Men's Hockey | 3/11/2021 2:50:00 PM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The RIT men's hockey team travels to the LECOM Harbor Center in Buffalo, N.Y. this weekend for a best-of-three Atlantic Hockey Tournament Quarterfinal series with host Canisius. The Tigers are set to take the ice after a 19-day hiatus following a sweep of then No. 19 Robert Morris (Feb. 20-21), while Canisius has been off since splitting two games opposite Niagara (Feb. 26-27).

RIT earned the third seed in the West pod for the Atlantic Hockey Tournament with a 7-5-1 regular-season conference record, just behind the second-seeded Golden Griffins, which finished 8-5-0. RIT defeated visiting Canisius, 3-2, on Jan. 30, but fell in two road contests, 5-3 and 3-0, two weeks later in the teams' three regular season matchups. 

Friday and Saturday's games are slated for 7:05 p.m. face-off, while Sunday's if-necessary game will start at 5:05 p.m. The winner of this weekend's series advances to the Atlantic Hockey Semifinals to take on the highest-remaining seed left in the East pod on March 19. The conference championship game is slated for March 20.

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RIT IN THE ATLANTIC HOCKEY TOURNAMENT
RIT owns a 29-16 record in 12 Atlantic Hockey Tournament appearances. The Tigers are 16-5 in the quarterfinals, including a 6-3 mark on the road. Fifth-seeded RIT advanced past fourth-seeded Sacred Heart in the 2019 quarterfinals, falling in the opener, 9-4, before bouncing back for 7-3 and 3-1 victories to move on to the semis (lost to Niagara, 1-0). RIT has faced Canisius twice in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament, earning semifinal victories in 2010 (4-0) and 2015 (2-1) during its first two championship runs. RIT is in the hunt for its first Atlantic Hockey title since winning its third in 2016.

TIGER TRACKS
RIT broke a three-game slide with a pair of wins over nationally-ranked Robert Morris in its last games of the regular season. The Tigers started with a 6-1 victory which featured a career-high 39 saves by senior goalie Ian Andriano (Barrie, Ontario/Ottawa Jr. Senators) as well as six RIT goal scorers. Junior forward Will Calverley (Scarborough, Ontario) led the way with a goal and an assist while senior defenseman Dan Willett (Bayville, N.Y.) and senior forward Jake Hamacher (Corona, Calif.) were each credited with two assists. Following a scoreless first period thanks in part to 17 Andriano saves, the Colonials got on the board 59 seconds into the second, but Calverley scored a power-play tally off his own rebound four minutes later for the first of six-unanswered Tiger goals. Goals by senior forward Alden Dupuis (Edmonton, Alberta) and a junior forward Kobe Walker (Lloydminster, Alberta) (short-handed) just over a minute apart pushed RIT to a 3-1 edge midway through the second. 

RIT completed the sweep with a 4-3 comeback victory the next day. Trailing, 3-2, entering the third period, sophomore defenseman Ryan Nicholson (Mississauga, Ontario) scored on a long shot from the right point with 12:02 on the clock before senior forward Nick Bruce (Fall River, Nova Scotia/Johnstown Tomahawks) scored what proved to be the game-winner with 12:08 left in regulation. Andriano totaled 29 saves to preserve his second-straight win. 

CALL IN THE CALVERLEY
RIT junior forward Will Calverley (Scarborough, Ontario) enters the postseason ranked third nationally with 1,50 points per game, while ranking first in Atlantic Hockey with 24 points and tied for second with 11 goals. Voted First-Team All-Atlantic Hockey-West on Thursday, Calverley notched his 30th career goal in RIT's 3-2 win over Canisius (Jan. 30) after compiling his second hat-trick of the season in the 6-4 win over Mercyhurst (Jan. 28). The Atlantic Hockey Player of the Month for December was credited with two assists in RIT's 4-3 loss at Robert Morris (Jan. 3) 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. 

