ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The RIT Men's Hockey team welcomes Robert Morris to the Gene Polisseni Center this weekend for a best-of-three Atlantic Hockey Tournament Quarterfinal series, Friday-Sunday.

The top-seeded Tigers had a bye last weekend while the 11th-seeded Colonials upset sixth-seeded Bentley in overtime, 4-3, on the road during last Saturday's first round.

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

• RIT won its second-straight Bob DeGregorio Trophy and top-seed for the Atlantic Hockey Tournament after completing the regular season with a 22-10-2 record, including an 18-7-1 conference mark for 54 points to out-pace the rest of the conference by eight points.
• RIT put together the seventh 20-win campaign in 19 years at the Division-I level. Coupled with a 25-win season last season, the Tigers logged back-to-back 20-win seasons for only the second time in the Division-I era and first since finishing with a 23-13-2 record in 2008-09 and a 28-12-1 mark in 2009-10.
• RIT finished the regular season eighth nationally and first in Atlantic Hockey with 3.74 goals per game. The Tigers also led the conference in five other categories, ranking eighth in the country with a 1.27 scoring margin, 17th with .233 power play percentage, eighth with 9.76 points per game, 11th with 6.03 assists per game and third with 36.16 shots on goal per game. The Tigers were also 12th nationally in scoring defense, only allowing 2.47 goals per game, while finishing with the fifth-best penalty kill (.855).
• RIT was ranked in the USCHO.com national poll for the 16th consecutive week, sitting 19th after climbing as high as No. 18 in January. The Tigers also ranked in the USA Hockey top-20 for the 10th time this season, including the second-consecutive week at No. 20.
• RIT only lost back-to-back games once during the regular season, falling 3-1 at Niagara (Jan. 11) and 3-2 in a home overtime loss to Canisius (Jan. 16) before going 6-0-1 in its next seven games and 9-2-1 prior to the postseason. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• RIT is 15-0-1 when leading after the first period and 18-2-2 when leading after the second period this season.
• The Tigers are also 17-0-1 when leading by multiple goals and 16-1-1 when allowing less than three goals.
• RIT has scored five or more goals 10 times this season and is undefeated in those games.
• RIT averaged 3.92 goals in its 26 Atlantic Hockey games this winter, totaling 102 tallies in conference play. Air Force finished second with 88 goals and 3.38 goals per game. 

RIT IN THE ATLANTIC HOCKEY QUARTERFINALS

• RIT owns a 20-8 record in 12 Atlantic Hockey Tournament Quarterfinal appearances, including a 14-3 mark at home. Last season, the Tigers swept Mercyhurst, 5-3 and 4-3 (OT), at the GPC to advance to their second-straight and 10th overall AHA semifinal appearance.
• Current sophomore forward Adam Jeffery scored his first two collegiate goals in last year's opening win versus the Lakers, including what proved to be the game-winner with under two minutes left in regulation.
• Current fifth-year defenseman Gianfranco Cassaro scored the game-winner 3:09 into OT the following night to clinch the sweep. 

ROBERT MORRIS REWIND

• RIT swept four games against Robert Morris during the regular season, starting with 4-1 and 6-2 home victories on Dec. 1-2, before taking 6-3 and 7-1 road win, Jan. 19-20. 
• Junior forward Carter Wilkie totaled a team-best 10 points (5G/5A) while winning better than 64 percent of his faceoffs versus the Colonials, while senior forward Cody Laskosky added eight points (3G/5A).
• RIT and Robert Morris have met once in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament and will face each other for the first time since the Tigers defeated the Colonials, 7-4, in the 2016 championship game, played in downtown Rochester at the Blue Cross Arena. Myles Powell registered two goals and two assists while Liam Kerins (2 goals) and Todd Skirving (3 assists) were among eight Tigers with multiple points. Goaltender Mike Rotolo made 30 saves, including 15 in the third period. 

BIG RED
Junior forward Carter Wilkie finished the regular season fifth in the conference with 34 points, becoming only the fifth D1-era Tiger to post three 30-point seasons while becoming the 15th RIT player to eclipse the 100-point plateau with 104 points (41G/63A) to date.
The two-time Hobey Baker Award nominee is currently tied for 13th on the Tigers' D1-era scoring list with 104 points on 41 goals and 63 assists the last three seasons.

