AMHERST, Mass. – RIT junior goalkeeper
Jakub Krbecek made a career-high 48 saves to preserve a 2-2 tie at No. 18 UMass, Friday.
Tied, 1-1, after the first period, first-year forward
Lucas Romeo scored midway through the second to push the Tigers to a 2-1 lead. The teams were scoreless until the Minutemen equalized with .5 left in regulation to force overtime. Following a scoreless overtime, RIT prevailed in the ensuing shootout, 2-1.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- UMass opened the scoring at 6:30 of the first after Jack Galanek backhanded a rebound inside the right post off a saved shot from the point by Francesco Dell'Elce.
- RIT tied the score with 2:53 left in the first. Sophomore forward Camden Bajzer shot down the left boards on a two-on-one break with first-year forward Julian Demiglio to his right. Bajzer faked a pass in the slot and snapped a wrist shot into the Minuteman goal, far post.
- RIT took a 2-1 lead at 9:31 of the second. Senior defenseman Kevin Scott intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and backhanded a puck off the left-wing boards that was collected by Romeo inside the Minuteman blue line. Romeo fought off a defender and snapped a shot from the left faceoff dot under UMass goaltender Ethan Eskit's blocker.
- Skating six-on-five with an empty net, UMass tied the game with a half second on the clock after Dell'Ellce scored on a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle through a crowd in front of Krbecek.
- Following five minutes of scoreless three-on-three extra time, RIT won the won the penalty shootout on goals by senior forward Matthew Wilde and the fifth-round clincher by sophomore forward Nick Peluso, while Krbeck made four stops.
GAME NOTES
- Krbecek's 48 saves were the third highest single-game total in D1-era history and the most since Jocelyn Guimond made 53 in 3-1 loss at No. 8 Cornell (Jan. 7, 2006) during the Tigers' first season as a D1 program. Guimond also made a D1-era record 66 in a 3-2 win versus St. Lawrence (Oct. 28, 2005) that same season.
- Krbecek notched his fourth career game with at least 40 saves, eclipsing his previous career-high 44 stops he made on two previous occasions, including a 1-0 shutout of visiting Penn State (Jan. 3) last season.
- Bajzer scored a point in his third-straight game to open the 2026-27 season.
- Romeo's tally was his first in an RIT sweater
- Scott logged his third assist of the season after notching two helpers in last Saturday's 4-1 win over Niagara.
- RIT finished with 16 blocked shots, including a team-high three by sophomore forward Caleb Elfering.
- RIT finished 4-for-4 on the penalty kill while going scoreless on two power play chances.
- Friday's game marked the first ever meeting between the two teams.
WHAT'S NEXT
UMass hosts the Tigers on Saturday (Oct. 10) for a 7:30 p.m. rematch at the Mullins Center.
