ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team opens its 2014-15 season with an exhibition contest against Brock University of Ontario at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday. It marks the first men's hockey game that will be played at the Gene Polisseni Center, RIT's new state-of-the-art on-campus arena.
The Polisseni Center, which sits on the south side of the Student Alumni Union, boasts 4,000 seats and, with standing room, has a total capacity of 4,300 complete with a student/pep band/Corner Crew section. Other seating options include reserved chair-back seating and a special club section with buffet meals. Six corporate suites are available—four on the club level, one on the media level, and a unique bunker suite at ice level. The naming of the facility resulted from a $4.5 million partnership between the Polisseni Foundation and RIT trustee B. Thomas Golisano, founder and chairman of Paychex Inc.
Students can sit in general admission for just $5. All students and corner crew members sitting in general admission will receive a free food voucher when they enter the building. In addition, Pat Duffy from WCMF 96.5 FM will be doing a remote broadcast outside the Polisseni Center before the game.
RIT returns 19 players from last season's team that advanced to the Atlantic Hockey Association First Round. Eleven forwards, five defensemen, and three goaltenders will be joined by seven highly touted newcomers this season. Senior
Matt Garbowsky (St. George, Ontario/Powell River Kings) will serve as a captain for the third straight season, while classmate
Brad McGowan (Langley, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles), and juniors
Andrew Miller (Chicago, IL/Chicago Steel) and
Alexander Kuqali (Pittsburgh, PA/Sioux City Musketeers) will serve as assistant captains.
Brock enters this weekend with a 3-1 record after winning the RBC Steel Blade Classic from Sept. 18 to Sept. 21. On Thursday, Brock fell to Waterloo, 7-2. Brock also travels to Niagara to play the Purple Eagles on Oct. 5.
RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 5-4-0. The two teams last met in 2011, with RIT coming away with a 4-0 win
Brandon Thompson (Vancouver, British Columbia/Handsworth) scored for the Tigers, while Garbowsky had an assist. In net,
Jordan Ruby (Tavistock, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) made 20 third period saves to preserve the shutout.
Tickets for Saturday's contest are available at the Gene Polisseni Center and Gordon Field House Box Offices, by calling (585) 475-4121, or by visiting
www.rithockey.com.
Saturday's contest will be broadcast over the airwaves on WITR 89.7 FM and
witr.rit.edu and on
America One.
Live stats are also available for both contests.
Come out and support your Tigers in their first season at the Gene Polisseni Center.
