ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men’s hockey team returns home to face Atlantic Hockey foe Bentley University in a pair of contests this weekend from the Gene Polisseni Center. Both Friday and Saturday’s contest get underway at 7:05 p.m.
Tickets are available for both games online at www.rithockey.com, the Gene Polisseni Center Box Office, or by calling (585) 475-4121. On Friday, RIT students receive a free food voucher by wearing orange apparel, while Saturday is a Tiger Den event.
RIT, the defending Atlantic Hockey Champions, have started league play with a 3-0-1 mark, outscoring its opponents, 16-6. The Tigers have an 11-game unbeaten streak against league foes dating back to last season.
RIT extended its unbeaten streak to four games after earning a 4-0 win and 2-2 tie at Army West Point last weekend. On Friday, Mike Rotolo (Rochester, NY/Cedar Rapids Roughriders) made 25 saves for his fourth career shutout, while Dan Schuler (Webster, NY/Powell River Kings) tied a career-high with three points in the win. The following evening, Myles Powell (Courtenay, British Columbia/Cowichan Valley Capitals) set a Division I team record by scoring two goals 12 seconds apart and Rotolo stopped 31 shots in the 2-2 tie. The Tigers had to kill off nearly four minutes of an Army power-play in the overtime, including 13 seconds of a 5-on-3.
Mark Golberg (Ottawa, Ontario/Cumberland Grads) leads the Tigers in scoring with 10 points on a goal and nine assists. Greg Amlong (O’Fallon, MO/UMass Lowell), the Atlantic Hockey Defensive Player of the Week, leads the team with four goals. Six players have at least five points. Rotolo is 2-3-2 overall with a 2.94 goals against average and an .898 save percentage, while Christian Short (Vaughan, Ontario/Surrey Eagles) is 1-1-0 with a 2.51 goals against average and an .889 save percentage.
Bentley enters the weekend with a 3-3-1 record, including a 1-2-1 mark in league play. Last time out, Bentley dropped a home non-conference contest vs. Merrimack, 5-1 on Nov. 4. Bentley is out-scoring its opponents, 19-18 this season, as five different players lead the way with seven points apiece. Max French has three goals and four assists in just three games, while Andrew Gladiuk also has four goals and Matt Blomquist has six assists. In net, Jayson Argue is 3-2-1 with a 2.31 goals against average and .938 save percentage in six games. Last season, Bentley finished 17-15-5, falling to Mercyhurst in the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinal series.
RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 17-9-2, including a 15-8-2 record since the Division I era started in 2005. Last year, the two teams split the regular season series 1-1, with both games at Bentley. Bentley won the first contest, 2-1, while RIT rebounded to win the next night, 5-2. RIT and Bentley tied for third in the league standings last season.
Both games will be aired on Time Warner Cable Sports with Gene Battaglia and John DiTullio on the broadcast. In addition, both contests will be broadcast over the airwaves on WITR 89.7 FM and witr.rit.edu. Live stats and online video are also available.
