ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The RIT Men's Hockey kicks off the 2026 Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) Tournament with a best-of-three quarterfinal series at Holy Cross this Friday-Sunday.

The Tigers head right back to Worcester after finishing the regular season with a pair of losses to Holy Cross, 5-1 and 3-2, last weekend. 

The Crusaders clinched the fourth seed with a 14-10-2 AHA mark, while the Tigers landed the fifth seed with a 13-11-2 conference mark, earning first-round byes to the quarterfinals. 

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TIGER REWIND
RIT looks to bounce back from 5-1 and 3-2 setbacks at Holy Cross last weekend. Holy Cross got on the board 32 seconds into Friday's opener and, after RIT tied the score early in the second on a tally by sophomore forward Ty Whyte, tallied twice in a 1:30 span to retake a 3-1 lead entering the third period. The Crusaders later put the game out of reach with two power-play goals after the Tigers were hit with a five-minute major 1:10 into the third.

On Saturday, Holy Cross notched a power play goal with 5:25 left in the first period and tallied another man-up goal at 10:00 of the third for a 2-0 lead. The Tigers got one back with a short-handed goal by first-year forward Caleb Elfering with 4:58 to play, but the Crusaders scored on an empty net to retake a 3-1 lead with 48.7 remaining. First-year forward William Moore cleaned up a rebound with 7.6 on the clock to close the night.

RIT IN THE AHA QUARTERFINALS
RIT owns a 22-8 record in the AHA Quarterfinals over 19 seasons of playing the league, including a 16-3 record at home and a 6-5 mark on the road. Not counting the COVID-abbreviated 2021 tournament, the Tigers have not played a road quarterfinal series since 2019,  before winning home quarterfinal series three-straight seasons from 2022-2024. RIT has also not lost in the quarterfinals since 2013. 

RIT VS. HOLY CROSS IN THE AHA TOURNAMENT
RIT owns a 6-5 record in four tournament series opposite Holy Cross. RIT won back-to-back home quarterfinal series versus the Crusaders in 2008 and 2009 in its first two appearances in the AHA Tournament. The Crusaders got the best of the Tigers in three games to open the 2014 tournament as well as in the 2023 semifinals in the teams' most recent playoff meeting. 

FIVE IS ALIVE
RIT has been seeded fifth for the AHA Tournament on two previous occasions, including 2016 during a run that culminated in the Tigers' second-consecutive postseason championship. Fifth-seeded RIT defeated fourth-seeded Mercyhurst in the quarterfinals (2-1, 4-1), before upsetting second-seeded Air Force, 2-1 (OT), in the semifinals and top-seeded Robert Morris, 7-4, in the final.

ZACH ATTACK
First-year forward Zach Wigle is tied for the team lead with 23 points on seven goals and a team-best 16 assists while leading the team with 332 faceoff wins and a .561 faceoff winning percentage. 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 also notched the game-winning assist along with 16-of-23 faceoff wins in the 1-0 upset of No. 8 Penn State (Jan. 3) for one of his 16 total games with double-digit faceoff wins.

KING KONYEN
First-year forward Evan Konyen leads RIT with 12 goals and is tied for first with 23 points. Named the AHA Rookie of the Month for January, Konyen totaled nine points on five goals and four assists, including two game-winning tallies during 10 outings. He scored the game-winning goal in RIT's 1-0 shutout of No. 8 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).

BRIMMING WITH CONFIDENCE
Senior forward Austin Brimmer is tied for the team lead with a career-high 23 points on eight goals and 15 assists. He notched a goal and an assist the Tigers' 2-1 win over Niagara (Feb. 10) for his sixth multi-point game of the season and 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 14-3-1 when scoring at least three goals but is 3-12-1 when scoring fewer than three goals 
• RIT is 16-2-1 when holding opponents under three goals, but 1-13-1 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 0-13-2 when trailing entering the third period. 

TIGERS VS. HOLY CROSS
Friday's game will be RIT's 62nd  D1-era meeting with Holy Cross. The Tigers lead the series, 34-19-8, including a 20-9-5 home record and a 14-10-3 mark on the road. The Crusaders have won seven of the last 10 meetings, sweeping both matchups in Rochester last season, 9-2 and 3-0 (Feb. 7-8). The Tigers have won six of their last 12 games in Worcester, sweeping both games, 3-2 and 3-2 in overtime, in October of the 2023-24 season during their most recent visit prior to last weekend.

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 nominated for college hockey's highest honor. 

TOP CAT
Junior forward Christian Catalano is fourth on the team with 21 points, is second with 10 goals and tied for fourth with 11 assists. He led the Tigers with four points during January's Mercyhurst series, logging the primary assist on the game-tying goal during the 2-2 opener, and had a hand in all three of the goals during the rematch, logging the primary assist on the first two before tacking on an empty netter to seal the 3-1 victory. 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 61 points over the last three seasons on 26 goals and 35 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 seventh in the country in victories with a 17-13-1 record, while his .921 save percentage tied for 18th and his 2.25 goals against average was tied for 16th.
• 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 defensemen during his first collegiate season, tied for 12th among the conference's blueliners with 14 points on three goals and 11 assists. He 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.

EVERYBODY EATS
Nineteen Tigers have scored at least one goal this season, while 22 of the 24 total skaters have notched at least one point. Senior defenseman Xavier Lapointe and sophomore defenseman Tristan Allen each found the net for the first time this season in the 6-2 setback at Army (Feb 6).

ELF OFF THE SHELF 
First-year forward Caleb Elfering was voted the AHA Rookie of the Month for October. Elfering finished the month with six points on two goals and four assists. He totaled three points during the Air Force sweep, starting with an assist and two blocked shots in the 5-1 win before adding a goal and two assists in the 7-3 victory to land AHA Rookie of the Week recognition. He also scored his first goal in a Tiger sweater during the homecoming victory over Clarkson.

AHA PRESEASON POLL
RIT was picked eighth in the 2025-26 Atlantic Hockey America Preseason Coaches' Poll. Sacred Heart was voted first, including seven first-place votes, followed by Holy Cross (two first-place votes) and defending champion Bentley (1). Niagara, Army, Air Force, Canisius, RIT, Robert Morris and Mercyhurst rounded out the 10-team poll, respectively.