Men's Hockey | 1/28/2021 8:00:00 AM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Rochester Institute of Technology men's hockey team is scheduled to host Mercyhurst on Thursday in its first game in 25 days. The Tigers have had eight games postponed over the last three weeks due to Atlantic Hockey COVID-19 protocol, while tonight's game was originally scheduled to be played earlier this week on Tuesday, but was shifted when the league announced a re-shuffling of the final five weeks of the conference schedule. Mercyhurst returns to the ice after sweeping two home games versus No. 17 Robert Morris, 3-2, in overtime last Tuesday and, 7-5, last Saturday.

FOLLOW LIVE
Watch: FloHockey.tv/events
PxP/Color (Thursday): Gene Battaglia, John DiTullio
Local Audio: WITR 89.7 or FOS Sports 1280 AM
Web Audio: witr.edu | foxsports1280.iheart.com
PxP/Color: Ed Trefzger, Scott Biggar, Matt Campbell
Live Stats: Thursday | Saturday
Twitter: @RITMHKY

TIGER TRACKS
RIT is set to return to action for the first time since pair of setbacks at Robert Morris on Jan. 2-3.  The Tigers started the New Year with a 3-1 loss which saw the Colonials score midway through the first period before junior forward Jake Joffe (Toronto, Ontario) evened the game with a power-play tally with 9:08 left in the second. RMU re-took the lead with 10:09 left in regulation and tacked on an empty-net goal in the final minute to earn the victory. The following day saw RIT fall behind, 3-0, midway through the second period before senior forward Nick Bruce (Fall River, Nova Scotia/Johnstown Tomahawks) scored a power-play goal with 4:30 on the clock to make it a 3-1 game heading into the third. The Colonials re-took a 4-1 edge with 12:52 left in regulation and held on for the win despite a short-handed tally by senior defenseman Dan Willett (Bayville, N.Y.) with 7:28 on the clock and a goal by senior forward Jake Hamacher (Corona, Calif.) in the final minute. 

CALL IN THE CALVERLEY
Junior forward Will Calverley (Scarborough, Ontario) was named the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Month for December. He entered the week tied for 23rd nationally with 16 points and tied for 26th with 10 assists. Calverley was credited with two assists in RIT's 4-3 loss at Robert Morris after logging an assist in the 4-4 draw at Colgate (Dec. 29). He was tabbed the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week on Dec. 16 after notching a goal and an assist in both of the Tigers' games versus LIU. Calverley also won the first Player of the Week honor of the season (Dec. 1) after scoring his first collegiate hat-trick in the Tigers' 8-5 victory over then No. 9 Clarkson (Nov. 27) in the season-opener. Calverley found the net with 6:30 left in the first period to push RIT to an early 2-0 lead and later broke a 4-4 tie with a power-play tally with 8:27 left in the third period. The Golden Knights re-tied the game 28 seconds later, but Calverley notched what proved to be the game-winner with 6:15 remaining in regulation.

HELP! SAVE ME!
No other goalie in the nation has more career saves than RIT senior Logan Drackett (Calgary, Alberta) with 2,377 to date. Drackett was credited with 18 saves in the Tigers' 3-1 setback at Robert Morris (Jan. 2) to surpass Mike Rotolo (Rochester, NY/Cedar Rapids Roughriders) '17 for first in Division-I program history before making his 94th appearance the following night to tie Rotolo for first all-time. Also a win away from breaking a tie for first in career wins (41) with Jared DeMichiel '10, Drackett was tabbed a second-team Atlantic Hockey all-star last winter after compiling a 17-11-4 record while finishing fourth in the conference with 856 saves and ninth with a .907 save percentage. Tabbed the Atlantic Hockey Goalie of the Month for October and the Goalie of the Week four times last winter, he made a career-high 43 saves in the Tigers' 2-1 win at Air Force (Oct. 24) and later was credited with 41 saves in RIT's 4-1 win at Robert Morris (Feb. 7). He compiled a 1.82 goals against average with a .939 save percentage during his 17 victories last winter.

