ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The RIT Men's Hockey team opens a four-game road swing with two games at Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) foe Mercyhurst this Friday (7:05 p.m.) and Saturday (5:05 p.m.).
 
The Tigers return to the ice following a five-point weekend opposite Niagara, earning a 4-2 road victory last Friday before playing to a 3-3 home tie on Saturday that culminated in a 1-0 shootout win.
 
Mercyhurst is 3-3 over its last six games, following up a home-and-home sweep of Niagara, 3-0 and 4-2, two weekends ago with back-to-back home losses to Canisius, 4-3 and 5-0, last Friday and Saturday, respectively.
 
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TIGER REWIND
RIT defeated host Niagara, 4-2, last Friday for its first win in Lewiston since February of the 2021-22 season. After a scoreless first period, RIT took a 2-0 lead on second-period goals by first-year forward Evan Konyen and senior forward Austin Brimmer. The Purple Eagles got on the board in the fifth minute of the third, but first-year William Moore answered a minute later with what proved to be the game-winner. Niagara pulled back within one midway through the period, but an empty-net goal by senior Philippe Jacques in the final minute sealed the victory. Sophomore goaltender Jakub Krbecek finished with 37 saves, including all 22 he faced in the second period.
 
RIT came back to earn a 3-3 at the GPC on Saturday. Niagara built a 2-0 lead midway through the first period, before First-year forwards Zach Wigle and Caleb Elfering scored a pair of power play goals in a 17-second span to knot the game heading into the second period. The Purple Eagles scored the lone goal of the second before RIT first-year forward William Moore tied the game at 8:04 of the third. After a scoreless overtime, first-year forward Evan Konyen converted the lone shot in the penalty shootout as the Tigers earned the extra point in the AHA standings. First-year goaltender Collin Mackenzie earned his first career victory in his second start, totaling 20 saves, including 10 in the first period and another two in overtime. He also made a save to keep Niagara out of the net during the deciding penalty shootout.
 
BRIMMER NAMED AHA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior forward Austin Brimmer was named the AHA Player of the Week, Tuesday, after logging back-to-back multi-point nights opposite Niagara. Starting with a goal and an assist on Friday, he added two assists on Saturday to lead the AHA with four points last week. Riding a three-game point streak, Brimmer currently sits third on the team with 18 points, tied for second with 11 goals and tied for third with seven goals.
 
POLL WATCHING
RIT received votes in both national polls for the fourth consecutive week. The Tigers earned two votes to appear in the USCHO.com poll for the 10th time this season, while also landing two votes for their seventh showing in the USA Hockey poll.
 
THE KILLERS
RIT moved up three spots to sixth nationally while leading the AHA with an .872 penalty killing percentage this week, only allowing 11 goals in 86 opponent power play attempts this season. RIT is also 17th nationally in scoring defense, only allowing 2.50 goals per game.
 
KING KONYEN
First-year forward Even Konyen leads RIT with 10 goals and is second with 19 points. In the nine games since returning from holiday break, he has totaled 10 points on six goals and four assists, including the game-winner in the 1-0 shutout of No. 8/9 Penn State (Jan. 3) en route to becoming the Tigers' third AHA Rookie of the Week, joining Zach Wigle (Nov. 11) and Caleb Elfering (Oct. 28).
 
ZACH ATTACK
First-year forward Zach Wigle leads RIT with 20 points on six goals and a team-best 14 assists. After notching two assists in last Friday's 4-2 win at Niagara, he notched a goal and won a career-high 19 faceoffs on 25 attempts for a .760 winning percentage--also a personal best--in Saturday's 3-3 home tie. Wigle has at least a point in eight of RIT's last nine games, totaling 11 points on two goals and nine assists. Over the same span, he has also notched double-digit faceoff wins on seven occasions, winning 60.3 percent (123-204) of his draws.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• RIT is currently 12-2-1 when scoring at least three goals but is 2-9 when scoring fewer than three goals
• RIT is 13-2 when holding opponents under three goals, but 1-9-1 when allowing three or more goals.
• The Tigers are 14-2 when holding at least a share of the lead after two periods this season, including a  10-0 mark when leading after 40 minutes of play. However, RIT is 0-9-1 when trailing entering the third period.
 
