ROCHESTER, N.Y. - RIT heads to Buffalo this Friday and Saturday for a two-game Atlantic Hockey set versus Canisius at the LECOM Harborcenter. The Tigers are back on the road following a 7-3 setback and a 3-2 OT victory at AIC last Saturday and Sunday, while Canisius returns home after splitting a conference double-dip at Bentley last Friday (L, 2-1) and Saturday (W, 6-3).

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TIGER TRACKS
RIT followed up a 7-3 setback at AIC last Saturday with a 3-2 OT win on Sunday. Freshman forward Carter Wilkie tipped home the game-winner 3:43 into Sunday's overtime off a shot by senior defenseman Dan Willett from the point. Sophomore forward Cody Laskosky opened the scoring 7:35 into the first, but the Yellowjackets bounced back for a 2-1 lead in the opening minutes of the second. Tiger freshman forward Grady Hobbs tied the score on an odd-man rush with 12:33 left in the second, while junior goaltender Kolby Matthews pitched a shutout the rest of the way, finishing with 28 saves.  Saturday saw senior forward Will Calverley notch a goal and an assist, but a 5-0 AIC run put RIT in a 6-1 hole with 12:17 left in the second that proved insurmountable. 

CARTER BLANCHE
Freshman forward Carter Wilkie was named the Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week, Monday, marking the fourth time during the first six weeks of the season he has garnered the award. Also voted the Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Month for October, he entered the week ranked first among all Atlantic Hockey newcomers and tied for sixth among the nation's first-years with eight points on four goals and four assists. He scored the road overtime game-winning goal in the Notre Dame upset and notched a goal and an assist in the Tigers' 3-3 tie versus Mercyhurst (Oct. 29). He is also tied for 29th nationally (4th in Atlantic Hockey) with 95 face-off wins, including a season-high 20-of-24 in the Mercyhurst draw.  

PAIN IS JUST WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY
Senior Dan Willett was named the Atlantic Hockey Defensive Player of the Month for October. He currently ranks second in the nation with 30 blocked shots, including a season-high seven in the Tigers' 2-1 victory over St. Lawrence (Oct. 16) followed by three-consecutive four-block performances, including the Tigers' 3-2 OT road upset of No. 13 Notre Dame (Oct. 21). Willett garnered first-team all-conference honors last season after leading RIT and tying for 12th in Atlantic Hockey with 30 blocked shots. He also tied for first on the team with 14 assists and was fourth with 18 points. The 2021-22 Preseason All-Atlantic Hockey honoree leads all Tiger returners with 63 career assists while ranking second with 72 career points over 138 games played the last five seasons.
 
WHERE THERE IS A WILL...
Senior forward Will Calverley is tied for 15th nationally and second in Atlantic Hockey with six goals. Picking up where he left off last year after being named only the fourth All-American in Division I program history (AHCA Second-Team), the Atlantic Hockey-West Co-Player of the Year and Best Defensive Forward finished the season ranked fourth in the nation and first in Atlantic Hockey with 1.39 points per game while tying for first in the league with 25 points and second with 12 goals. Voted a preseason All-Atlantic Hockey pick, Calverley currently has 72 career points on 38 goals and 34 assists in 97 career appearances.

SAVE MATTHEWS BAND
Junior Kolby Matthews entered the week ranked 24th nationally and second in Atlantic Hockey with a .917 save percentage and tied for 12th with five victories. A two-time Atlantic Hockey Goalie of the Week this season, his first honor came after compiling a career-high 40 saves to preserve a 2-2 tie at Army (Oct. 9), marking the highest save total by a Tiger since Logan Drackett stopped 41 shots in a 4-1 victory at Robert Morris (Feb. 8, 2020) two seasons ago. 

DOWN FOR WHATEVER
RIT's penalty kill is tied for 14th nationally at 87.2 percent after fighting off 34 of 39 short-handed opportunities this season. The Tigers started the season killing the first 16  power plays it faced  before allowing Notre Dame to convert a third-period, 4-on-3 opportunity during their 3-2 OT victory (Oct. 21). 

POLL WATCHING
RIT received votes in the USCHO.com poll for the fourth-consecutive week. The Tigers landed 12 votes after receiving a season-high 15 last week. 

WE'VE GOT THE POWER
Senior forward Will Calverly's second-period goal in RIT's 3-3 tie with Mercyhurst (Oct. 29) was RIT's first power play goal of the season after starting the season 0-for-23.

JUST KEEP SHOOTING
RIT took a season-high 41 shots in Sunday's 3-2 OT victory at AIC, eclipsing the 36 shots it took in the 3-1 victory over visiting Mercyhurst (Oct. 30) the previous weekend. It was also the Tigers' highest shot total since taking 40 in a 3-2 win over visiting Mercyhurst on Dec. 7, 2019. 

DOT MATRIX
Senior forward Will Calverley entered the week tied for 10th nationally and first in Atlantic Hockey with 111 face-off wins. He won a season-high 16 on three occasions, including 16-of-26 performances in the 4-4 tie at Army (Oct. 9) and the 3-2 win over St. Lawrence (Oct. 16). Freshman forward Carter Wilkie is fourth in Atlantic Hockey with 95 victories as RIT leads Atlantic Hockey winning 49.8 percent of its face-offs.  

ABOUT THE GOLDEN GRIFFINS
Canisius opened conference play with a split of its league series at Bentley last weekend, suffering a 2-1 setback in the opener before rallying for a 6-3 triumph in the finale. In game one, Bentley scored twice in a three-minute span late in the first period on its way to recording the one-goal victory. Senior J.D. Pogue accounted for the lone Canisius goal while junior Jacob Barczewski made a career-high 40 saves to keep the Griffs in the game as they were out-shot by a 42-19 margin. The Griffs flipped the script in the finale, registering three goals in the opening frame on its way to netting a season-high six goals in the win. Junior Daniel DiGrande scored twice while graduate student Austin Alger and junior Keaton Mastrodonato finished with three points each on a goal and two assists. Graduate student Alex Ambrosio and senior Lee Lapid accounted for the other two Canisius goals in the win.