• Wilkie entered the postseason third in Atlantic Hockey with 1.06 points per game, fifth with 34 points, tied for fourth with 14 goals and seventh with 20 assists. He was also second in the country with 443 faceoff wins and tied for second with three shorthanded goals. 
• Wilkie was only the second D1-era Tiger to score two short-handed goals in a game and first since Myles Powell did it in a 6-3 win at Bentley on Oct. 29, 2016.
• Wilkie logged the Tigers' 20th D1-era hat trick along with an assist in the 7-3 win over Air Force (Feb. 16).
• Wilkie was named the Atlantic Hockey Preseason Player of the Year. Also named the preseason Co-Player of the Year last year, Wilkie went on to be voted the 2022-23 Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year and a First-Team All-Conference selection.   
• Wilkie tied for 17th nationally last season with 40 points on 14 goals and 26 assists after finishing the regular season leading Atlantic Hockey in points and points per game.
• Wilkie became only the 13th player to hit the 40-point plateau in a single season in the Division I era and first since Erik Brown totaled 42 points (including a single-season program record 29 goals) in 2017-18. 

TENDER LOVING CARE
Junior goaltender Tommy Scarfone finished the regular season with a 20-8-2 record – one of only four goaltenders in the nation with at least 20 wins.

• A semifinalist for the Richter Award as well as a Hobey Baker Award nominee for the second-straight season, the four-time Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week was also tied for fifth nationally with a .924 save percentage and tied for 14th with a 2.35 goals against average entering the postseason.
• Named the Hockey Commissioners Association and Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Month on two occasions, Scarfone became the first D1-era Tiger with multiple 20-win seasons while moving atop the program's all-time wins list with a 50-28-4 record to date.
• Scarfone finished the 2022-23 campaign with first-team All-Atlantic Hockey honors after tying for fourth nationally in wins with a 22-11-1 record and tied for 15th with a .918 save percentage. He also broke the Tigers' Division I-era single-season program record with 934 saves, while his 863 stops this winter are the fifth-highest total. 

CRACKING THE CODY
Senior forward Cody Laskosky finished the regular season second in Atlantic Hockey with 38 points and 1.12 points per game while also tying for second with 25 assists and third with 0.74 assists per game.

• Named the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Month for February, Laskosky finished the regular season with a team-best eight-game point streak, totaling 14 points on three goals and 11 assists during the run.
• He notched his second-career hat trick to go along with an assist in the 7-1 win at Robert Morris (Jan. 20) for one of his team-high 10 games this season with multiple points.
• In 121 appearances the last four years, Laskosky is 25th in D1-era program history with 81 points on 31 goals and 50 assists.
• Laskosky was voted the 2022-23 Atlantic Hockey Best Defensive Forward after finishing fourth for the Tigers with 28 points and third with 13 goals while registering 66 defensive zone takeaways. 

GIANNI BE GOOD
Fifth-year defenseman Gianfranco Cassaro closed the regular season with his third Atlantic Hockey Defensive Player of the Week award.

• The two-time Hobey Baker Award nominee scored his 14th goal of the season in RIT's 3-2 road victory at Canisius (Feb. 23) to finish the regular season ranked first nationally in goals among defensemen for the second-straight season, while tying the Tigers' D1-era single-season record he totaled a year ago.
• The tally was also his eighth power play goal this season - the most in Atlantic Hockey and tied for 10th in the country among all skaters entering the postseason.
• Also totaling 17 assists this winter, he finished the regular season one point shy of the career-high 32 points he finished with last year when he finished sixth nationally among all blueliners en route to Atlantic Hockey First-Team All-Conference recognition.
• Cassaro hasn't missed a game in three seasons at RIT, totaling 71 points on 31 goals and 40 assists in 111 appearances entering the postseason.
• Cassaro transferred following 38 appearances and three points (1G/2A) over two seasons at UMass-Amherst, including 10 during the Minutemen's run to the 2021 national championship. 

