ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The RIT Men's Hockey team closes the home portion of the 2025-26 schedule hosting Bentley, Friday, in a battle of the top-two teams in the Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) standings.
 
The Tigers return to the ice after a 10-day layoff following a 2-1 victory over visiting Niagara last Tuesday (Feb. 10) to improve to 4-1-2 (including two shootout wins) over their last seven games.
 
Bentley split a home series with Sacred Heart last weekend, falling, 4-0, last Friday before earning a 5-1 win on Saturday.
 
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PLAYOFF UPDATE
With two weeks left in the regular season, RIT and Bentley look to solidify their positions atop the AHA standings.
 
While five teams remain within striking distance of the second-place Tigers entering the weekend, RIT currently needs four points over its final three games to clinch a top-five finish and a first-round bye for the AHA Tournament. Bentley only needs three points over its final three games to clinch the Bob DeGregorio Trophy and the top seed for the postseason tournament.
 
SENIOR NIGHT
RIT will honor the eight members of the Class of 2026 prior to Friday's faceoff. Gustav Blom, Austin Brimmer, Trent Burnham, Simon Isabelle, Philippe Jacques, Adam Jeffery, Xavier Lapointe and Tyler Mahan will be recognized before the game.
 
TIGER REWIND
RIT senior forward Austin Brimmer and first-year forward Zach Wigle each notched a goal and an assist in the Tigers' 2-1 victory over visiting Niagara, last Tuesday. Following a scoreless first period, Brimmer and Wigle scored during a 31-second span for a 2-0 lead 1:48 into the second. Niagara broke up the shutout midway through the third, but couldn't find the equalizer. Sophomore goaltender Jakub Krbecek made 22 saves, including 10 in the second period, to earn his 17th victory this winter.
 
LAST THEY MET
Playing its fourth road game in eight days, RIT dropped a 3-2 decision at Bentley (Nov. 21) earlier this season. Senior forward Austin Brimmer gave RIT a 1-0 lead at 11:15 of the first before the Falcons answered less than five minutes later and took the lead in the opening minutes of the second. Bentley later led 3-1 midway through the third before Tiger first-year forward Caleb Elfering tallied with 38 seconds remaining in regulation to close the scoring.
 
ZACH ATTACK
First-year forward Zach Wigle leads RIT with 22 points on seven goals and a team-best 16 assists. He has at least a point in 10 of RIT's last 14 games, totaling 14 points on three goals and 11 assists. Over the same span, he has also notched double-digit faceoff wins on nine occasions, winning 57.4 percent (166-289) of his draws. He scored a goal and won a career-high 19 faceoffs on 25 attempts for a .760 winning percentage--also a personal best--in the 3-3 home tie versus Niagara (Jan. 24) and won 28 of 43 draws (65.1) during the two games at Army.
 
KING KONYEN
First-year forward Evan Konyen was named the AHA Rookie of the Month for January. Konyen leads RIT with 12 goals and is tied for second with 22 points. In 10 games last month, Konyen totaled nine points on five goals and four assists, including two game-winning tallies. He scored the game-winning goal in RIT's 1-0 shutout of Penn State (Jan. 3) on his way to AHA Rookie of the Week honors and was also credited with the game-winner, along with an assist and two blocked shots in the Tigers' 3-2 overtime win over Robert Morris (Jan. 10).
 
THE KILLERS
RIT currently ranks inside the top-20 nationally in penalty killing and scoring defense. The Tigers sit 11th killing 84.3 percent of opponent power plays while only allowing 2.48 goals per game -- 15th best in the country.
 
BRIMMING WITH CONFIDENCE
Senior forward Austin Brimmer is tied for second for the Tigers with 20 points on seven goals and 13 assists after notching a goal and an assist in last Tuesday's 2-1 win over Niagara for his sixth multi-point game of the season. Brimmer was named the AHA Player of the Week (Jan. 27) after logging back-to-back multi-point games during RIT's home-and-home series versus Niagara, including a goal and an assist in the opening 4-2 victory to mark the Tigers' first road win versus the Purple Eagles since 2018.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• RIT is currently 14-2-1 when scoring at least three goals but is 3-10-1 when scoring fewer than three goals
• RIT is 16-2-1 when holding opponents under three goals, but 1-10-1 when allowing three or more goals.
• The Tigers are 17-2 when holding at least a share of the lead after two periods this season, including an 12-0 mark when leading after 40 minutes of play. However, RIT is 0-10-2 when trailing entering the third period.
 
TIGERS VS. BENTLEY
Friday's game will be RIT's 51st D1-era meeting with Bentley. The Tigers lead the series, 28-18-4, including a 13-11-1 home record and a 15-7-3 mark on the road. The Falcons are 1-5 in their previous six games in Rochester dating back to the 2019-20 season, with their last win coming 2-1 on Feb. 18, 2023. The teams split two games in Waltham in their only two meetings last season as the Tigers bounced back from a 5-0 opening shutout for a 6-2 victory (Nov. 8-9).