Men's Hockey | 10/5/2011 11:24:00 AM
ROCHESTER, NY -- The RIT men's hockey team will open the 2011-12 regular season by hosting Niagara University in an exciting Atlantic Hockey Association contest at Ritter Arena on Saturday, October 8 at 7:05 p.m.
Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse is the sponsor for Saturday's game.
RIT, now entering its seventh season at the Division I level, returns 19 players from last season's team that finished 19-11-8 and came up one goal shy of making the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. The Tigers open this season receiving votes in the first USCHO.com Division I poll and are gunning for their fourth straight Atlantic Hockey Association regular season title.
On Oct. 1, the Tigers rolled to a 4-0 win over Brock University in an exhibition contest at Ritter Arena.
Brandon Thompson (Vancouver, British Columbia/Handsworth),
Adam Hartley (West Vancouver, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles),
Cameron Burt (Detroit, MI/), and
Mike Colavecchia (Maple, Ontario/Lindsay Muskies) scored for the Tigers. The goaltending trio of
Shane Madolora (Salinas, CA/),
Josh Watson (Lititz, PA/Powell River Kings), and
Jordan Ruby (Tavistock, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) combined to make 32 saves in the win, and were named the three stars of the game.
Niagara enters Saturday's contest fresh off a 5-0 loss at No. 6 Michigan in the regular season opener for both teams on Tuesday evening. Scott Arnold scored a hat-trick in Niagara's 7-2 win over Queen's University in an exhibition contest last Saturday. Last season, Niagara finished 18-13-4, including a 15-10-2 mark in AHA play. Giancarlo Iuorio is the leading returning scorer for the Purple Eagles, with 33 points (9-24-33) in 31 games last season. In net, Chris Noonan returns after leading Niagara with an 8-3-2 record last year.
RIT and Niagara were ECAC West foes in the 1990's when both were Division III teams. Niagara won the season series last season, 2-0-1. The Tigers are 2-8-4 all-time against the Purple Eagles and are 0-6-2 since moving to Division I in 2005. RIT last defeated Niagara on Feb. 8, 1997.
Tickets are available for Saturday's game at the Gordon Field House and Activities Center Box Office or by phone at (585) 475-4121. Fans can also purchase tickets via ticketmaster.com. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for RIT faculty, staff and alumni and $5 for students with ID. Fans can also buy special reserved seats in Section 100 or 101 for $13 (adults), $11 (faculty/staff/alumni) or $8 (students). Buying a reserved section ticket will guarantee you a seat for the game.
Saturday's game will be aired live on Time Warner Cable Sports channel 26 or 1026 for high definition subscribers, with Gene Battaglia and John Ditullio bringing you the action. In addition, the game will be broadcast over the airwaves on WITR 89.7 FM and witr.rit.edu.
Come out and support the Tigers as they begin their quest for the 2012 Atlantic Hockey Championship.
