ROCHESTER, N.Y. - No. 20/20 RIT Men's Hockey team hosts Canisius on Tuesday in an Atlantic Hockey matchup originally scheduled for this past Saturday before being postponed due to the winter storm that hit Western New York over the weekend. 

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GAME NOTES

• The Tigers look to bounce back from a lackuluster 3-1 loss at Niagara last Thursday.  The Purple Eagles scored twice in the second period and again in the third to put the game out of reach. RIT first-year forward Matthew Wilde broke up the shutout with 1:13 left in regulation after tipping a shot by sophomore defenseman Xavier Lapointe inside the left post for his  fourth goal in the last five games. 
• Canisius defeated visiting Mercyhurst, 4-1, last Thursday, opening a 3-0 lead after two periods and tacking on a late empty-net goal before allowing the lone Laker goal with 7.2 seconds left in regulation. 
• RIT was ranked in the USCHO.com national poll for the ninth-consecutive week, falling one spot to No. 20 after climing as high as No. 18 last month. The Tigers also lauded their sixth-straight ranking in the USA Hockey poll, sitting No. 20 for the second-straight week after four at No. 19. 
• RIT entered the week 16th nationally in scoring offense (3.29 goals per game) and 13th in scoring defense (2.43 goals allowed/game) to rank 13th with a 0.86 scoring margin. The Tigers' penalty kill was also ranked 10th (.850).
• Prior to the Niagara game, the Tigers were 11-4-1 in their last 15 games, including a 4-0 victory opposite Clarkson and a 1-1 tie versus St. Lawrence that culminated in a 1-0 shootout win. 
• RIT junior goaltender Tommy Scarfone was named the Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week last Monday. Honored by the league for the fourth time this season, Scarfone stopped 79 of the 80 shots he faced against Clarkson and St. Lawrence.
• He started with a 33-save performance on Friday to tie Jared DeMichiel '10 for second in program history (D1 era) with his seventh career shutout. He also won his 42nd career game - one shy of the program-record 43 totaled by Logan Drackett '21.
• Scarfone then compiled a career-high 46 saves on Saturday, and became only the third D1-era Tiger to surpass the 2,000 career save plateau. He also finished the night by stopping all three Saint penalty shootout attempts before first-year forward Tyler Fukakusa converted RIT's deciding tally.
• Named to the Richter Award Watch List for the second-straight season last Friday, Scarfone currently ranks third nationally with a .930 save percentage and 10th with a 2.24 goals against average.
• RIT jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead against Clarkson on goals by fifth-year defenseman Gianfranco Cassaro, junior ward Grady Hobbs and first-year forward Matthew Wilde. Cassaro later scored an empty-netter with 50.4 remaining in regulation for his team-leading ninth goal of the season. Senior defenseman Aiden Hansen-Bukata added two assists including his 60th career point.
• The following night, graduate student forward Elijah Gonsalves gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead at 4:12 of the first, but St. Lawrence scored the equalizer in the first minute of the third. Saints goaltender Ben Kraws nearly went save-for-save with Scarfone, totaling 42 stops to preserve the tie. The tie marked only the second time in 15 games this season RIT did not win when leading after two periods, also letting a 2-1 lead slip away in a 3-2 OT setback at AIC (Dec. 8).  
• Junior forward Carter Wilkie entered the week ranked third nationally with 294 faceoff wins, including an 18-of-24 showing versus Clarkson in which he also notched an assist to move into a tie for 21st in program history (D1-era) with his 88th career point. The two players currently ranked ahead of Wilkie in the national faceoff rankings have both played three more games. 
• Cassaro entered the week tied for first nationally among defenseman with nine goals as well as tied for second among all skaters with five game-winning goals. He also leads RIT with four power-play goals. Wilde is tied with Cassaro for the team goal lead and is second with three power play goals. 
• Senior forward Cody Laskosky is tied with Wilkie (8G/10A) for the team lead with 18 points and is tied with Hansen-Bukata with 12 assists. 
• With the St. Lawrence tie, RIT completed the non-conference portion of the 2023-24 season with a 4-3-1 record, marking the fifth-consecutive season the Tigers went .500 or better outside of league play. RIT also owns a 15-12-2 mark the last five years versus the other five conferences with at least a .500 record versus the ECAC (8-5-2), CCHA (2-0) and Hockey East (3-3), while going 2-4 versus the Big 10.  
• RIT is undefeated in six games following a loss this season, averaging 4.5 goals and outscoring its opponents 27-15 after a setback.