ROCHESTER, N.Y. - RIT opens the 2023 Atlantic Hockey Tournament hosting Mercyhurst in a best-of-three quarterfinal series this Friday-Sunday. The Tigers won the inaugural DeGregorio Trophy, awarded to the AHA regular-season champion, and earned the tournament's top seed with an 18-7-1 conference record this winter. The Lakers won two of their final three games to hold on to the league's eighth and final postseason berth with a 9-14-3 conference mark. 

Friday and Saturday's games will faceoff at 7:05 p.m. while Sunday's game, if necessary, will start at 5:05 p.m.

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TIGER TRACKS
RIT won three of its final four games of the regular season, including a two-game sweep of visiting Air Force last week. 

• Sophomore forward Tanner Andrew scored a career-high three points on two goals and an assist in Friday's 3-1 victory. Senior defenseman Gianfranco Cassaro got the night going with a power-play tally at the 9:10 mark of the first period before sophomore forward Carter Wilkie stole a Falcon pass and setup Andrew for what proved to be the game-winner at 4:47 of the second. Andrew jammed home his second of the night to put the game away at 9:05 of the third.  Sophomore goaltender Tommy Scarfone stopped 30 shots for his 12th 30-plus save effort of the season. 
• Air Force got on the board in the third minute of Saturday's rematch, but goals by senior forward Colton Trumbla in final minutes of the first and Cassaro in the opening minutes of the second pushed the Tigers into the lead. The Falcons re-tied the game seven minutes into the third, but Tiger senior defenseman Ryan Nicholson scored what proved to be the game-winner with 11:28 left in regulation. Andrew tacked on two empty-net goals in the closing minutes while senior goaltender Kolby Matthews made 25 saves for the win.

TWENTY-TWO GOOD TO BE TRUE
RIT enters the postseason with a 22-11-1 record, tying for the most regular-season wins in 18 seasons at the Division I level. The 2009-10 team also finished the regular season with an identical 22-11-1 mark before  rattling off four-straight victories to win the program's first Atlantic Hockey Tournament Championship, and then two NCAA Tournament victories for an appearance in the NCAA Division I Frozen Four.  

20 SPOT
RIT 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. 

RIT VS. THE LAKERS
RIT leads the all-time series with Mercyhurst, 30-18-6, including a 4-4 tie (SO L, 2-1) and a 1-0 victory opposite the visiting Lakers earlier this season (Jan. 13-14). The Tigers have faced the Lakers three times in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament,  including in back-to-back seasons on the way to their most recent conference championships in 2015 and 2016. The Tigers defeated the Lakers, 5-1, in the 2015 championship game and then earned a 2-0 road sweep (2-1, 4-1) in a  2016 quarterfinal series. Mercyhurst defeated RIT, 5-4 in overtime in the 2009 semifinals in the teams' first playoff meeting. 

TIGERS IN THE ATLANTIC HOCKEY QUARTERFINALS
RIT is 18-8 in 26 Atlantic Hockey Tournament quarterfinal contests, including a 12-3 home mark, and has advanced in nine of its 11 quarterfinal appearances, including all six played at home.

SILKY WILKIE
Sophomore forward Carter Wilkie finished the regular season leading Atlantic Hockey and tied for 15th nationally with 37 points while tying for 23rd nationally and first in the conference with 1.09 points per game. He was also tied for seventh in the league with 13 goals and tied for third with 24 assists. 

• The Hobey Baker Award nominee finished the regular season ranked seventh in the country with 403 faceoff wins and was one of only eight with over 400. He also won 52.8 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. 

GIANNI BE GOOD
Senior defenseman Gianfranco Cassaro finished the regular season tied for first among the nation's defensemen with 12 goals. 

• He landed his league-best fourth Atlantic Hockey Defensive Player of the Week honor on Monday after scoring a goal in each of the Tigers' victories over Air Force last weekend. He notched a power-play goal 8:10 into Friday's 3-1 victory and also scored a goal and blocked two shots during Saturday's 5-2 victory. 
• The Atlantic Hockey October Player of the Month scored a career-high four points on a goal and three assists during the Tigers' 10-4 win at Canisius (Dec. 3). Also a Hobey Baker Award nominee, he scored two goals on two occasions, including a three-point night in the 5-2 win over Holy Cross (Oct. 28). 

HANSEN-BUKATA-LIKE REFLEXES
Junior defenseman Aiden Hansen-Bukata finished the regular season tied for fifth nationally with 0.88 assists per game and tied for ninth with 28 assists. He also became RIT's 27th Division I era player to score 30 points in a season. 

SAINT TOMMY
Sophomore goaltender Tommy Scarfone has been named the Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week a league-high four times this season. 

• He was most recently honored after stopping 68 of 70 shots opposite visiting Bentley (Feb. 17-18), including all 33 in a 4-0 win for his third shutout of the season. Scarfone also stopped 35 the following night for one of his 12, 30-plus save efforts this season. 
• A Hobey Baker Award nominee, Scarfone entered the week tied for seventh nationally in wins with a 19-9-1 record and is 14th with a .921 save percentage. 
• Leading Atlantic Hockey with 28.17 saves per game, he stopped a career-high 41 shots in RIT's 6-1 setback to No. 5 Penn State (Dec. 30).
• In 23 Atlantic Hockey games this year, Scarfone finished 16-6-1 with a 2.11 goals against average, a .927 save percentage and 27.22 saves per game. 

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. 

IN THE RANKINGS
The Tigers finished the regular season 12th nationally and first in Atlantic Hockey with 3.32 goals per game.  RIT was also 10th in the country and tops in the conference with a +0.82 scoring margin and tied for 15th nationally in scoring defense (2.50 goals per game). The Tigers' penalty kill (.870) is tied for second in the nation despite facing 161 opponent power play attempts - the most in the nation.

TRY TO KEEP UP
RIT was 11-2-0 this season when building a first-period lead and 14-1-0 when leading after the second. The Tigers were also 16-1-1 when building a two-goal lead and 14-4-1 when scoring first. 

BLOCK PARTY
Graduate student defenseman Spencer Berry finished the regular season tied for seventh nationally and first in Atlantic Hockey with 67 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 three games this season, including four on four occasions - the latest in the 5-3 win at Arizona State (Jan. 21).