Men's Hockey | 1/29/2019 11:33:00 AM
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team continues its homestand with its final two non-conference contests of the regular season against No. 16 Arizona State University from the Gene Polisseni Center this weekend. Both Friday and Saturday's games begins at 7:05 p.m.
Tickets for both games are available at the Gene Polisseni Center Box Office or online at
www.rittickets.com. Friday is the fourth free ticket giveaway of the season for all RIT students (first-come, first-served, one ticket per valid ID and must be picked up at the GPC Box Office) sponsored by the College Activities Board (CAB). Fans are encouraged to wear white to make the Polisseni Center a sea of white Friday night. In addition, there will be a free white pom-pom giveaway.
RIT (12-9-3, 10-7-3 AHA) enters the weekend looking to extend its winning streak after earning a pair of key victories over Atlantic Hockey rival Army West Point last weekend by identical 4-2 scores. On Friday, the line of
Gabe Valenzuela (Brampton, Ontario/North York Rangers),
Abbott Girduckis (Belleville, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) and
Erik Brown (Keene, Ontario/Kemptville 73's) combined for eight points, while
Jake Hamacher (Corona, CA/Dubuque Fighting Saints) and
Regan Seiferling (Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers) scored third period goals to snap a 2-2 tie. Saturday, Hamacher scored two more goals, including the go-ahead goal early in the third period. Brown and
Shawn Cameron (Sherbrooke, Quebec/Cumberland Grads) also scored, while
Dan Willett (Bayville, NY/Bloomington Thunder) added two assists. Goaltender
Ian Andriano (Barrie, Ontario/Ottawa Jr. Senators) made his first two starts of the season and excelled, stopping 32 shots on Friday and 33 more on Saturday for his first two wins in nearly a calendar year.
RIT ended the month of January with a 5-1-2 mark and is 6-1-2 over its last nine games. The Tigers have also scored at least one power-play goal in nine of its last 10 contests.
Abbott Girduckis (Belleville, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) leads the Tigers in scoring with 27 points on eight goals and 19 assists in 24 games, while Brown and Valenzuela have 20 points apiece. Brown has a team-high 12 goals, while Hamacher is right behind with 10. In net,
Logan Drackett (Calgary, Alberta/Calgary Canucks) has appeared in 21 games and is 9-9-3 with a 2.54 goals against average and a .913 save percentage. Andriano has a 2.00 goas against average and a .942 save percentage in his two starts.
Arizona State is in its fourth season at the Division I level in 2018-19 and is in the midst of its best year since joining, with a 17-10-1 record. The Sun Devils, who are ranked No. 16 in the latest USCHO.com Division I poll, split a pair of games at Boston University, losing 4-2 on Friday before rebounding to win 3-0 Saturday. Johnny Walker leads the team in scoring with 29 points on 21 goals and eight assists. His 21 goals lead all of Division I. Brinson Pasichnuk and Tyler Busch are tied for the team lead with 12 assists. The Sun Devils are enjoying tremendous scoring depth, as 12 different players have at least 10 points. In goal, Joey Daccord has played in all 28 games and has a 17-10-1 record with a 2.23 goals against average and a .930 save percentage. He leads the nation with seven shutouts.
This weekend will mark the first two meetings between the two schools.
After this weekend, RIT will have eight regular season games remaining, all against Atlantic Hockey foes. The Tigers enter the weekend third in the Atlantic Hockey standings with 23 points.
Both games will air on CW Rochester (Tape delay on Friday at 10 p.m., and Saturday live on Digital - 13.2, DirecTV – 14 and Spectrum – 16) and
stream live with Gene Battaglia and John DiTullio on the call from the Polisseni Center. The pregame show with host Kevin Roche airs Saturday at 6:30 p.m. In addition, both contests will be aired on
WITR 89.7 FM and Fox Sports 1280 with Ed Trefzger and Scott Biggar on the call.
Live stats are also available.
Come out to the Gene Polisseni Center and support the Tigers this weekend.
