ROCHESTER, N.Y. - RIT closes the regular season with two Atlantic Hockey games opposite visiting Air Force this Friday and Saturday. Following last weekend's split with Bentley, the Tigers clinched the Atlantic Hockey regular season championship and the top seed for next month's conference tournament, along with home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. Air Force was eliminated from postseason contention following a pair of losses to visiting American International.
 
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TIGER TRACKS
RIT snapped a three-game slide with a 4-0 victory over Bentley last Friday, before coming up short, 2-1, the following night. 

• Graduate student forward Kobe Walker notched his first collegiate hat-trick while junior defenseman Aiden Hansen-Bukata logged three assists to pace the offense in Friday's win.
• The Tigers couldn't find their way back from a 2-0 deficit in Saturday's rematch despite senior forward Calvon Boots' tally with 3:03 left in regulation.

RIT split two games at Air Force earlier this season, bouncing back from a 3-2 loss (Oct. 20) for a 4-2 win the following night. Sophomore forward Carter Wilkie logged a goal and an assist in the victory while sophomore goaltender Tommy Scarfone totaled 36 saves.  

SAINT TOMMY
Sophomore goaltender Tommy Scarfone landed his fourth Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week honor of the season for his efforts in last weekend's Bentley series.

• Scarfone stopped 68 of 70 shots opposite the Falcons, including all 33 on Friday for his third shutout of the season, before logging 35 the following night for his 11th 30-plus save effort this winter.
• Scarfone is tied for seventh nationally in wins with a 18-9-1 record and tied for 17th with a .919 save percentage.
• Leading Atlantic Hockey with 28.11 saves per game, he stopped a career-high 41 shots in RIT's 6-1 setback to No. 5 Penn State (Dec. 30).
• In 22 Atlantic Hockey games this year, Scarfone is 15-6-1 with a 2.16 goals against average and a .925 save percentage. 

TITLE TIGERS
RIT wrapped up its fifth Atlantic Hockey regular-season championship and first since winning three-straight from 2008-11 while breaking a tie with AIC for the most in league history.

• The Tigers also won the 2006-07 regular-season title during their first season in the league, but were ineligible for postseason play.
• RIT and Air Force tied for first during the 2008-09 regular season with identical 20-6-2 league records - the only time two teams shared the crown in the 20-year history of Atlantic Hockey.
• RIT has won three Atlantic Hockey postseason championships - 2010, 2015 and 2016. 

20 SPOT
RIT has put together its sixth 20-win season in 18 seasons at the Division-I level and its first since ending the 2014-15 campaign with a 20-15-5 mark en route to the first of two-straight Atlantic Hockey Championships.
 
POWER SPIKE
RIT converted 3-of-6 power play chances in last Friday's Bentley decision to snap an 0-for-24 streak during its previous seven contests. The Tigers owned one of the nation's top power plays the first three months of the season, notching 19 extra-man tallies on 62 attempts (.306) during 16 games prior to winter break, before enduring a 2-for-44 (.045) drought before last weekend.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
The Tigers entered the week tied for 15th nationally and first in Atlantic Hockey with 3.28 goals per game.  RIT was also 13th in the country and tops in the conference with a +0.72 scoring margin and 19th nationally in scoring defense (2.56 goals per game). The Tigers own the nation's third-best penalty kill (.866) despite facing 157 opponent power play attempts - the most in the nation.
 
SILKY WILKIE
Sophomore forward Carter Wilkie leads Atlantic Hockey and is tied for 17th nationally with 35 points while sitting 22nd nationally and first in the conference with 1.09 points per game. He is also tied for fourth in the league with 13 goals and tied for third with 22 assists.

• Wilkie entered the week eighth nationally with 386 faceoff wins while winning 53.1 percent of his draws.
• He is only the 11th player in RIT's Division I era to score 30 points in multiple seasons after totaling 30 points (13 goals/17 assists) as a first-year. 
• Wilkie is a two-time Atlantic Hockey Player of the Month (November, January) and four-time Player of the Week honoree this season. 

ROOKIE COOKIES
First-year forward Tyler Mahan is second for RIT and is tied for 14th in the country among first-year players with 11 goals. He also entered the week in a five-way tie for first nationally with three short-handed tallies. Mahan had a season-high six-game point streak snapped in the 1-0 victory over Mercyhurst (Jan. 14) after totaling five goals and three assists during the run.
 
BEST DEFENSE IS GOOD OFFENSE
Senior Gianfranco Cassaro and junior Aiden Hansen-Bukata rank among the nation's highest scoring defensive pairings this season.

• Hansen-Bukata is seventh in the country with 0.90 assists per game and sits second in Atlantic Hockey with 27 assists. He's also tied for fourth in the league with 29 points. He registered three assists for the fourth time this season in last Friday's 4-0 victory over Bentley.
• Among defensemen, Cassaro is tied for 13th nationally and ranks third in Atlantic Hockey with 25 points (10G/15A). 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). 

BLOCK PARTY
Graduate student defenseman Spencer Berry entered the week tied for fifth nationally and first in Atlantic Hockey with 65 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, including four on four occasions - the latest in the 5-3 win at Arizona State (Jan. 21).
 
ABOUT AIR FORCE
Air Force was knocked out of postseason contention after falling to AIC, 3-2 and 4-3, last weekend. Senior foward Willie Reim leads the team with 25 points and is tied with junior Will Gavin with 11 goals. Junior defensemen Luke Rowe and senior defenseman Brandon Koch are tied for the team lead with 17 assists each. Sophomore Guy Blessing leads the Falcons' goaltending contingent with a 6-8-1 record in 15 starts, accumulating a .3.23 goals against average and an .888 save percentage. Junior Maiszon Balboa (.894 S%, 3.05 GAA) and senior Austin Park (.883 S%, 3.11 GAA) have also made 13 appearances and eight starts apiece.