ROCHESTER, N.Y. – RIT fell to visiting Sacred Heart, 3-1, in Atlantic Hockey Association men's ice hockey action, Saturday.

The Tigers (7-3-2, 4-2-2 AHA) couldn't overcome a 2-0 deficit early in the third period as the Pioneers (6-5-1, 6-3-0 AHA) earned the two-game road sweep that included a 9-5 win on Friday.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The teams were scoreless into the second period until Sacred Heart senior forward Austin McIlmurray intercepted a clearing pass at the top of the RIT zone during a power-play attempt and fed senior forward Jason Cotton in the slot for a scoring wrist shot off the cross bar with 10:15 on the clock.
• Junior defenseman Alex Bates pushed the visitors to a two-goal lead 47 seconds into the third period, taking a pass at the red line and splitting through the RIT defense for a short finish in front.
• RIT pulled junior goalie Logan Drackett (Calgary, Alberta/Calgary Canucks) for a 6-on-4 opportunity following a Sacred Heart interference penalty with 2:15 left in regulation. However, Cotton took control of a loose puck at the top of the Pioneer zone and scored from the neutral zone into an empty net nine seconds later for a 3-0 lead.
• Tiger freshman forward Caleb Moretz (Fairbanks, AK/Flin Flon Bombers) finished a power play tally with 56 seconds on the clock to close the scoring.

GAME NOTES

• Drackett totaled 23 saves, including 10 in the second period.
• RIT finished the night with a 29-26 edge in shots.
• Senior defenseman Adam Brubacher (Elmira, Ontario/Powell River Kings) and freshman Elijah Gonsalves (Scarborough, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) were credited with assists on Moretz' goal.

WHAT'S NEXT
RIT hits the road for a pair of Atlantic Hockey contests at Army next Friday and Saturday (Nov. 22-23), schedule for 7:05 PM and 4:05 PM starts, respectively.