Men's Hockey | 1/9/2019 8:21:00 AM
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team heads back on the road for a pair of road matinee games at Atlantic Hockey leader American International College on Jan. 11-12. Friday's game from the MassMutual Center begins at 2:05 p.m., while Saturday's contest gets underway at 1:05 p.m.
RIT (8-8-2, 6-6-2 AHA) enters the weekend series riding a three-game unbeaten streak. The Tigers earned three points against AHA foe Niagara University last weekend, skating to a 4-4 tie Friday before earning a 2-1 win Saturday. On Friday,
Will Calverley (Scarborough, Ontario/Chilliwack Chiefs) scored with 1:05 remaining in regulation to help RIT gain the tie.
Alden Dupuis (Edmonton, Alberta/Bonnyville Pontiacs) also scored two goals, while
Abbott Girduckis (Belleville, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) had a goal and two assists. On Saturday,
Adam Brubacher (Elmira, Ontario/Powell River Kings) scored the game-winning goal with 1.4 seconds left in regulation to snap a 1-1 tie and lift RIT to a dramatic win. Girduckis added a goal and an assist, while
Logan Drackett (Calgary, Alberta/Calgary Canucks) made 28 saves in net.
Seniors
Erik Brown (Keene, Ontario/Kemptville 73's) and
Gabe Valenzuela (Brampton, Ontario/North York Rangers) enter the weekend with 98 career points apiece. They are looking to become the 11th and 12th players in RIT's Division I era to reach the 100-point milestone.
Girduckis has eight points over his last three games and leads the team in scoring with 21 points on eight goals and 13 assists in 18 games. Brubacher is second on the team in scoring with 15 points, while Valenzuela and
Jake Hamacher (Corona, CA/Dubuque Fighting Saints) have 14 points each. Drackett has played in 17 games between the pipes and has a 2.50 goals against average and a .914 save percentage.
American International (9-9-1, 9-5-1 AHA) skated to a wild 6-5 win over Sacred Heart Tuesday night. Martin Mellberg recorded a hat-trick and added an assist for the Yellowjackets. Blake Christensen leads AIC in scoring with 21 points on six goals and 15 assists in 19 games. Tobias Fladenby has a team-best 10 goals. Seven different players have at least 10 points. Zackarias Skog has played the last nine games in net for the Yellowjackets and is 6-6-0 overall with a 3.19 goals against average and an .883 save percentage.
RIT and AIC are battling for playoff positioning in the bunched up AHA league standings, as just five points separates the top seven teams. AIC leads the league with 19 points, while RIT is seventh with 14 points.
This weekend marks the third and fourth meetings between the two schools in 2018-19. RIT won both prior meetings at the Gene Polisseni Center on Nov. 9-10 by scores of 2-1 and 5-2. Drackett made 53 saves in the two wins.
Alden Dupuis (Edmonton, Alberta/Bonnyville Pontiacs) had a goal and an assist in the 2-1 win on Nov. 9, while Brown and Hamacher scored two goals apiece in RIT's 5-2 victory the following night.
RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 32-6-3. Brown leads all active Tigers against AIC with 10 points in 10 career games.
Both contests will available to
watch online and will be aired on
WITR 89.7 FM and Fox Sports 1280 with Ed Trefzger and Matt Campbell on the call.
Live stats are also available.