EVERYBODY EATS
Seventeen Tigers have scored at least one goal this season, while 22 of the 24 total skaters have notched at least one point.
 
THREE PLAYERS NOMINATED FOR HOBEY BAKER AWARD
Junior forward Christian Catalano, sophomore goaltender Jakub Krbecek and junior defenseman Ben Roger were nominated for the 2026 Hobey Baker Award, presented annually to the nation's top collegiate men's hockey player. The trio is among 87 players from across the country who were announced Tuesday.
 
TOP CAT
Junior forward Christian Catalano has totaled 16 points on eight goals and eight assists so far this season, including two game-winning goals, while ranking eight in Atlantic Hockey in shots on goal. He scored the overtime winner in the Tigers' 3-2 victory over Robert Morris (Jan. 10) and also notched what proved to be the deciding tally in the 4-1 win over Mercyhurst (Nov. 7). Catalano is the Tigers active leading scorer with 56 points over the last three seasons on 24 goals and 32 assists.
 
KRBECEK APPEAL
Sophomore goaltender Jakub Krbecek was named to the watch list for the 2026 Mike Richter Award, annually presented to the top goaltender in NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey since 2014.
• Krbecek entered the week tied for sixth in the country in victories with a 14-9-0 record, while his 2.08 goals against average ranked 11th and his and his .924 save percentage was tied for 12th.
• He tied a career-high with 44 saves in a 1-0 win over eighth-ranked Penn State (Jan. 3) for his first career shutout.
• Krbecek was named the AHA Goaltender of the Month after compiling a 4-1-0 record in five October starts, highlighted by a 39-save performance during the 7-3 win over Air Force (Oct. 25) and 28 saves in the 6-2 win over Clarkson (Oct. 18) in the Brick City Homecoming game.
• He also landed his first career AHA Goaltender of the Week honor (Nov. 4) after combining to stop 42 of 44 shots in back-to-back wins over Colgate.
 
ROGER THAT
Junior defenseman Ben Roger has established himself as one of the top AHA defenseman during his first collegiate season, ranking sixth among the conference's blueliners with 13 points on three goals and 10 assists. He recently scored a career-high three points on a goal and two assists during the 4-1 victory over Robert Morris and also logged a goal, an assist and three blocked shots in the Tigers 7-3 setback at then eighth-ranked Penn State (Jan. 4).
 
MAHAN NOMINATED FOR HOCKEY HUMANITARIAN AWARD
Senior captain Tyler Mahan was nominated for the 2026 Hockey Humanitarian Award, presented annually to college hockey's finest citizen – "a student-athlete who makes significant contributions not only to his or her team but also to the community-at-large through leadership in volunteerism" since 1995.
• During his sophomore season, Mahan met Mason Scherer, a young boy from the Rochester area who was struggling in school. Now 11 years old, Mason faced challenges with a stutter and a learning disability, which unfortunately made him a target for getting picked on.
• Seeking a positive influence for his son, Mason's father, David, reached out to the RIT Men's Hockey team in search of a mentor. Mahan eagerly stepped into the role, and over the years, the two have developed a close bond, maintaining regular contact through calls and texts.
• With Mahan as a role model, Mason's confidence has grown exponentially, leading to significant improvements in his social life and school performance.
Finalists will be announced in February, before the 2026 Hockey Humanitarian Award recipient will be announced on Friday, April 10th during the NCAA Men's Frozen Four weekend in Las Vegas.
 
TIGERS VS. MERCYHURST
Friday's game will mark the 66th all-time D1-era meeting between RIT and Mercyhurst. The Tigers lead the all-time series, 39-21-6, including a 21-9-4 home record and a 17-11-2 road mark. RIT swept two meetings over the visiting Lakers in November, winning 4-1 and 3-2 (Nov. 7-8). The Tigers rode a three-goal third period to victory in the opener while opening a decisive 3-1 lead 20 seconds into the third period in Saturday's rematch. Junior forward Christian Catalano and first-year forward Zach Wigle each tallied a goal in both games while first-year William Moore (1G/2A) and senior defenseman Crossley Stewart (3A) added three points apiece.