FIRST AIDEN
Senior defenseman Aiden Hansen-Bukata ended the regular season ranked second in Atlantic Hockey with 0.77 assists per game and fourth with 24 assists. He was also 11th in the league with 28 points and 0.90 points per game.

• Hansen-Bukata was named Atlantic Hockey Defensive Player of the Week two of the final four weeks of the season, including after the Bentley series that saw him score the game-tying goal with 41.6 seconds left in regulation of the 2-1 OT win (Jan. 27) before assisting what proved to be the game-winner and blocking five shots in a 3-0 shutout the following night.
• In 12 games since returning from a two-game injury absence, he has totaled 15 points (3G/12A) and has only been held scoreless once. In 29 appearances this winter, he has only been held without a point eight times and ended the regular season second in Atlantic Hockey with 0.76 assists per game and 10th with 0.90 points per game.
• Hansen-Bukata was named the 2022-23 Atlantic Hockey Best Defenseman as well as First-Team All-Conference after finishing the season ranked 10th nationally with 30 assists and tied for sixth among defensemen with 32 points.
• Last season, Hansen-Bukata became the first RIT player to hit the 30-assist mark in a season since 2015-16 and also led Atlantic Hockey with 23 assists in conference play and leading all defensemen with 25 points. He also ended the campaign 12th nationally with 69 blocked shots. 

FAMILIAR FACES
Graduate student captain Caleb Moretz played his 150th career game in the regular season finale versus Canisius – the ninth Tiger to hit the milestone – joining graduate student defenseman Ryan Nicholson who also made his 150th appearance in RIT's 7-6 OT win at Mercyhurst (Feb. 9) and is third all-time with 153 games played to date.
 
TAKING IT OUTSIDE
With the 1-1 tie versus St. Lawrence (Jan. 6), 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. 
 
WAYNE'S WORLD
Head Coach Wayne Wilson became the 37th coach in NCAA men's hockey history to hit the 450-win plateau during the 3-0 win over Bentley (Jan. 26) last month. He is currently 36th in NCAA Men's Ice Hockey history with 456 victories and is ranked 10th among active Division I coaches with a 456-313-80 record the last 25 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 340-282-68 record during 19 Division-I seasons. Wilson will coach his 850th career game on Friday - only the 42nd NCAA coach to achieve the milestone.
 
GOING GONZO
Fifth-year forward Elijah Gonsalves is tied for the team lead with 15 goals this season and is tied for fifth with a career-high 27 points. The two-time alternate captain bounced back from an injury-shortened junior campaign to play in all 39 games a season ago and had played all but four games this season. Gonsalves is currently tied for 18th in Division I-era program history with 97 career points on 42 goals and 55 assists in 139 appearances. He is also a two-time Atlantic Hockey All-Academic Team honoree as well as an AHCA All-American Scholar.
 
CAPTAIN CALEB
Fifth-year forward Caleb Moretz was named captain for the 2023-24 season, trading in the "A" from his sweater for a "C" this season. In 153 games over the last five years, Moretz has totaled 64 career points on 22 goals and 42 assists, finishing seventh on the team last season with 19 points on five goals and 14 assists as well as second with 246 faceoff wins and a .532 winning percentage. Moretz is a four-time AHCA All-American Scholar as well as a four-time Atlantic Hockey All-Academic Team honoree.
 
WILDE FIRST SEASON
First-year forward Matthew Wilde finished the regular season tied for the team lead with 15 goals and tied for fifth with 27 points. He was named the Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Month for February after notching a team-best six goals to go along with three assists as RIT clinched the top seed for the AHA Tournament. Riding a five-game goal-scoring streak into the postseason, he scored two goals in the 9-2 win over Canisius (Feb. 23) and tallied a goal and an assist the following night in a 3-2 road win over the Golden Griffins, tying the game in the final minute of the first period and assisting what proved to be the game-winning goal in the third. Wilde finished the regular season tied for fourth in the conference in goals.
 
WASH, RINSE, REPEAT
RIT received a league-high 105 points in this year's Atlantic Hockey preseason poll, including seven of 11 first-place votes. Sacred Heart was picked to finish second with 99 points, including two first-place votes, followed by AIC (90 votes, one first), Holy Cross (82, one first) and Canisius (79) in the top-five.