Men's Hockey | 2/25/2019 12:30:00 PM

ROCHESTER, NY - The RIT men's hockey team wraps up the 2018-19 regular season with a pair of games against Atlantic Hockey rivals this week. RIT heads to Niagara University at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday and returns home to host Canisius College in the regular season finale from the Gene Polisseni Center at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.
 
Tickets for Saturday's home game are available at the Gene Polisseni Center Box Office or online at www.rittickets.com. RIT will honor seniors Erik Brown (Keene, Ontario/Kemptville 73's), Abbott Girduckis (Belleville, Ontario/Wellington Dukes), Mark Logan (Calgary, Alberta/Brooks Bandits), Christian Short (Vaughan, Ontario/Surrey Eagles) and Gabe Valenzuela (Brampton, Ontario/North York Rangers) prior to Saturday's game.
 
RIT enters the weekend tied for third with Air Force in the Atlantic Hockey standings with 30 points. RIT is just one point behind Bentley for second, a point ahead of Sacred Heart University and three points ahead of Mercyhurst University, as the top five teams receive a first round bye. Niagara is seventh with 25 points and Canisius is 11th with 18 points.
 
The Tigers (15-13-4, 13-9-4 AHA) earned three hard fought points on home ice against AHA rival Robert Morris University last weekend, winning 5-3 on Friday, while rallying with two third period goals for a 2-2 tie Saturday. On Friday, Brown (two goals, one assist), Girduckis (one goal, two assists) and Adam Brubacher (Elmira, Ontario/Powell River Kings) (three assists) combined for nine points, while Brody Valette (Calgary, Alberta/Whitecourt Wolverines) and Kobe Walker (Lloydminster, Alberta/Lloydminster Bobcats) also scored. Brown's power-play goal with 6:24 left in regulation proved to be the game-winner. Logan Drackett (Calgary, Alberta/Calgary Canucks) made 25 saves in net for the win. Saturday, Walker and Brown scored third period goals to rally the Tigers from a 2-0 deficit. Drackett made 22 saves.
 
Girduckis leads the Tigers in scoring with 33 points on 10 goals and 23 assists in 32 games, while Brubacher has 28 points and Erik Brown (Keene, Ontario/Kemptville 73's) and Jake Hamacher (Corona, CA/Dubuque Fighting Saints) have 25 and 24 points respectively. Brown has a team-high 16 goals. In net, Drackett has appeared in 26 games and is 12-12-4 with a 2.58 goals against average and a .911 save percentage.
 
Niagara plays its regular season finale against the Tigers Wednesday night. The Purple Eagles are 11-17-5 overall and 10-12-5 in AHA play. Niagara can finish as high as sixth or as low as ninth in the AHA regular season standings. The Purple Eagles are riding a three-game unbeaten streak after playing Canisius to a pair of draws last weekend. Noah Delmas leads the team in scoring with 32 points on 10 goals and 22 assists. Ludwig Stenlund has a team-best 18 goals and is right behind with 31 points. In net, Brian Wilson has played in 26 games, with a 9-12-5 mark, 2.92 goals against average and a .904 save percentage.
 
Niagara leads the all-time series between the two schools, 18-12-14. The Tigers are 2-0-1 against the Purple Eagles this season and 9-4-4 since the start of the 2014-15 season. RIT defeated the Purple Eagles 8-4 at the Polisseni Center on Dec. 15, skated to a 4-4 tie in Niagara on Jan. 4 and received a goal from Brubacher with 1.6 seconds left in regulation to win 2-1 the following night.
 
Canisius enters Saturday's regular season finale with an 10-18-5 record and 7-16-4 mark in Atlantic Hockey play. The Golden Griffins are riding a three-game unbeaten streak into Saturday's game and are locked in as the No. 11 seed in the upcoming Atlantic Hockey Tournament. Dylan McLaughlin, the reigning AHA Player of the Year, leads Canisius in scoring with 37 points on 19 goals and 18 assists in 33 games. Austin Alger and Nick Hutchison have 12 and 11 goals, respectively. Blake Weyrick has appeared in 20 games between the pipes and is 5-9-3 with a 3.16 goals against average and an .896 save percentage. Matt Ladd is 2-5-2 with a 3.60 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.
 
RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 62-24-2, including a 23-15-1 edge since the Tigers moved to Division I in 2005. RIT won the first meeting on Nov. 13, by a 2-0 score from the Polisseni Center. Will Calverley (Scarborough, Ontario/Chilliwack Chiefs) and Gabe Valenzuela (Brampton, Ontario/North York Rangers) scored for RIT, while Drackett recorded his first collegiate shutout with 25 saves.
 
Both games will stream live and 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 for Wednesday's contest and on Saturday.
 
Come out to the Gene Polisseni Center and support the Tigers on Saturday night.