AIC YELLOW JACKETS (3-13-4, 3-7-4 AHC)
vs.
RIT TIGERS (5-10-3, 4-5-3 AHC)
Friday, January 9, 7:05 p.m. | Saturday, January 10, 7:05 p.m.
Gene Polisseni Center, 1 Lomb Memorial Drive, Henrietta, N.Y.
Live Stats| Audio|Video|AIC Roster|RITRoster
LEADERS:
AIC:
Goals:Austin Orszulak 13, Alexander MacMillan 9, Johno May 4
Assists:Alexander MacMillan 12, Chris Porter 10, Andrew DeBrincat/Johno May 9
Points:Alexander MacMillan 21,Austin Orszulak 20, Johno May 13
Goalkeepers:Alex Murray: 2-8-3, 3.45 GAA, .909 SV%, 0 SO
Hunter Leisner: 1-5-1, 4.60 GAA, .886 SV%, 0 SO
Special Teams: PP 9/54 (16.7%) | PK 46/61 (75.4%)
RIT:
Goals:Matt Garbowsky 14, Josh Mitchell 5, Brad McGowan 5
Assists:Josh Mitchell 14, Brad McGowan 10, Matt Garbowsky 9
Points:Matt Garbowsky 23, Josh Mitchell 19, Brad McGowan 15
Goalkeepers:Jordan Ruby: 4-4-3, 2.22 GAA, .920 SV%, 1 SO
Mike Rotolo: 1-5-0, 3.66 GAA, .885 SV%, 0 SO
Special Teams: PP 8/70 (11.4%) | PK 78/89 (87.6%)
ROCHESTER, N.Y.-The American International College hockey team hits the road again to start a four-game swing with a pair of games against the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers.
LAST TIME OUT: AIC split a weekend set with longtime rival Army, winning 3-2 in overtime at Tate Rink before falling 4-3 at the Olympia Ice Center. Friday at West Point, the Yellow Jackets overcame 1-0 and 2-1 deficits thanks to goals by Austin Orszulak and Johno May, setting up overtime, and it only took eighteen seconds for the Yellow Jackets to give everyone at Tate Rink déjà vu, as Orszulak scored his second of the night in the extra session on a rebound, giving the Jackets a second straight win in the first twenty seconds of overtime at the Academy. However, Army repaid AIC on Saturday with a four-goal burst in a ten minute stretch, taking a 4-0 lead, and though the Jackets were able to cut it down to one goal as May scored in the first, Nathan Sliwinski tallied in the second, and David Gandara put one home in the third, the Black Knights held on for a 4-3 victory to get their first win over AIC in the last four meetings.
RIT spent the weekend at the Mariucci Classic in Minnesota, where they battled well but fell against top-ten teams, falling 7-3 to ninth-ranked Massachusetts-Lowell and eighth-ranked Minnesota in overtime, 3-2. Mike Rotolo stopped 46 shots in the loss to the hosts in Saturday's game.
LAST TIME THEY MET: RIT swept AIC on December 6-7, 2013 in Rochester, earning 3-2 and 5-2 wins over the Yellow Jackets. RIT jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead in the first contest, but the Jackets came back, as Alexander MacMillan and Jon Puskar scored goals in the second and third periods to tie the game 2-2, only for RIT to get a mid-third period goal that was the difference maker. Leisner had 32 stops in the loss, while Rotolo had 30 saves in the win. The next night, AIC scored early in the first, but RIT strung two quick second period goals together to take a 2-1 lead. MacMillan responded with a goal to tie the game before the frame ended. However, RIT came out with a big third, scoring three times in the first 6:13 to open a commanding lead they would not relinquish, and Rotolo made it hold up from there making ten of his 23 saves in the third for the win. Leisner stopped 34 in the setback.
A NEW TIGER'S DEN: The historic Frank Ritter Memorial Arena still stands, but RIT no longer uses that building, having opened the shiny new Gene Polisseni Center this season. Perhaps the change will prove helpful for the Yellow Jackets, who managed just three points (1-15-1) in seventeen contests at the Ritter while members of Atlantic Hockey.
WILD WILD WEST: The second half of league play will predominantly feature teams in the old West Pod. AIC's next six games, and ten of the next twelve, will all be against the western section of the conference; after RIT, AIC visits Robert Morris and then returns home to host Air Force. After two with an Eastern opponent in Sacred Heart, the Jackets then welcome Mercyhurst to the Olympia Ice Center before playing in Colorado at Air Force; the team finishes out the season with a bye week and then a home-and-home with Army.
I'M SCORE: The names at the top of the goal scoring list ought to be familiar to Atlantic Hockey fans: the top four goal scorers in the entire nation come from the AHC. RIT's Garbowsky and Bentley's Andrew Gladiuk lead the country with 14 goals each, while Bentley's Max French and AIC's Orszulak each have 13 goals, good for third in the nation.
HOBEY BAKER NOMINEES: Three players have been nominated for the Hobey Baker Award between the teams; Garbowsky is RIT's lone nominee, while Orszulak and MacMillan are both on the ballot from AIC. To vote for the Hobey Baker Award, click here.
LOCAL FLAVOR: Both teams have a native son on their roster in a key role; Orszulak is AIC's leading scorer, while RIT's goalkeeper, Mike Rotolo, is a Rochester native. The two sophomores will need to come up big once again for their teams to emerge victorious.
CAPITAL IDEA: The only common thread among junior teams on the RIT and AIC rosters is with the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the BCHL, who provided the training grounds of AIC senior Matt Cassidy and RIT freshman Myles Powell.
NEXT UP: AIC heads to Pittsburgh for the second weekend set with nationally ranked, conference leading Robert Morris at 84 Lumber Arena.
