The Purple Eagles weren’t able to recover from a three-goal second period and the RIT Tigers were able to come away with a 4-1 winon Friday night at the Gene Polisseni Center.
The second started with the Purple Eagles (3-12-0; 3-8-0 AHA) in front 1-0, but two early goals gave the Tigers (5-8-2; 4-5-2 AHA) a 2-1 lead. The first came 28 seconds into the period as a shot from the point was deflected at the side of the net to tie the game at 1-1. RIT took the 2-1 lead two and a half minutes later after RIT was able to move the puck around high in the zone. A powerplay goal with just over two minutes to play gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead heading into the break.
“They got those two quick goals and we didn’t have any answers,” head coach Dave Burkholder said. “We know they’re a very good team historically at home and they were that tonight.”
Another powerplay goal on a 5-on-3 with 15 seconds left in regulation gave RIT its final 4-1 lead.
Jackson Teichroeb and Derian Plouffe teamed up to let the Purple Eagles take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Teichroeb stepped up and stopped all 18 shots he faced through the first 20 minutes, including a few big saves on odd-man rushes from the top of the crease.
Plouffe scored his fourth goal of the season to break the tie at the 10:10 mark. The freshman worked his way to the front of the net as the puck worked its way to Keegan Harper at the left point. Harper kept his shot low and Plouffe was able to fight off a defender in front to deflect the puck into the top-right corner and give his team the 1-0 lead.
Teichroeb finished the game with 44 saves on the night to set a new career-best. Plouffe’s goal sets him one away from the team lead as both Hugo Turcotte and Robert Angiolella have five. Niagara finished 0-for-8 on the powerplay while RIT finished 2-for-6.
“Obviously our powerplay struggles continued and that was the difference in the game,” said Burkholder.
