Men's Hockey | 12/2/2020 2:11:00 PM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rochester Institute of Technology men's ice hockey team opens Atlantic Hockey play with a home-and-home doubleheader versus Niagara this weekend, hosting the Purple Eagles on Saturday before hitting the road on Sunday.
The Tigers opened the 2020-21 campaign with a two-game split with No. 9 Clarkson last weekend, while Niagara looks to play their first contests of the season. RIT and Niagara were originally scheduled to play two games last weekend, but they were pushed a week later due to COVID-19 protocol.
FOLLOW LIVE
This weekend's games can be heard locally and online on
Fox Sports 1280 AM with
Ed Trefzger,
Scott Biggar and
Matt Campbell on the call. All home games and Atlantic Hockey road contests this season will be
streamed by FloSports on a subscription basis at Flohockey.tv with
Gene Battaglia and
John DiTullio bringing you the action.
Live statistics for all games can be found at RITathletics.com while in-game updates can be found on Twitter by following @RITMHKY.
TIGER TRACKS
RIT junior forward
Will Calverley (Scarborough, Ontario) was voted the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week after scoring his first hat-trick in a Tiger sweater during last Friday's 8-5 victory over No. 9 Clarkson. He broke a 4-4 tie with a power-play tally with 8:27 left in the third period and, after the Golden Knights re-tied the game 28 seconds later, notched what proved to be the game-winner with 6:15 remaining in regulation. Senior forward
Alden Dupuis (Edmonton, Alberta) led all scorers with four points on a goal and three assists as 12 Tigers notched at least one point. Senior goalie
Logan Drackett (Calgary, Alberta) stopped 27 shots, including 12 during the first period, to earn the victory.
RIT fell in Sunday's road rematch, 5-1. Sophomore forward
Elijah Gonsalves' (Scarborough, Ontario) first goal of the season halved a 2-0 Tiger deficit with 16:56 left in the second-period, but Clarkson answered 2:30 later to re-take a 3-1 lead that proved insurmountable. RIT senior goalie
Ian Andriano (Barrie, Ontario/Ottawa Jr. Senators) was credited with 31 saves for his highest total since a 33-save outing in a 4-2 win versus visiting Army in January of the 2018-19 season.
RIT VS. NIAGARA
Niagara leads the all-time series with RIT, 19-12-13, but RIT finished with a 3-1-1 record opposite the Purple Eagles last season. The Tigers came back for a 3-2 OT home victory (Feb. 22) after falling, 4-1 on the road the night before in the teams' most recent matchups. RIT also earned a 4-1 road victory (Nov. 9) led by a goal and an assist by current senior forward
Nick Bruce (Fall River, Nova Scotia/Johnstown Tomahawks) after coming out on the short of a 2-2 tie in double overtime at home (Nov. 8) the previous night.
RED LIGHT DISTRICT
RIT's 8-5 victory over Clarkson marked the highest scoring output since an 8-4 victory over visiting Niagara on Dec. 15, 2018. The Tigers scored seven goals on three occasions last season, including a 7-4 win at Canisius on Jan. 24.
THIRD IS THE WORD
RIT scored five goals in the third period of last Friday's 8-5 win over No. 9 Clarkson. It was the most goals the Tigers had scored in a single period since notching five goals in a 7-4 win over visiting Holy Cross last season (Nov. 1).
DON'T CALL ME SHORTY
RIT senior forward
Alden Dupuis (Edmonton, Alberta) closed the scoring in last Friday's 8-5 victory over Clarkson with his sixth career short-handed goal, which is currently the highest total by any active player in the nation.
