ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Following a week off, the RIT men's hockey team hosts Atlantic Hockey rival Army on Saturday and Sunday in their lone games of December. The Tigers ride a four-game winning-streak into the month following a sweep at Princeton two weeks ago, while the Black Knights earned a 4-1 win over Sacred Heart last Thursday in their most recent outing.
 
RIT and Army opened Atlantic Hockey play on Oct. 8-9 in West Point, N.Y. earlier this season. The Tigers made up a 3-1 second-period deficit to earn a 4-3 victory in the opener as  junior forward Andrew Rinaldi scored twice, including the short-handed, game-winning tally with 3:03 left in regulation. Army made up a two-goal second-period deficit in the following day's rematch, while RIT junior Kolby Matthews totaled a career-high 40 saves to preserve the 2-2 tie. Freshman forward Grady Hobbs logged his first collegiate goal, while senior forward Will Calverley scored for the second-straight game.
 
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TIGER TRACKS
RIT swept host Princeton two weekends ago, winning a 5-4 contest on Friday (Nov. 26) before taking a 1-0 overtime decision on Saturday (Nov. 27). RIT trailed, 2-1, early in the second period of Friday's opener before back-to-back power-play goals by senior forwards Kobe Walker and Nick Bruce in a 57-second span during a five-minute major on Princeton put the visiting Tigers on top, 3-2. The teams traded power-play goals to finish the period, including senior forward Will Calverley's team-leading third-extra man tally of the season, before Princeton re-tied the game 4:37 into the third.  RIT senior defenseman later Dan Willett cleaned up his own rebound during a 4-on-4 flurry with 4:13 left in regulation for what proved to be the game-winner.  Senior forward Jake Hamacher scored the lone goal of Saturday's rematch 35 seconds into overtime off assists by Willett and junior forward Caleb Moretz during a 4-on-3 power play opportunity. Freshman goaltender Tommy Scarfone totaled 21 saves to earn his first victory in an RIT sweater.
 
WE'VE GOT THE POWER
After only scoring one power play goal in its first eight outings of the 2021-22 season, RIT has scored at least one power-play goal in eight of its last 10 games, including a season-high three in last Friday's Princeton win. Three of senior forward Will Calverley's team-leading nine goals have come on the power play.
 
GREEN EGGS AND HAMACHER
Senior forward Jake Hamacher has scored a goal in three-straight games. His OT game-winner in the 1-0 win at Princeton two weeks ago was his Atlantic Hockey-leading 92nd career point. He also ranks second for the Tigers with 38 career goals (behind Calverley's 41), while his 54 assists only rank behind Willett's 69.
 
CARTER BLANCHE
Freshman forward Carter Wilkie won his second-straight Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Month award last week. Named the league Rookie of the Week on five occasions this season, including three in November, Wilkie is currently tied for 11th in Atlantic Hockey with 12 points and tied for eighth with six goals. His three game-winning goals were tied for the second-highest total in the nation entering the week, while he was also tied for fifth among the nation's freshmen in goals and tied for 10th in points. Wilkie was credited with the overtime game-winning goal and assisted the game-tying goal in RIT's 3-2 victory at AIC (Nov. 7) and logged the game-winner in the Tigers' 3-2 win over visiting Holy Cross (Nov. 19). He also scored the overtime game-winning goal in the Tigers' 3-2 upset of Notre Dame (Oct. 21).
 
WAYNE'S WORLD
Head Coach Wayne Wilson became the 49th NCAA men's hockey coach to hit the 400-win plateau with the 1-0 OT win at Princeton two weeks ago. Wilson ranks 16th among active coaches with a 400-279-75 record the last 23 seasons - all on the Tiger bench. The only coach in NCAA history to win the Spencer Penrose (D1 National COY, 2001) and the Sid Watson (D3 National COY, 2010), he totaled a 116-31-12 mark in six Division III campaigns (1999-2005) and owns a 284-246-63 record through 17 Division-I seasons.
 
