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a men's hockey player skating behind the goal with a puck
Cameron Horning/Mercyhurst Athletics
3
Winner RIT RIT 15-11-2, 11-7-2
1
Mercyhurst MER 3-21-2, 3-13-2
Winner
RIT RIT
15-11-2, 11-7-2
3
Final
1
Mercyhurst MER
3-21-2, 3-13-2
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
RIT RIT 0 2 1 3
Mercyhurst MER 0 1 0 1

Game Recap: Men's Hockey |

Men's Hockey moves past Mercyhurst, 3-1

ERIE, Pa. – RIT junior forward Christian Catalano logged a goal and two assists to lead the Tigers to a 3-1 victory at Mercyhurst in Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) action Saturday.
 
After a scoreless first period, junior forward Boris Skalos and sophomore defenseman Mason Croucher scored back-to-back goals for a 2-0 Tiger lead in the second. Mercyhurst made it a one-goal game heading into the third, but a late empty-net goal by senior forward Philippe Jacques sealed the RIT victory.  
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
RIT opened the scoring at 8:41 of the second. Catalano skated a puck through the neutral zone deep into the right corner before hitting Skalos in the slot for a one-timer inside the left post. 
The Tigers struck again 3:12 later after Croucher found the puck in a crowd outside the left post and lifted a shot into the top-right corner of the goal from a tight angle.
 
 Mercyhurst got one back with 6:01 left in the period after Caleb Price sent a long outlet pass to Andrew LeBlanc, who had just come off bench behind the RIT defense. LeBlanc deked Tiger sophomore goaltender Jakub Krbeck inside the left post to convert the one-on-one chance.
 
RIT held the Lakers scoreless the rest of the way, as Catalano tacked on an empty-net goal with 29 seconds left in regulation to seal the win.
 
GAME NOTES
  • Coupled with Friday's 2-2 tie that culminated in a 2-0 RIT shootout win, the Tigers clinched their second-straight five-point weekend in the AHA standings. RIT also defeated Mercyhurst, 4-1 and 3-2 (Nov. 7-8) at home earlier in the season.
  • Catalano notched his ninth goal of the season while moving into a tie for the team lead with 20 points.
  • Skalos tallied his second goal of the season and first against his old team after playing the first two years of his career at Mercyhurst.
  • Croucher also added his second goal of the season while combining for eight shots on goal over the two game set versus the Lakers.
  • Krbecek was credited with 18 saves for the second-straight night, combining to stop 36-of-39 shots he faced during the weekend series, while improving to 15-9-1 this winter. 
WHAT'S NEXT
RIT heads to Army next weekend for a pair of AHA contests on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 6-7). Faceoffs are scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and 4:05 p.m., respectively.