ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The RIT men's hockey team continues the 2023 Atlantic Hockey Tournament hosting Holy Cross in a best-of-three semifinal series this Friday-Sunday. The top-seeded Tigers swept eighth-seeded Mercyhurst, 5-3 and 4-3 (OT) in last weekend's quarterfinals, while the seventh-seeded Crusaders came back to upset second-seeded AIC, including a 4-3 OT victory in Sunday's deciding game-three in Springfield.

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

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TIGER TRACKS
RIT was the lone team to sweep its best-of-three AHA Tournament series last weekend, defeating Mercyhurst twice to advance to the tournament semifinals for the second-straight season and 10th time in 12 opportunities. 

• First-year forward Adam Jeffery scored his first two collegiate goals, including what proved to be the game-winner with under two minutes left in regulation in Friday's 5-3 opening victory. Graduate student defenseman Matt Kellenberger found the net at 5:15 of the first period for the lone goal of the first 40 minutes of play, before Mercyhurst took the lead with a pair of goals in the first 1:12 of the third period. Jeffery tied the game at the 2:18 mark, but the Lakers retook a 3-2 lead at 6:24. Tiger junior defenseman Dimitri Mikrogiannakis retied the game off a feed from senior linemate Ryan Nicholson with 9:46 left in regulation, before Jeffery iced the game with 1:35 on the clock. Sophomore forward Grady Hobbs found the empty net with 13.5 remaining to put the game out of reach as RIT put a season-high 52 shots on net.
• RIT outlasted the Lakers 4-3, in Saturday's rematch as senior defenseman Gianfranco Cassaro notched the overtime game-winner along with two assists. Mercyhurst built a 3-1 lead at the 5:03 mark of the second period, before first-year forward Simon Isabelle tallied a power-play goal with 1:47 left in the period, and junior forward Cody Laskosky tied the game with 16:14 left in regulation. Mercyhurst was whistled for too many men on the ice 2:21 into overtime, setting up Cassaro's deciding blast from the right faceoff circle off a feed from Laskosky 3:09 into extra time.
• Sophomore goaltender Tommy Scarfone stopped 20 shots in the opener before totaling 32 saves in Saturday's contest for his 13th 30-plus save effort of the season. 

TWENTY-TWO GOOD TO BE TRUE
RIT entered the postseason with a 22-11-1 record, tying 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 the first since ending the 2014-15 campaign with a 20-15-5 mark en route to the first of two-straight Atlantic Hockey Championships. The Tigers' 24-11-1 record is currently the second-winningest season, only trailing the 2009-10 squad's 28-12-1 mark compiled on the way to the Frozen Four.

RIT VS. THE CRUSADERS
RIT leads the all-time series with Holy Cross, 31-13-8, including three wins in four matchups this past regular season. The Tigers won at the GPC, 5-2 and 3-2 (OT) on Oct. 28-29, before splitting two games in Worcester (W 4-3; L 4-3 OT) on Jan. 27-28. The Tigers have faced Holy Cross  in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament three times, advancing out of the 2008 (W 5-4 OT, W 5-4 OT) and 2009 (L 5-3, W 6-4, W 9-5) quarterfinals at home, while falling in three games (W 3-2 OT, L 5-1, L 3-2 OT) on the road in a 2014 first-round matchup.  

TIGERS IN THE ATLANTIC HOCKEY SEMIFINALS
RIT is 5-4 in nine Atlantic Hockey Tournament semifinal contests.

• The Tigers are back in the semifinals a season after falling to Air Force, 4-3, in a game played a the Adirondack Bank Center in Utica, N.Y.
• The Tigers also lost in the 2019 semifinals, 1-0, to Niagara in a game played at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester.
• The Tigers' won semifinal contests in back-to-back seasons in 2015 (2-1, Canisius) and 2016 (2-1 OT, Air Force) on their way to their most recent Atlantic Hockey Championships, and also won three straight in 2010 (4-0, Canisius), 2011 (UConn, 4-2) and 2012 (Niagara, 2-1 OT).
• RIT fell to Air Force, 5-0, in the 2008 semis and Mercyhurst, 5-4 (OT) in 2009.
• All semifinal and championship games were played at the Blue Cross Arena from 2007-2018.
• 2023 marks the first time in tournament history the semifinals will be decided in a best-of-three format. 

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.
• Following his two assist in the Mercyhurst quarterfinal series, he is one point shy (13G/26A) of becoming only the 11th Tiger in the Division I era to score 40 points in a season 

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

• Cassaro's three-point night (1G/2A) last Saturday pushed him to 30 points this season. The 28th Division I-era player to achieve the milestone, he entered the week tied for first nationally among defensemen with 13 goals and tied for eighth in scoring. His six power-play tallies are also tied for second among blueliners.
• Cassaro broke the D1-era single-season record for goals by a Tiger defenseman, surpassing the 11 notched by Chris Saracino (2012-13), Dan Ringwald (2009-10) and Chris Haltgin (2009-10).
• He landed his league-best fourth Atlantic Hockey Defensive Player of the Week to finish the season after scoring a goal in each of the Tigers' victories over Air Force. He notched a power-play goal 8:10 into the opening 3-1 victory and also scored a goal and blocked two shots during the 5-2 victory the following night.
• 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.

• Along with his two goals, Hansen-Bukata also became RIT's 27th Division I era player to score 30 points in a season.
• His 28 assists are the most by a Tiger since Josh Mitchell logged 30 helpers during the 2015-16 campaign.
• Hansen-Bukata entered the week 20th nationally with 62 blocked shots, including a career-high seven in the 4-3 win at Holy Cross (Jan. 27).
• Hansen-Bukata was named the Atlantic Hockey Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 10 after notching the game-winning goal, an assist and three blocked shots in the 3-2 win over visiting Army (Oct. 7), before tallying a goal and a then career-high six blocked shots in the 4-1 victory versus the Black Knights the following night.

SAINT TOMMY
Sophomore goaltender Tommy Scarfone was 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 21-9-1 record and tied for 11th with a .920 save percentage.
• Scarfone's 21 victories are the the second-highest single season total in D1-era program history behind the 27-10-1 record posted by Jared DeMichiel in 2009-10, while his 869 saves are the fourth-highest single season total.
• 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 are currently 10th nationally with 3.39 goals per game, sit 11th with a +0.86 scoring margin and are tied for 15th nationally in scoring defense (2.53 goals per game). The Tigers' penalty kill (.874) ranks second in the nation despite facing 167 opponent power play attempts - the most in the nation.

TRY TO KEEP UP
RIT is 12-2-0 this season when building a first-period lead and 15-1-0 when leading after the second. The Tigers are also 17-1-1 when building a two-goal lead and 15-4-1 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. Now ranked seventh on his own with 69 blocks, 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).

WAYNE'S WORLD
Head Coach Wayne Wilson currently ranks 41st in NCAA Men's Ice Hockey history with 433 victories and currently ranks ninth among active Division I coaches with a 433-301-78 record the last 24 seasons - all on the Tiger bench. The only coach in NCAA history to win the Spencer Penrose (D1 National COY, 2010) and the Edward Jeremiah (D3 National COY, 2001) awards, he totaled a 116-31-12 mark in six Division III campaigns (1999-2005) and owns a 317-270-66 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).  He also coached his 800th career game earlier this season, becoming only the 48th coach to achieve the milestone.

POLL WATCHING
RIT moved back into the USCHO.com top-20 this week at No. 20 after reaching as high as No. 18 in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine rankings earlier this season. 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.