ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The No. 20/20 RIT men's hockey team kicks off the second semester opposite No. 5/5 Penn State, hosting the Nittany Lions on Friday (5:05 p.m.) before heading to University Park on Saturday (5:30 p.m.).

The Tigers look to pick up where they left off four weeks ago when they tied the single-game goal record with a 10-4 victory at Canisius to punctuate the winningest Division I-era start. PSU is back in action after closing the semester with a split at No. 19/19 Notre Dame  (Dec. 9-10), winning the opener, 5-2, before falling, 5-3, in the rematch.
 
FOLLOW LIVE
Watch (Fri): FloHockey.tv/events (Gene Battaglia, John DiTullio)
Watch (Sat): B1G Network
Local Audio: WITR 89.7 FM or FOX Sports 1280 AM
Web Audio: witr.rit.edu or foxsports1280.iheart.com
PxP/Color: Ed Trefzger, Scott Biggar, Matt Campbell
Live Stats (Fri): ritathletics.com/sidearmstats/mhockey
Live Stats (Sat): gopsusports.com/sidearmstats/mhockey
Twitter: @RITMHKY
 
20-20 VISION
RIT finished the semester ranked No. 20 in  the USCHO national poll and also broke into the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine rankings at No. 20 last week. The Tigers received their first USCHO ranking since finishing No. 20 in the final 2016 poll after winning their second-straight Atlantic Hockey Championship. RIT also had not appeared in the USA Today poll since finishing No. 10 in the final 2010 rankings following its first Atlantic Hockey Championship and a run to the Frozen Four.
 
WE'RE GOING STREAKING!
RIT completed the fall semester with a 12-4-0 record and begins the New Year atop the Atlantic Hockey standings with a 10-2-0 mark. Until this season, no RIT Division I-era team had won 12 of its first 16 games. The Tigers also strung together eight-consecutive wins from Oct. 21 (W, 4-2 at Air Force) to Nov. 25 (W, 5-3 vs. Princeton) – tying the second-longest winning streak during the Division I era. RIT won its first eight home games of the season for its longest Division I-era home winning streak, eclipsing the seven-game streak during the 2008-09 season.
 
WEARING OUT THE RED LIGHT
RIT has scored 61 goals – the most through 14 games during the Division I era and 10 more than the 51 scored in the same span in 2020-21. The Tigers finished the semester fifth nationally averaging 3.81 goals per game, which is 1.39 goals better than the 2.42 they averaged all of last season. Michigan State is the only other team currently averaging a goal better than last year (3.20 this year vs. 2.11 last year).
 
PUTTING THE SPECIAL IN SPECIAL TEAMS
RIT ended the first semester ranked second nationally with a .311 (19-for-61) power play percentage and fifth with 19 power play goals. The Tigers were also ninth with a .850 (68-80) penalty kill percentage. All three marks led Atlantic Hockey as well.
 
ON THE MARGINS
RIT entered break ranked eighth nationally and first in Atlantic Hockey in scoring margin, out-scoring its opponents by an average of 1.19 goal per game. Out-scored by an average of 0.61 goals last season, the Tigers' scoring margin has improved by 1.80 goals per game this season. 
 
SILKY WILKIE
Sophomore forward Carter Wilkie entered the break fifth nationally with 1.38 points per game and tied for fifth with 22 points. The Atlantic Hockey November Player of the Month as well as a two-time Player of the Week, Wilkie scored a career-high four points on two goals and two assists in the Tigers' 10-4 win at Canisius (Dec. 3). He also led all of Atlantic Hockey with eight points in November, including two goals and an assist in the 5-3 win over Princeton (Nov. 25) and a goal and two assists in the 3-1 win over Sacred Heart (Nov. 12). Prior to break, his nine goals were tied for 20th in the country while his 13 assists were tied for 14th. His 193 faceoff wins were also the nation's 11th-best total while his .548 winning percentage was also 11th nationally among players with at least 300 total faceoffs.
 
SAINT TOMMY
Sophomore goaltender Tommy Scarfone entered the break third nationally in wins with an 11-2-0 record, winning 10 straight starts from Oct. 7-Nov. 25. Named the Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week on two occasions, he has totaled at least 30 saves in six games, including a season-high 37 in the 3-1 victory over Sacred Heart (Nov. 11) and 36 in the 4-2 win at Air Force (Oct. 21). He entered the break second in Atlantic Hockey with a .918 save percentage and fourth with a 2.53 goals against average.
 
DYNAMIC DUO
RIT senior defenseman Gianfranco Cassaro and junior defenseman Aiden Hansen-Bukata are the highest scoring defensive pairing in the nation this season
 
Cassaro entered the break tied for 14th nationally with 1.25 points per game and first among all defenseman with 20 points as well as eight goals. The Atlantic Hockey October Player of the Month and three-time Player of the Week scored a career-high four points on a goal and three assists during the Tigers' 10-4 win at Canisius (Dec. 3). He also scored two goals on two occasions, including a three-point night in the 5-2 win over Holy Cross (Oct. 28).
 