GOING GONZO
Sophomore forward Elijah Gonsalves (Scarborough, Ontario) entered the week tied for 16th in Atlantic Hockey with 10 points, including two goals in RIT's 4-4 tie at Colgate (Dec. 29). The 2019-20 Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team honoree tied for 15th among freshman nationally as well as second in Atlantic Hockey with 24 points while leading all conference rookies over the final month of the regular season with 10 points. The five-time Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week notched a pair of goals during a 5-4 OT victory over Canisius (Jan. 25) to lead the Tigers back from a late 4-1 deficit. He also scored twice in a 5-1 win over visiting Bentley (Feb. 15) to go along with back-to-back one goal/one assist outings at Holy Cross (Jan. 31-Feb. 1).

SHARP SHOOTERS
RIT junior forward Jake Joffe (Toronto, Ontario) is tied for second on the squad with five goals on only 20 shots this winter - not a bad shooting percentage unless you compare it to the seven goals he scored last year on a mere 16 shots. Junior Kobe Walker (Lloydminster, Alberta) has also scored four goals on 16 shots this season. 

SQUAD GOALS
RIT entered the week ranked eighth nationally and second in Atlantic Hockey with 3.80 goals per game. The Tigers also rank 10th in the country with 10.10 points per game as well as 6.30 assists per game. 

SCOUTING THE LAKERS
Mercyhurst looks to keep it rolling after sweeping visiting Air Force on Friday and Saturday. The Lakers made up a 2-0 second-period deficit with five unanswered goals to earn the 5-2 comeback in Friday's opener before notching five-consecutive goals to dig out of an early 2-1 hole in Saturday's 6-3 decision. Freshman forward Carson Briere leads Mercyhurst with 10 points, including two goals and two assists in a 7-4 victory at Niagara (Dec. 18). Sophomore forward Gueorgui Feduolov is second with nine points and six assists, including a goal and two assists in Friday's Air Force win, while freshman forward Austin Heidemann leads the way with five goals, including his first collegiate hat-trick in Saturday's win over the Falcons. Senior Hank Johnson has played the lion's share of minutes in goal for Mercyhurst, totaling a 3.09 goals GAA and a .905 save percentage, including a season-high 48 saves in a 3-1 setback to visiting No. 18 Bowling Green (Dec. 6) after making 38 in a 2-1 road upset of the Falcons the previous night. 

TO WHISTLE OR NOT TO WHISTLE
RIT was saddled with a season-high eight penalties and 19 PIM in its 5-4 win at Niagara (Dec. 22), while the Purple Eagles were whistled nine times for 29 PIM. Conversely, only one penalty was called in the teams' 3-3 tie on Dec. 5 at the Polisseni Center - an RIT goalie interference call 46 seconds into overtime. 

START WITH A BANG
RIT opened Atlantic Hockey play with a shoot-out win opposite visiting Niagara (Dec. 5). The Tigers dug out of a 3-0 first-period deficit with three-unanswered goals to salvage the 3-3 home tie, before earning the extra AHA point with a shootout victory. Senior forward Jake Hamacher (Corona, Calif.) converted the winning goal in the shootout while senior defenseman Dan Willett (Bayville, N.Y.) and junior forwards Jake Joffe (Toronto, Ontario) and Andrew Petrucci (Toronto, Ontario) each tallied goals in the comeback. Senior goalie Logan Drackett (Calgary, Alberta) logged 23 saves, including five during the five-minute overtime period, as well as two shoot-out saves.

RED LIGHT DISTRICT
It didn't take long for the 2020-21 Tigers to surpass their highest team point total from all of last season. RIT compiled 21 total points (eight goals, 13 assists) in its 8-5 victory over No. 9 Clarkson (Nov. 27), eclipsing the season-high 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) it accumulated during a 7-4 win over visiting Holy Cross last November. Twelve Tigers notched at least one point, led by senior forward Alden Dupui's four (1 goal, 3 assists) and junior forward Will Calverley's (Scarborough, Ontario) hat-trick.

DON'T CALL ME SHORTY
Senior forward Alden Dupuis (Edmonton, Alberta) currently leads the nation with six career short-handed goals. He punctuated the Tigers' 8-5 victory over visiting Clarkson with his first empty-netter of the campaign after scoring two shorties last season as well as three as a sophomore. 

PULLING RANK
RIT's win over then No. 9 Clarkson was its fifth opposite a nationally-ranked team in the last two seasons. The Tigers finished 2-4 in games against teams listed in the USCHO Top-20 last season, defeated then No. 13 UMass-Lowell, 3-2 (Jan. 11), after taking a 3-2 overtime victory opposite then No. 17 Bowling Green (Oct. 11) in the opening game of the Ice Breaker Tournament in Toledo. 

