ROCHESTER, N.Y. – RIT senior defender Taylor Baker (Toronto, Ontario/North Toronto Collegiate Institute) notched a goal and an assist to lead the Tigers past Lindenwood, 4-3, in College Hockey America (CHA) play, Friday afternoon.
RIT (12-18-3, 5-13-1 CHA) clinched the fifth seed for the CHA Tournament and will face fourth-seeded Penn State next Thursday (March 5) in the quarterfinals, slated for a 6:00 p.m. face-off at the LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo, N.Y.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- RIT got on the board following an early pair of Lindenwood penalties. Freshman forward Jaymee Nolan (Dublin, Ontario/London Devilettes) took a Baker feed and scored on a slap shot from the left face-off circle with 15:13 left in the first period.
- The Tigers carried a 2-0 lead into the second period after junior forward Jordan Marchese (Mississauga, Ontario/Brampton Canadettes) stuffed a short rebound inside the left post with 13.7 on the first-period clock.
- Lindenwood converted a 3-on-1 rush off a Tiger neutral zone turnover to make it a one-goal game with 16:07 left in the second period.
- Baker scored on a slap shot from the point through a crowd to push RIT to a 3-1 lead with 5:57 left in the second.
- Lindenwood tied the score, 3-3, with a pair of goals in a minute span. Following an RIT tripping penalty, sophomore defender Maddison Stitt rang a shot from the point in off the left post with 10:35 on the clock. Sophomore defender Kayla Martinez then scored on a wrist shot from the top of the right face-off circle to knot the score with 9:34 remaining in regulation.
- The Tigers responded less than three minutes later after Lindenwood was whistled for a cross-checking penalty. Junior forward Stella Haberman (Golden Valley, MN/Minnesota Whitecaps) collected a rebound in front and scored the power-play wrister with 7:16 left in regulation for what proved to be the deciding tally.
GAME NOTES
- Senior goalie Terra Lanteigne (Hatchet Lake, Nova Scotia/Charles P. Allen) totaled 31 saves for her eighth-straight and 16th total outing of the season with at least 30 saves.
- Nolan scored her team-leading 13th goal of the season.
- RIT split four games during the regular season with Penn State as the home team won all four games. The Tigers defeated the Nittany Lions, 4-2 and 4-3 (Feb. 14-15) at the Polisseni Center after falling, 3-0, 6-2 (Dec. 6-7) on the road.