Men's Hockey | 1/4/2011 1:59:52 PM

ROCHESTER, NY - Sophomore goaltender Shane Madolora (Salinas, CA/) of the RIT men's hockey team was named the Atlantic Hockey Association Goaltender of the Month for December, announced by the league on Tuesday.  It is Madolora's first AHA monthly honor.

Madolora was 5-0-0 in December with a sparkling 1.60 goals against average, and .943 save percentage, as RIT moved into first place in the Atlantic Hockey Association standings. On Dec. 3, Madolora opened the month by stopping all 16 shots he faced for his first career shutout, a 4-0 win over American International. He was named the AHA Goaltender of the Week for the week ending Dec. 5.

On Dec. 10, Madolora made 23 saves in a 4-2 win over, then followed that up with his best performance, stopping a career-high 43-of-45 shots, including the final 32 he faced, as RIT rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Lakers, 4-2 the following evening. He then stopped 18 shots in a 4-1 win over Canisius on Dec. 17. Madolora closed out the month by making 32 saves in a 4-3 win over Robert Morris at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. on Dec. 30.

Madolora is just one of two starting goaltenders (Ryan Rondau of Yale) in all of Division I to not have suffered a loss this season. Madolora is 8-0-1 overall and 8-0-0 in AHA play.  Madolora leads all goaltenders with a 1.74 goals against average and .939 save percentage in AHA play.  Overall, Madolora is 14th nationally in  and save percentage (.925) and 16th in goals against average (2.11).

The Tigers play their final 14 games against AHA foes.  RIT returns to action on Friday and Saturday, as they travel to play a pair of games at Army.  Both contests begin at 7:05 p.m.