EQUALITY
RIT will be watching this January's NCAA Convention closely. A proposal will be voted on by the Division III membership which would grant multi-divisional athletic programs the ability to award athletic scholarships. Ten Division III programs currently sponsor at least one Division I sport, but RIT is one of five unable to apply all Division I legislation, including Bylaw 15 (financial aid) dating back to a 2004 waiver which grandfathered in the existing programs. RIT, Union (men's and women's hockey), Hobart (men's lacrosse), Franklin & Marshall (wrestling) and MIT (rowing) would all be permitted to offer scholarships to their student-athletes should the proposal pass. The legislation already has the support of the Division III Presidents Council, National Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the Faculty Athletic Rep (FAR) Advisory Group.
 
WHERE THERE IS A WILL...
Senior forward Will Calverley is tied for 17th nationally and tied for first in Atlantic Hockey with nine 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 this year, Calverley currently has 77 career points on 41 goals and 36 assists in 103 career appearances.
 
PAIN IS JUST WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY
Senior Dan Willett was named the Atlantic Hockey Defensive Player of the Week following his efforts in RIT's Princeton sweep. Also tabbed the Atlantic Hockey Defensive Player of the Month for October, Willet currently ranks second in the nation with 43 blocked shots. He knocked down a season-high seven in the Tigers' 2-1 victory over St. Lawrence (Oct. 16) before 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 currently leads all Tiger returners with 69 career assists while ranking second with 79 career points over 144 games played the last five seasons.
 
NON-CONFERENCE, NO PROBLEM
RIT improved to 10-8-1 in non-conference games over the last three seasons following the Princeton sweep two weeks ago. RIT has won a Division I era-high four non-league games for the second time in three seasons with two contests opposite visiting Arizona State (Jan. 14-15)) remaining on the schedule. 
 
BRUCE ALMIGHTY
Senior forward Nick Bruce notched his first career multiple-goal game with two tallies in RIT's 4-3 win over Holy Cross (Nov. 20). In 94 career appearances in an RIT sweater, he has totaled 47 points on 13 goals and 34 assists. He is also one of four Tigers who returned for a fifth year with the program, joining senior defenseman Dan Willett, senior forward Jake Hamacher and senior goalie Ian Andriano in using the additional year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
SAVE MATTHEWS BAND
Junior Kolby Matthews has been named Atlantic Hockey Goalie of the Week twice this season. He earned his first career honor 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. He also garnered the award following the Mercyhurst series (Nov. 1) after stopping 22 shots and a pair of shootout attempts in the 3-3 tie/shootout win followed by 29 saves in the 3-1 win the next day.
 
DOT MATRIX
Senior forward Will Calverley entered the week tied for 16th nationally and third in Atlantic Hockey with 175 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 tied for 45th nationally (7th in Atlantic Hockey) with 140 face-off wins, including a season-high 20-of-24 wins in the 3-3 tie with visiting Mercyhurst (Oct. 29).
 
POLL WATCHING
RIT received votes in the USCHO.com poll for the eighth-consecutive week. The Tigers landed seven votes this week after receiving a season-high 17 last week following the Princeton sweep.
 
ABOUT ARMY
Army bounced back from a pair of losses at Bentley, (3-1, 5-0), on Nov. 26-27 with a a 4-1 win over visiting Sacred Heart last Thursday (Dec. 2). Sophomore forward Chris Konin logged a goal and an assist for his first points of the season. Junior defenseman Anthony Firriolo leads the Black Knights with 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists), followed by senior forward Colin Bilek's nine (5 goals, 4 assists). Voted the Atlantic Hockey Preseason Player of the Year, Bilek notched a hat-trick and an assist in Army's 6-3 victory over visiting Yale on Nov. 12. Sophomore Gavin Abric has logged the majority of time in net for the Black Knights, ranking second in Atlantic Hockey with a 2.17 goals against average and a .934 save percentage. Army's penalty kill (.857/42-49) ranks 14th nationally and first in Atlantic Hockey. The Black Knights also ranked second in the conference in scoring defense, limiting its opponents to 2.79 goals per game.