NON-CONFERENCE, NO PROBLEM
The 2019-20 Tigers compiled their highest non-league win total since moving to the Division I level. RIT's 4-4-0 record last winter was the first time RIT finished the regular season with a .500 non-league mark. The Tigers also finished 2-2-1 (.500) in the five non-conference games on the 2020-21 schedule.

BIG SKATES TO FILL
The Tigers will be without standout defenseman Adam Brubacher (Elmira, Ontario/Powell River Kings) for the first time in four years. The two-time Atlantic Hockey all-star graduated after tying for 19th nationally and sixth among defensemen with 24 assists while tying for 10th in Atlantic Hockey with 28 points. He finished his career one of only 35 players (and only six defenseman) in the nation with at least 100 career points while his 80 assists were the 12th-highest total over the last four seasons. Voted the Atlantic Hockey Defensive Player of the week on three occasions last season, Brubacher became the 13th player in RIT's Division I era to hit the 100-point plateau, finishing 10th with 106 points. He didn't miss a game in four seasons, finishing two shy of a tie for third-place in program history with 148 appearances. He signed a contract over the summer with the New York Islanders' AHL affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers. 

POINTS OF EMPHASIS
RIT finished the 2019-20 season 15th nationally with 113 goals and tied for 11th with 313 total points. The Tigers also ranked 15th overall and third in Atlantic Hockey in scoring offense averaging 3.14 goals per game. 

ENTER SANDMAN
RIT finished the 2019-20 season sixth nationally with 47 third period goals and was 13-1-3 when leading after two periods. The Tigers tied for 11th with 29 goals when leading or tied in the third period and also tied for second with 23 goals in final five minutes of regulation.

OH, CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Senior forward Alden Dupuis (Edmonton, Alberta) will serve as team captain for the 2020-21 season while senior defenseman Dan Willett (Bayville, N.Y.) and junior forward Will Calverley (Scarborough, Ontario) were selected assistant captains. Dupuis tied for seventh with 17 points on eight goals and nine assists during 28 games last season and also finished second on the team with 215 face-off victories, including a season-high 13-of-21 in the Tigers' 3-3 tie opposite visiting Holy Cross (Nov. 2). Willett played 35 of 36 games on the Tiger blue line last season and led all Tiger returners with 47 career assists. Calverley finished his sophomore campaign second on the squad with 13 goals as well as sixth with 23 points. He also led the Tigers with 244 face-off victories, including a season-high 16 during a 3-2 OT home victory opposite Niagara (Feb. 22). 

TIGERS IN THE NHL
Former RIT standout defenseman Chris Tanev enters his 12th season in the NHL, spending the last 11 with the Vancouver Canucks before signing a free agent contract with the Calgary Flames this past offseason. Voted the 2010 AHA Rookie of the Year, Tanev made his NHL debut on Jan. 18, 2011, becoming the first RIT player to appear in an NHL contest. Entering the 2019-20 season, he had played in 467 NHL games with 21 goals and 81 assist for career 102 points. He won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2016 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships. Tanev tallied 28 points (10-18-28) and was plus-33 in 41 games for RIT in 2009-10. Tanev and another former Tiger, Steve Pinizzotto (2005-07), were teammates with Vancouver in 2012-13. Pinizzotto tallied 57 points (20-37-57) in 54 career games for the Tigers and appeared in 36 NHL games with two goals and four assists. 

RIT's NCAA DIVISION II/III HISTORY
RIT made 16 NCAA Tournament appearances since 1983. RIT won the 1983 National Championship at the Division II level, and 1985 National Championship at the Division III level. RIT earned National Runner-Up honors in 1989, 1996 and 2001. The Tigers made the National Final Four in 1984, 1986, 1999, and 2010. Overall, RIT was 26-15-4 in NCAA contests at the DII/III level and is 3-2 in Division I. RIT made the NCAA Tournament in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002,  2010, 2015, and 2016.

FINAL FOUR FRENZY
RIT was the first team in NCAA history to reach the Frozen Four in a team's first postseason appearance back in 2010. They were also the first team from the AHA to reach the Frozen Four. RIT was one win away from duplicating that feat in 2014-15.