Hansen-Bukata entered the break ranked second in the nation with 1.07 assists per game and tied for third with 16 assists. He registered three assists three times to start the season, including the 8-5 win over Union (Oct. 15), the 4-3 win at AIC (Nov. 5) and the 10-4 win at Canisius (Dec. 3).
 
TIGER TRACKS
RIT hits the ice for the first time since defeating host Canisius, 10-4 (Dec. 3). Junior forward Cody Laskosky scored three goals while sophomore forward Carter Wilkie added two goals and two assists to lead the Tigers. RIT fell behind, 2-0, in the first period, but rebounded with seven-straight goals, including three during a extended 5-on-3 power play to start the third period.
 
INSIDE THE CANISIUS GAME
• RIT's 10 goals tied the highest single-game scoring output during the Division I era, matching the 10-0 victory it notched at Sacred Heart on Jan. 14, 2012.
• RIT's six-goal third period was a single-period Division I-era record, eclipsing the five goals scored in the third period of its 8-5 victory over No. 9 Clarkson on Nov. 27, 2020.
• RIT's four power play goals were the second-highest single season total in the Division I-era and were the most since logging six in a 7-1 win at Niagara on Dec. 12, 2016.
• The Tigers' three power play goals in the third period tied the highest single-period mark in the Division I era. RIT also scored three extra-man tallies in the second period of its 5-4 win at Princeton last season (Nov. 26, 2022).  
• RIT's 10 goals tied for the fourth-highest single game total in Atlantic Hockey history and were the most by an Atlantic Hockey team since AIC shutout host Mercyhurst, 12-0 on Nov. 15, 2019.
• RIT snapped a seven-game losing streak to Canisius.
 
NATIONALLY RANKED ON BOTH BENCHES
This weekend's Penn State series will mark only the second time during the Division I era RIT will face a ranked team during the regular season while also being nationally ranked. Slotted No. 18 in the USCHO poll to start the 2011-12 season, the Tigers opened the campaign with a 3-1 setback to No. 4 St. Cloud State during the Mutual of Omaha Stamped, hosted by Nebraska Omaha.
 
NINE LIVES
RIT and Penn State will meet for the first time in nine seasons. On Oct. 25, 2013, the teams played to a 3-3 draw in University Park, Pa., before the Tigers won a 2-0 shootout. The Nittany Lions won the first ever meeting between the teams, 3-2, (Oct. 20, 2012) in the sixth-annual Brick City Homecoming Game at Blue Cross Arena.
 
POWER PLAYERS
Grad student forward Kobe Walker entered the week tied for second nationally with six power play goals, including two during the Canisius series to close last semester. Sophomore forward Carter Wilkie is tied for ninth with five power-play tallies, while senior defenseman Gianfranco Cassaro is tied for 21st with four extra-man goals.
 
BLOCK PARTY
Graduate student defenseman Spencer Berry ranks 15th nationally and second in Atlantic Hockey with 37 blocked shots this season. He knocked down a career-high seven shots in the 5-3 win  over Princeton (Nov. 25) and has logged at least one block in all but two games this season.
 
ABOUT PENN STATE
No. 5/5 Penn State is back in action following a three-week holiday layoff. The Nittany Lions most recently split a B1G series at No. 19/19 Notre Dame (Dec. 9-10), following up a 5-2 opening victory with a 5-3 setback. Senior forward Kevin Wall leads the team with nine goals and is tied for first with senior forward Connor McMenamin (5 G/11A) at 16 points.  Eight other playes have also scored in double-digits through 20 games, including senior forward Connor MacEachern (7G/8A), senior forward Ture Linden (5G/10A) and sophomore forward Ben Schoen (3G/team-high 12A). Junior goaltender Liam Souliere second nationally with a 13-4-0 record in 18 starts while compiling a .919 save percentage and a 2.23 GAA. Penn State opened the season with 5-2 and 7-5 victories over visiting Canisius (Oct. 7-8) before sweeping a home-and-home with Mercyhurst, 6-3 (Oct. 13, home) and 4-1 (Oct. 14, road).
 
WAYNE'S WORLD
Head Coach Wayne Wilson moved into 43rd in NCAA Men's Hockey history during the Sacred Heart sweep in November. Wilson currently ranks ninth among active Division I coaches with a 421-294-77 record the last 24 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 305-263-65 record during 18 Division-I seasons. Last season, he became the 49th NCAA men's hockey coach to hit the 400-win plateau with the 1-0 OT win at Princeton (Nov. 27).
 
SPREAD THE LOVE
Through 14 games, 19 RIT players have scored at least one point, including 16 with at least three points. Additionally, all 18 of thos players have been credited with at least one blocked shot.