ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The RIT men's hockey team tied Mercyhurst 4-4 in Atlantic Hockey action, Friday. The Lakers won the shootout, 2-1.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Graduate student forward Andrew Petrucci opened the scoring 3:34 into the first period after gathering a loose puck and firing a shot between a Mercyhurst defender's legs and past Mercyhurst goalie Tyler Harmon.
• Senior forward Caleb Moretz gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead with 13:21 left in the first. Senior forward Elijah Gonsalves won a puck behind the Lakers' goal and fed Moretz in front for a one-timer.
• Mercyhurst evened the score with a pair of goals in a five-minute stretch. Mickey Burns intercepted a pass and converted a one-on-one opportunity with 6:42 on the clock before Eric Esposito finished a two-on-one break with 2:35 remaining the period. 
• RIT retook a 3-2 lead on a wrap-around goal by senior defenseman Gianfranco Cassaro 12:58 remaining in the second period, but Mercyhurst later converted a 5-on-3 opportunity to re-tie the score with 6:26 on the clock. 
• Less than a minute later, Tiger first-year forward Tyler Mahan intercepted a pass at center-ice and scored short-handed for a 4-3 score with 5:35 left in second.
• The Lakers scored the lone goal of the third period, notching their own short-handed tally with 16:30 left in regulation.
• After a scoreless overtime, Mercyhurst earned the extra Atlantic Hockey point after Tommy Bannister iced it with a goal in the sixth round.  

GAME NOTES

• Mahan scored short-handed for the third time in the last five games, tying a single-season Division I-era program record.
• RIT out-shot Mercyhurst, 43-30.
• The Tigers went 1-for-3 on the power play and blocked 17 shots, including three apiece by Cassaro and junior defenseman Aiden Hansen-Bukata.
• Sophomore goalie Tommy Scarfone made 20 saves for the Tigers.  
• RIT allowed a shorthanded goal for the first time since a 5-2 setback at Canisius on Nov. 12, 2021.

WHAT'S NEXT
RIT returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 14) against Mercyhurst at 5:05 p.m.