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an RIT men's hockey player
Jesse Wolfe
4
Winner RIT RIT 14-13-4, 10-9-4
2
Niagara NIA 11-18-2, 10-11-2
Winner
RIT RIT
14-13-4, 10-9-4
4
Final
2
Niagara NIA
11-18-2, 10-11-2
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
RIT RIT 1 1 2 4
Niagara NIA 1 1 0 2

Game Recap: Men's Hockey |

Men's Hockey earns 4-2 last-minute win at Niagara

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – RIT senior forward Kobe Walker scored two goals while freshman forward Carter Wilkie notched the game-winning goal with 10.6 seconds left in regulation in a 4-2 Atlantic Hockey victory at Niagara, Friday.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Niagara opened the scoring with 11:14 left in the first after Shane Ott centered puck to Christian Gorscak in the low slot for a short finish.
  • RIT pulled even 47 seconds later after sophomore defenseman Dimitri Mikrogiannakis sent a pass from the point to Walker outside the left post for a nice finish under Purple Eagle goaltender Chad Veltri's glove with 10:27 left in the 1st.
  • In the second period, Niagara's Carter Randklev got loose in the right face-off circle to snap a shot under Tiger freshman goaltender Tommy Scarfone's blocker at 10:06 but Walker once again had the answer 1:01 later after skating across the slot for a patient back-handed flip behind a sprawling Veltri to make it a 2-2 game at 9:05.
  • The teams were scoreless until the final minute of regulation when Niagara's Chris Harpur was whistled for interference with 52 seconds on the clock. Calverley dug a loose puck out of the right corner to senior forward Jake Hamacher on the half boards. Hamacher skated toward the slot and rolled a pass to a wide-open Wilkie in the left face-off circle for the game-winning wrist shot under Veltri with 10.6 on the clock.
  • Niagara won the ensuing face-off, but the puck went directly backwards, splitting two Purple Eagle defenseman on its way into an empty net. Calverley was credited with the goal for taking the face-off. 
GAME NOTES
  • RIT senior defenseman Dan Willett broke the all-time Atlantic Hockey record with his 159th game played while Hamacher moved into a tie for second with his 158th appearance in a Tiger sweater.
  • Scarfone finished with 33 saves for his fifth 30-plus save effort of the season, including seven stops while RIT killed a major penalty at the beginning of the third period. Senior defenseman Spencer Berry was also credited with four blocked shots during the kill.
  • Walker notched his second career two-goal game and first since scoring twice in a 9-5 setback to visiting Sacred Heart on Nov. 15, 2019. His first goal was also his 50th career point as he now has 51 points on 25 goals and 26 assists in 104 games played.
  • Wilkie notched his 11th goal and team-leading fourth game-winning tally of the season.
  • RIT was held to a season-low 14 shots on goal - the fewest attempts since only taking 11 shots in back-to-back wins at Air Force in 2019 (W, 2-1 on Oct. 24, W, 1-0 on Oct. 25).  
WHAT'S NEXT
RIT closes the home portion of the 2021-22 schedule on Saturday, hosting Niagara in a rematch at 7:05 p.m. at the Gene Polisseni Center. The 10 members of the Class of 2022 will be honored in a ceremony prior to the game.