ERIE, Pa. – The 20th-ranked RIT men's hockey team came up short, 3-2, in Atlantic Hockey play at Mercyhurst, Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Mercyhurst scored the lone goal of the first period after Keanan Stewart tipped a shot from the point by Trent Sambrook past Tiger graduate student goaltender Luke Lush at 9:28.
- RIT evened the score with a power play goal after the Lakers were whistled for tripping 18 seconds into the second period. Senior forward Cody Laskosky fed first-year forward Matthew Wilde from behind the net in the low slot for a one-timer inside the left post after 15 seconds elapsed on the ensuing extra-man attempt.
- The game remained scoreless until Mercyhurst scored back-to-back goals in a 1:30 span to build a 3-1 lead at 16:11 of the third. Marko Reifenberger tallied at 14:41 after the Tigers were unable to clear the zone before Mickey Burns finished an odd-man opportunity at 16:11
- The Tigers got one back at 18:06 with Lush on the bench. RIT won a faceoff in the Laker zone that made its way back to the point for a long shot by Laskosky. Graduate student forward Elijah Gonsalves redirected the shot in a crowd camped out in front of Mercyhurst goaltender Owen Say for the final tally of the weekend series.
GAME NOTES
- Junior forward Carter Wilkie was credited with a secondary assist on Wilde's goal for his 100th career point, becoming the 15th D1-era Tiger to total triple-digit points. He also notched his 30th point of the season, becoming only the fifth D1-era player with three seasons of at least 30 points and first since Cameron Burt '12.
- RIT finished the game with a 46-30 shot advantage as Say finished with 44 stops to Lush's 27.
- Gonsalves notched his 13th goal of the season – tied for the team lead with fifth-year defenseman Gianfranco Cassaro.
- Laskosky leads the Tigers with 32 points on 12 goals and a team-best 20 assists.
- Wilde tallied his 10th goal of the season.
- RIT had a seven-game unbeaten streak broken and is now 6-1-1 in its last eight games.
WHAT'S NEXT
RIT returns home to host Air Force next Friday and Saturday (Feb. 16-17). Faceoffs are slated for 7:05 p.m. and 5:05 p.m., respectively.