Men's Hockey | 11/15/2016 10:18:00 AM
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men's hockey team returns home for a pair of home games against Atlantic Hockey leader Army West Point this weekend. Both Friday and Saturday's contests from the Gene Polisseni Center get underway at 7:05 p.m.
Tickets for both games are available at the Gene Polisseni Center and Gordon Field House Box Offices, or by calling (585) 475-4121 or by visiting
www.rithockey.com.
RIT is coming off a stretch having played seven of the last eight games on the road.
Last weekend, the Tigers (3-7-1, 3-5-0 AHC) dropped a pair of Atlantic Hockey contests, both on the road at Air Force Academy, by identical 4-3 scores. RIT trailed 3-0 on Friday and 3-1 on Saturday before rallying to tie in both games. Air Force would score with 1:13 left in regulation to win Friday and in the final seconds of the second period Saturday.
Ryan Kruper (Sherwood Park, Alberta/Sherwood Park Crusaders) scored two goals over the weekend, one in each game.
Todd Skirving (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Sioux Falls Stampede) and
Chase Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers) also scored on Friday, while
Liam Kerins (Caledon, Ontario/North York Rangers) and
Erik Brown (Keene, Ontario/Kemptville 73's) found the back of the net Saturday. Kruper's goals were the first two of his collegiate career.
Erik Brown (Keene, Ontario/Kemptville 73's) leads the team in scoring with seven goals and 11 points, while
Caleb Cameron (Sundridge, Ontario/Listowel Cyclones) is right behind with 10 points on four goals and six assists.
Brady Norrish (Strongfield, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Terriers) has a team-best nine assists. Seven players have at least seven points. RIT's penalty-killing unit has allowed just two goals over the last six games and has successfully killed off 26 of its opponents last 28 power-play attempts (92.9 percent) during that span.
Army West Point enters the weekend with a 6-3-1 overall and a 6-2-0 mark in league play to lead the conference with 12 points. Last weekend, the Black Knights swept a home series against Canisius, winning by scores of 3-0 and 5-2. Conor Andrle and Dominic Franco lead the team in scoring with seven points apiece. Andrle has a team-best six goals, while Franco and Michael Wilson lead the squad with five assists each. In net, Parker Gahagen has played in all 10 games, with a 6-3-1 record, 1.40 goals against average and a .949 save percentage. Army is second nationally, allowing just 1.50 goals per game.
RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 15-3-6 and is 7-2-3 against Army West Point on home ice. RIT earned three of a possible four points against Army West Point on the road last season, winning 4-0 and skating to a 2-2 tie.
Both games will be aired live on Time Warner Cable Sports 98 in Rochester, with Gene Battaglia and John DiTullio on the call from the Polisseni Center. The new pregame show with host Kevin Roche airs at 6:30 p.m. In addition, both contests will be broadcast over the airwaves on WITR 89.7 FM and
witr.rit.edu, while streaming
video and
live stats will available.
After this weekend, the Tigers will play three straight road contests. RIT is right back in action on Wednesday, Nov. 23 with a Thanksgiving eve game at league foe Mercyhurst. It is RIT's only non-weekend game of the season.
Come on out and support the Tigers as they attempt to win their third consecutive Atlantic Hockey Championship this season.