DAN THE MAN
Senior assistant captain Dan Willett (Bayville, N.Y.) was voted First-Team All-Atlantic Hockey-West on Thursday. Tabbed the Atlantic Hockey Defensive Player of the Week on Feb. 23 for his efforts in the Robert Morris sweep, Willett totaled three assists along with four blocked shots during the weekend while anchoring the Tigers' defense that limited the Colonials' attack which entered the weekend leading the conference with 3.95 goals per game. 

SECOND INTERMISSION MISSION
RIT is 8-1-1 this season when either tied or leading after two periods of play and are unbeaten in seven games they carried a lead into the third period. However, the 4-3 win over Robert Morris was the first time this winter the Tigers won when trailing after 40 minutes of play, improving their record to 1-6-1 when falling behind at the second intermission. 

BEHIND THE TIMES
RIT's comeback victory over Robert Morris marked the first time in almost exactly a year RIT earned a win after trailing into the third period. The Tigers trailed visiting Niagara, 2-1, last season on Feb. 22 before coming back for a 3-2 OT win capped by game-tying and game-winning goals by then senior defenseman Adam Brubacher (Elmira, Ontario/Powell River Kings). Brubacher tied the game with 47 seconds left in regulation before winning it 1:06 into extra time. 

GOING GONZO
Sophomore forward Elijah Gonsalves (Scarborough, Ontario) is tied for second on the squad with 19 points and second with nine goals. The 2019-20 Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team honoree had a five-game point-scoring streak snapped in RIT's 3-0 shutout at Canisius (Feb. 13), marking only the sixth time he had been held off the scoresheet this season, but bounced back with a goal in each of the Tigers' victories over Robert Morris. Last year, he 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. 

GREEN EGGS AND HAMACHER
Senior forward Jake Hamacher (Corona, Calif.) is tied for second for the Tigers with 19 points and is tied with Calverley for first with 13 assists while only being held scoreless four times this season. He notched two assists in the 4-3 win over Robert Morris, including the 50th of his career on the opening goal of the game. Hamacher converted RIT's first regulation penalty shot of the season in the 6-4 victory over Mercyhurst (Jan. 28). 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. 

BROKEN RECORDS
RIT senior goalie Logan Drackett (Calgary, Alberta) totaled 23 saves in RIT's 6-4 win over visiting Mercyhurst (Jan. 28) 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 ranks second among all active goalies in the nation with 2,439 saves to date. 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.

BRUCE ALMIGHTY
Senior forward Nick Bruce (Fall River, Nova Scotia/Johnstown Tomahawks) is fourth on the team with 16 points and is tied for second with 12 assists this winter, including the game-winning goal and an assist in Sunday's 4-3 win over Robert Morris. In the Tigers' 6-4 victory over Mercyhurst (Jan. 28), 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 right 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. 

SCOUTING CANISIUS
Canisius sophomore forward Keaton Mastrodonato paced the Griffs during the regular season with eight goals and 14 points. Junior forward Mitchell Martan ranks second on the squad with 11 points, including a team-best seven assists. Seniors Matt Long (3g, 4a) and Grant Meyer (1g, 6a) have provided scoring depth this season, with the duo tied for third in scoring with seven points apiece. Junior Matt Ladd and sophomore Jacob Barczewski have split time in goal, combining for a .919 save percentage and 2.60 goals against average in 784 minutes of action. Canisius has tallied 35 of its 42 goals after the first period this season. The Griffs have been outscored by a 13-7 margin in the opening 20 minutes of play, but own a 35-21 edge over its opponents during the remaining 40 minutes of regulation and 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.

PULLING RANK
RIT's wins over No. 19 Robert Morris two weeks ago were their sixth and seventh over nationally-ranked teams during the last two seasons. The Tigers also defeated then No. 9 Clarkson, 8-5, to open the season (Nov. 27). RIT 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. 

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. 

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 recently signed a professional tryout with the Winnipeg Jets' AHL affiliate Manitoba Moose after spending time over the summer with the New York Islanders' AHL affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers

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.