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a men's hockey player celebrating after scoring a goal
RIT Athletics / Mikaela Engstrom
1
Niagara NIA 18-17-3
4
Winner RIT RIT 25-10-2
Niagara NIA
18-17-3
1
Final
4
RIT RIT
25-10-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Niagara NIA 0 0 1 1
RIT RIT 1 1 2 4

Game Recap: Men's Hockey |

Men's Hockey opens AHA Semis with 4-1 win over Niagara

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – RIT junior goaltender Tommy Scarfone totaled 38 saves while four goal scorers led the Tigers to a 4-1 victory over Niagara in the opening game of the Atlantic Hockey Semifinals, Friday, at the Gene Polisseni Center.
 
Sophomore forward Tyler Mahan, senior defenseman Aiden Hansen-Bukata and first-year forward Matthew Wilde staked top-seeded RIT to a 3-0 lead late into the third period, before seventh-seeded Niagara broke the shutout with under four minutes remaining in regulation. Fifth-year defenseman Gianfranco Cassaro tacked on an empty-net goal with nine seconds left in regulation to seal the victory.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • RIT got on the board at 14:54 of the first after graduate student forward Elijah Gonsalves intercepted a Niagara pass in the Tiger zone and lobbed a clear that landed just outside the opposite blue line. A Niagara player collected the puck, but Gonsalves hustled back to snuff out a pass attempt and skated the puck to left half boards before centering a pass to Mahan in the slot. Mahan touched a short pass to first-year defenseman Crossley Stewart, who backhanded a pass to Mahan who was charging the net along the left goal line. Purple Eagle goaltender Jarrett Fiske kicked his pad out to block the pass, but the puck deflected off a defender's stick directly to Mahan for a short finish inside the left post.
  • The Tigers made it a 2-0 game at 6:49 of the second. Junior forward Evan Miller carried a puck end to end before centering a pass from deep in the right corner that went through the crease and deflected off a Niagara defender to the point. Hansen-Bukata collected the loose puck at the top of the right faceoff circle and scored on a wrist shot over Fiske's blocker into the top corner.
  • RIT made it a 3-0 game at 13:53 of the third. Sophomore forward Simon Isabelle won a defensive zone faceoff into the slot where a Niagara player attempted to tip a shot to a teammate at the point. First-year forward Christian Catalano intercepted the pass and took off the other way with Wilde, who finished a short cross in front of the crease inside an open left post.
  • Niagara pulled Fiske with under five minutes remaining and got on the board after Jay Ahearn popped a loose puck over Scarfone during a scrum in front of the crease at 16:16.
  • Cassaro completed the night in the closing seconds, intercepting a pass in front of Scarfone and banking a shot off the left half boards that bounced all the way down the ice into the Niagara net. 
GAME NOTES
  • Scarfone's night included 18 saves in the third period en route to his 35th career game with at least 30 saves. He also became only the second D1-era Tiger to surpass the 2,400 save mark with 2,418 to date and sits 50 short of the program record 2,468 compiled by Logan Drackett '21.
  • Scarfone also broke his own single-season save record with 939 to date - five more than he totaled last season. 
  • RIT blocked a season-high 21 shots, including a team-high four apiece by junior forward Carter Wilkie and senior defenseman Dimitri Mikrogiannakis.
  • RIT killed all five Niagara power plays, including a one-minute, 23 second 5-on-3 kill early in the third period.
  • Cassaro scored a goal in his fourth-consecutive game and leads all defensemen nationally with 17 tallies this winter. He also broke the Atlantic Hockey single season record previously held by Mercyhurst's Joseph Duszak in 2018-19.
  • Cassaro has scored a team-high 10 points on six goals and four assists in 12 playoff games in a Tiger sweater the last three years.
  • Hansen-Bukata logged his 30th point of the season for his second-consecutive campaign hitting the milestone.
  • Wilde extended his team-best eight-game point scoring streak, compiling eight goals and three assists during the run, while Catalano notched a point in his fifth consecutive game, totaling eight points on five goals and three assists.
  • RIT improved to 17-0-1 when leading after the first period and 21-2-2 when leading after the second. The Tigers are also 20-0-1 when leading by multiple goals and 19-1-1 when allowing fewer than three goals. 
WHAT'S NEXT
RIT hosts Niagara in a game-two rematch on Saturday (March 16) at 7:05 p.m.