Neither team scored in a quickly played opening period, as AIC held a 9-7 edge in shots. Drackett came up big on a chance in front as Darius Davidson got behind the RIT defense and tried to go between the legs with a backhander, but the RIT goaltender got the stick down to make the save.
 
RIT scored three times in a span of 9:31 in the second period to take a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes of play.
 
Walker tallied his first collegiate goal off a scramble in front at the 7:02 mark of the period, grabbing a loose puck in tight after great work by Calverley and Petrucci off an offensive zone face-off, lifting a backhander over the glove of Skog.
 
RIT would add to its lead with 5:09 left in the period, as Willett fired a seeing-eye shot through traffic from the right point over the glove of Skog, just inside the right post for his second goal of the season. Walker won a race to a loose puck in the corner and fed Calverley, who sent the puck back to Willett at the point for the goal.
 
Calverley almost made it 3-0 on the net shift with nearly an identical shot that Willett scored on, but his went off the right post and out. The Tigers would get a power-play not long after and take advantage, as Willett sent a pass to Abbott Girduckis (Belleville, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) just behind the net, who in turn, wheeled a pass right out front to Brown, who was left all alone on the doorstep. Brown made no mistake in scoring his third goal of the weekend, 10th of the season and 62nd of his career for a 3-0 lead.
 
The Yellow Jackets came out roaring in the third period, out-shooting RIT, 11-2. Fladeby made it a 3-1 game on the power-play with 14:01 left, getting a perfect bounce off the back boards after a shot from Kapcheck went wide, firing the carom into the open side of the net.
 
Kapcheck pulled AIC to within 3-2 just 1:36 later, beating a Tiger up the ice and getting Drackett to commit on a shot attempt before circling the net and scoring on a wrap around for his second goal of the year.
 
RIT ran into more penalty problems and needed to kill off 35 seconds of an AIC 5-on-3 power-play with 10 minutes left. Chris McKay (Edmonton, Alberta/Sherwood Park Crusaders) made a key block on a point-blank shot from the slot before RIT cleared the puck on the 5-on-3. McKay also made another important shot block with just over five minutes left.
 
The Yellow Jackets pressed in the final minute with Skog pulled and RIT on a power-play, but could not convert. Valenzuela won a key defensive zone draw and Brown controlled the puck behind the AIC net, wasting valuable seconds inside the final 30 seconds as RIT hung on for the win.
 
Yesterday, Brown and Valenzuela became the 11th and 12th players in RIT's Division I history to reach the 100-point milestone for their collegiate careers, leading the Tigers to a 6-3 win over AIC. Brown tied a career-high with four points (two goals, two assists), while Valenzuela scored twice.
 
Today marked the fourth and final regular season meeting between the two schools. The Tigers won all four meetings, by a combined score of 16-8. RIT leads the all-time series, 34-6-3. Brown leads all active Tigers against AIC with 15 points in 12 career games.
 
For the moment, RIT moves to within a point of first place in the Atlantic Hockey standings. Eight other teams in action tonight with league games.

RIT is right back in action on the road next weekend, heading back to Massachusetts to take on AHA foe Bentley University. Both games from Bentley Arena on Friday, Jan. 18 and Saturday, Jan. 19 get underway at 7:05 p.m.