ROCHESTER, N.Y. – RIT first-year forward Tyler Fukakusa notched two goals and an assist while junior goaltender Tommy Scarfone totaled 21 saves in a 7-0 shutout of Robert Morris in game-one of the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals.
 
Leading, 1-0, after two periods, the top-seeded Tigers scored six unanswered goals in the third. Fifth-year defenseman Gianfranco Cassaro and first-year forward Matthew Wilde finished the night with a goal and an assist each, while graduate student forward Elijah Gonsalves and senior forward Cody Laskosky added two assists apiece. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• RIT took advantage of a Robert Morris slashing penalty with under eight minutes left in the second period. Cassaro threw a long pass from the point to Laskosky outside the right post, drawing a defender away from Wilde for an open finish in the low slot at 12:37.
• RIT took a 2-0 lead at 2:14 of the third. Graduate student forward Caleb Moretz drove the net from the right corner and jammed a shot inside the right post that got caught outside RMU goaltender Chad Veltri's skate. Fukakusa found the loose puck and slipped it across the goal line.
• RIT took a 3-0 lead at 8:37 of the third. Cassaro slid a puck from the point to junior forward Tanner Andrew in the left faceoff circle, before Cassaro scored in the low slot off a return pass that deflected off the stick of a Colonial defender.
• Skating with an extra man three minutes later, Wilkie took a drop pass from Laskosky in the middle of the left faceoff circle an snapped a shot into a small window over Veltri's shoulder, near post, at 11:56 for a 4-0 lead.
• RIT scored again 1:06 later, taking advantage of a Robert Morris turnover on a long outlet pass deep in the Tiger zone. Wilde jumped on the loose puck and found Catalano in the neutral zone, who finished an odd-man rush for a 5-0 lead.
• Gonsalves later backhanded a pass through the Colonial slot to Fukakusa for a wide-open finish from outside the right post at 3:26 before Fukakusa teed up a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle for junior forward Grady Hobbs for a power-play strike with 1:51 left in regulation. 

GAME NOTES

• The Tigers finished with a 44-21 shot advantage, including a 29-9 margin over the final 30 minutes of the game.
• Wilde scored a goal in his sixth-consecutive game – the longest streak in the country – and also scored his team-leading 16th tally of the season, which is the most by a Tiger first-year during the D1 era.
• Scarfone logged his fourth shutout of the season and ninth of his career. He also logged his second career playoff shutout and first since stopping 39 shots in a 1-0 overtime win over visiting Sacred Heart in the opening game of the 2022 AHA Quarterfinals.
• Scarfone also moved up to second on the D1-era saves list with 2,363 to date.
• Laskosky scored his team-leading 40th point of the season – only the 12th player in the D1 era to reach the milestone – and tied a career-high with a point in his ninth-straight game (3G/13A).
• RIT finished 3-for-3 on the power play while killing two RMU extra-man opportunities. 
• The Tigers tied the D1-era program record for goals in a period, matching the six tallies they netted in the third period of 10-4 win at Canisius on Dec. 3, 2022.
• Head Coach Wayne Wilson coached his 850th game - the 42nd coach to achieve the milestone.
• Cassaro played his 150th career game while Andrew made his 100th appearance. 
• Gonsalves now has 99 career points on 42 goals and 57 assists – tied for 16th during the D1-era. 
   

WHAT'S NEXT
RIT hosts the 11th-seeded Colonials in game-two of the best-of-three Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal on Saturday (Mar. 9) at 7:05 p.m.