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five hockey players celebrating after a goal in front of a big crowd
Evie Linantud
1
Robert Morris RMU 11-25-3
5
Winner RIT RIT 24-10-2
Robert Morris RMU
11-25-3
1
Final
5
RIT RIT
24-10-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Robert Morris RMU 0 0 1 1
RIT RIT 2 2 1 5

Game Recap: Men's Hockey |

Men's Hockey downs Robert Morris, 5-1; sweeps Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinal series

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – RIT first-year forward Tyler Fukakusa notched a goal and two assists while first-year forward Christian Catalano added a goal and an assist to lead the Tigers to a 5-1 victory over visiting Robert Morris in Game 2 of the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals.
 
Coupled with Friday's 7-0 victory over the 11th-seeded Colonials, the top-seeded Tigers advance to next weekend's semifinals and will host seventh-seeded Niagara in a best-of-three series Friday-Sunday (Mar. 15-17). The Purple Eagles swept second-seeded Sacred Heart, 6-3 and 5-1, in other quarterfinal action.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • RIT got on the board at 14:22 of the first. Junior forward Grady Hobbs took a shot from the point that rebounded off RMU goaltender Chad Veltri into the low slot. First-year defenseman Kevin Scott backhanded a short pass to sophomore forward Simon Isabelle in front of the left post for a finish under Veltri's pads.
  • The Tigers made it a 2-0 lead with four seconds left in the first after Catalano raced down the right wing and took a shot from the top of the faceoff circle that rebounded off Veltri's pads to Fukakusa in the left faceoff circle for a quick finish before Veltri could cover the left post.
  • RIT scored 53 seconds into the second period for a 3-0 lead. Fukakusa won a faceoff in the Colonial zone back to Catalano, who snapped a shot from the top of the circle through traffic past Veltri.
  • The Tigers took a 4-0 lead at 8:12 of the second after junior forward Tanner Andrew dug a puck out of the right corner to Fukakusa at the top of the faceoff circle. Fukakusa threw a puck to sophomore defenseman Xavier Lapointe at the left point, who scored on a long shot past a screened Veltri.
  • Robert Morris got on the board at 8:29 of the third after Tanner Klimple scored off his own rebound in the slot.
  • RIT closed the series at 14:35 skating 4-on-4. Junior forward Carter Wilkie circled the zone before dropping a pass at the point to fifth-year defenseman Gianfranco Cassaro, who skated into the slot for a shot over goaltender Francis Boisvert's blocker.  
GAME NOTES
  • RIT advanced to the Atlantic Hockey semifinals for the third-straight season and for the 11th time in program history.
  • RIT out-shot Robert Morris, 49-18, while junior goaltender Tommy Scarfone made 17 saves to improve to 22-8-2 this winter. He also stopped all 21 shots he faced in Friday's opener for his ninth career shutout.
  • Fukakusa also scored three points in Friday's victory on two goals and one assist, while Catalano added a goal.
  • Cassaro scored a goal in his third-consecutive game and leads all defensemen nationally with 16 tallies this winter.
  • First-year forward Matthew Wilde was credited with an assist on Fukakusa's goal for his 30th point this season, but saw a six-game goal scoring streak come to a close.
  • Graduate student forward Elijah Gonsalves was credited with a secondary assist on Cassaro's goal to become the 16th D1-era Tiger to score 100 points. He has totaled 42 goals and 58 assists during his career in a RIT sweater, including a career-high 30 points (15G/15A) this season.
  • RIT swept all six meetings with Robert Morris during the season, outscoring the Colonials by a combined 35-8 margin. 
WHAT'S NEXT
Game-one of next weekend's Atlantic Hockey semifinals versus Niagara is slated for a 7:05 p.m. faceoff on Friday (Mar. 15).