Men's Hockey | 1/29/2021 9:05:00 PM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The RIT and Canisius men's hockey teams are set to get reacquainted with three games in four days, playing at the Polisseni Center on Saturday night before heading to the LECOM Harbor Center for games on Sunday and Tuesday evening. The Tigers returned to the ice for the first time in 25 days on Thursday and defeated visiting Mercyhurst, 6-4, in their first home game of 2021 after eight-consecutive games were postponed due to Atlantic Hockey COVID-19 protocol. Canisius is set to break a 27-day layoff, also due to COVID-19 protocol, after not playing since sweeping a home-and-home doubleheader with Mercyhurst, 3-2 at home and 3-9 on the road, on Jan. 2-3.
 
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TIGER TRACKS
RIT junior forward Will Calverley (Scarborough, Ontario) notched power-play, short-handed and even-strength goals to lead the Tigerst past visiting Mercyhurst, 6-4, on Thursday. The Lakers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of regulation before Calverley converted an extra-man attempt with 5:51 on the first-period clock and then tied the game 1:24 into the second with a tremendous individual effort during a two-man advantage by the Lakers. The teams traded four goals the rest of the period, including a goal by sophomore forward Elijah Gonsalves (Scarborough, Ontario) with 19.1 seconds on the clock which tied the game, 4-4 heading into the final period. Calverley completed his second collegiate hat-trick 52 seconds into the third to put the Tigers on top for good, before senior forward Jake Hamacher (Corona, Calif.) converted a penalty shot with 8:18 on the clock to put the game out of reach.
 
BROKEN RECORDS
RIT senior goalie Logan Drackett (Calgary, Alberta) totaled 23 saves Thursday's Mercyhurst decision to earn his 42nd career victory and break a tie with Jared DeMichiel '10 for the most wins by a Tiger during the Division I era. Drackett also surpassed Mike Rotolo (Rochester, NY/Cedar Rapids Roughriders) '17 for first place in the Division I era with his 95th appearance in an RIT sweater.  Drackett had already moved to the top of the career saves earlier this season and currently leads all active goalies in the nation with exactly 2,400 saves. He was credited with 18 saves in the Tigers' 3-1 setback at Robert Morris (Jan. 2) to surpass Rotolo atop the career saves list. The 2020 second-team Atlantic Hockey all-star is also on pace to finish in the top-five in program history with a 2.89 goals against average.
 
CALL IN THE CALVERLEY
Junior forward Will Calverley (Scarborough, Ontario) was named the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Month for December. He entered the weekend tied for fourth nationally (and first in Atlantic Hockey) with 19 points and tied for eighth with nine goals following his second hat-trick of the season in Thursday's Mercyhurst win. 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.
 
DO IT YOURSELF
Senior forward Jake Hamacher (Corona, Calif.) converted RIT's first regulation penalty shot of the season in Thursday's Mercyhurst victory. He was also the last Tiger to attempt a penalty shot, misfiring opposite visiting Air Force last season in a 3-0 setback (Feb. 28). However, he was also the last RIT player to score on a penalty shot, finding the net in a 4-2 setback to visiting Arizona State (Feb. 2, 2019) two seasons ago.  
 
BRUCE ALMIGHTY
Senior forward Nick Bruce (Fall River, Nova Scotia/Johnstown Tomahawks) is tied for second on the team with 12 points and is second with nine assists this winter. In Thursday's 6-4 victory over Mercyhurst, he intercepted a pass at the top of the Mercyhurst zone just inside the blue line and slipped a pass from his knees to senior forward Will Calverley (Scarborough, Ontario) on the righ post for what proved to be the game-winning tally 52 seconds into the third period. He also hit senior forward Alden Dupuis (Edmonton, Alberta) with a perfect cross-ice feed earlier in the game to set-up a wide-open one-timer which re-tied the game, 3-3, in the second period.
 
GOING GONZO
Sophomore forward Elijah Gonsalves (Scarborough, Ontario) logged a goal and an assist in Thursday's Mercyhurst victory. Entering the weekend tied for second on the squad with 12 points, he is also second with six goals after jamming home a rebound late in the second period which tied the game, 4-4, heading into the third period. 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).
 
SCOUTING CANISIUS
Canisius returns to action for the first time since opening the 2021 calendar year with a weekend home-and-home sweep of Atlantic Hockey rival Mercyhurst on Jan. 2-3. The Golden Griffins earned the first victory on home ice, 3-2, before posting a 3-0 shutout of the Lakers the following day on the road. Junior forward Lee Lapid and sophomore forward Keaton Mastrodonato scored twice in the series as Mastrodonato earned four points (2g, 2a), while Lapid chipped in with three (2g, 1a). Junior Mitchell Martan and sophomore Simon Gravel were the other goal scorers for the Griffs in the pair of wins. Junior goaltender Matt Ladd earned his first two victories of the season, making a total of 51 saves in the two games, highlighted by a 30-save shutout on Jan. 3.
 
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 fourth nationally and first in Atlantic Hockey with 4.00 goals per game. The Tigers also rank seventh in the country with 10.36 points per game as well as ninth with 6.36 assists per game.
 
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 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.