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a men's hockey player scoring a goal over an opposing goaltender
Russell Backer
3
Winner RIT RIT 7-20-1, 6-13-1
2
Air Force AF 11-18-1, 8-12-0
Winner
RIT RIT
7-20-1, 6-13-1
3
Final
2
Air Force AF
11-18-1, 8-12-0
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 OT 1 F
RIT RIT 1 1 0 1 3
Air Force AF 1 1 0 0 2

Game Recap: Men's Hockey |

Andrew's OT tally lifts Men's Hockey to 3-2 win at Air Force

USAFA, Colo. – RIT senior forward Tanner Andrew scored the overtime game-winning goal to lead the Tigers to a 3-2 Atlantic Hockey America victory at Air Force, Saturday.
 
Coupled with Friday's 2-1 victory, RIT swept the weekend series and earned five out of six points in the AHA standings.   
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Air Force got on the board 35 seconds into the game after Brendan Gibbons intercepted a pass behind the Tiger net and fed Owen Dubois in front
  • RIT tied the game less than three minutes later following an Air Force hooking penalty. First-year defenseman Tristan Allen cycled a puck to the point for a shot by sophomore forward Tyler Fukakusa that deflected off Falcon goaltender Guy Blessing's pads. Sophomore forward Matthew Wilde backhanded the loose puck on goal for a save by Blessing, but Wilde cleaned up his own rebound to knot the score at 3:05.
  • Air Force retook the lead at 7:49 of the second after Holt Oliphant took long outlet pass down the left wing boards and snapped a shot underneath Tiger first-year goaltender Jakub Krbecek's glove from the left faceoff circle.
  • RIT was whistled for cross checking at 14:04, but notched a short-handed goal to retie the game. Air Force won the ensuing facoff in the Tiger zone but a Falcon shot from the point got caught up in a crowd in front of Blessing. Junior forward Simon Isabelle grabbed the loose puck and took off down the right wing before putting a perfect pass on the stick of junior forward Tyler Mahan charging down the slot for a tip inside the left post over the pad of an out-stretched Blessing at 14:15.
  • Skating three-on-three in overtime, Fukakusa jumped on a loose puck after an Air Force player lost control at the top of the Tiger zone an sped the other way for a three-on-one opportunity. Fukakusa skated through the neutral zone into the right faceoff circle and slid a puck to Andrew in the opposite circle for a shot inside the right post over a diving Blessing with 2:05 on the clock.
 
GAME NOTES
  • Wilde scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season and 22nd point this winter. He also scored the game-winner with 26.8 left in regulation during Friday's victory.
  • Fukakusa finished with two assists for his seventh multi-point game of the season and leads the Tigers with 28 points and 21 assists.
  • Andrew scored his seventh goal of the season, including his second game-winner, and also found the net for the second-straight game after notching the game-tying goal Friday.
  • Isabelle notched his second-straight game with an assist after assisting the game-tying goal Friday.
  • Mahan's tally was the Tigers' first short-handed goal of the season and the team-leading fifth of his career.
  • Krbecek finished with 27 saves to earn his second victory of the weekend after stopping 34 of 35 shots to preserve Friday's victory.  
  • Air Force finished with a 29-21 shot advantage.
  • RIT finished the game with a season-high 20 blocked shots, including four by graduate student defenseman Dimitri Mikrogiannakis
  • RIT killed five Falcon power-plays, including a five minute major to start the third period, while finishing 1-for-5 with the extra man.
  • RIT won both ends of a road doubleheader with Air Force for only the second time in series history and for the first time since 2019. 
WHAT'S NEXT
RIT hosts Holy Cross next weekend in the first of three-straight AHA home series to complete the regular season. Friday's faceoff is slated for 7:05 p.m. while Saturday is scheduled for a 5:05 p.m. start.