ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT women’s hockey team plays its final two regular season home games of the 2012-13 season against College Hockey America rival Penn State on Friday and Saturday at Ritter Arena. Both games get underway at 7:05 p.m. RIT is trying to lock up home ice advantage for the first round of the CHA playoffs.
On Friday, the RIT Greek Fraternity and Sorority Organizations will look to “Sell Out Ritter Arena”. All fans in attendance will receive a free small stuffed Tiger that will be encouraged to be thrown onto the ice after RIT’s first goal. All of the stuffed Tigers will be collected and donated a local children’s hospital. During the first intermission, RIT and the RIT United Way chapter will donate a check to representatives of “CURE Childhood Cancer” for proceeds raised during last Friday’s “Skate For the Cure” fundraiser, which is expected to be in excess of $5,500. After the game, members of the Tigers will be signing autographs in a reception at the RITz Sports Zone.
On Saturday, the Tigers will be honoring seniors Ellesha Fortuna (Burlington, Ontario/Burlington Barracudas), Tenecia Hiller(Brampton, Ontario/Brampton Thunder), Kristina Moss (Webster, NY/Buffalo Bisons), Danielle Read (Brantford, Ontario/Hamilton Hawks), Kim Schlattman (Stratford, Ontario/Cambridge Fury), and Ariane Yokoyama (Van Nuys, CA/LA Selects). The group has combined to lead RIT to an 85-21-11 record, two ECAC West Championships, and two trips to the Division III NCAA Championship game, winning the 2012 NCAA Championship title. The six seniors have combined for 121 goals and 347 assists.
RIT (12-13-5, 5-6-5 CHA) is looking to snap a four-game winless streak after dropping a pair of one-goal games against Syracuse over the weekend. On Friday, Hiller scored RIT’s lone goal, while Ali Binnington (Oakville, Ontario/Mississauga Chiefs) made 27 saves. On Saturday, Kourtney Kunichika (Fullerton, CA/LA Selects) scored a power-play goal in the loss and Hiller became the 11th player in the history of the RIT women’s hockey program to reach the 100-point mark with an assist. Yokoyama is just three points shy of reaching 100 for her career, while Fortuna played in her 100th career game last Saturday.
Penn State enters the weekend series with a 7-20-2 record, sixth in the CHA at 1-13-2. Last weekend, the Nittany Lions earned a point at home against Lindenwood, losing 3-1, then recording a 3-3 tie. Penn State has been out-scored by its opponents, 90-63. Shannon Yoxheimer leads the team in scoring with 27 points on 13 goals and 14 assists. Jess Desorcie and Taylor Gross have 18 points apiece. In net, Nicole Paniccia has seen the bulk of time in net, recording a 6-14-2 mark with a 3.14 goals against average and .925 save percentage. Celine Whitlinger has appeared in nine games with a 2.82 goals against average and .939 save percentage.
It will be the third and fourth meetings between the two schools this season, as RIT previously earned three points at Penn State, winning 4-1 on Oct. 25 and skating to a 2-2 draw on Oct. 26. Katie Hubert (Burlington, Ontario/Burlington Barracudas) scored two goals in the win, while Penn State goaltender Nicole Paniccia made 61 saves the next night. RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools 1-0-1.
Tickets for this weekend’s game are available at the Gordon Field House and Activities Center Box Office or by phone at(585) 475-4121. Fans can also purchase tickets at www.rithockey.com. Ticket prices are $5 for adults, $4 for faculty/staff/alumni and $3 for students and youth. RIT student admission is free with valid ID (ticket must be picked up at the box office, one per ID).
Both games will be aired live on Time Warner Cable Sports, with Friday’s contest being aired on channel 26 or 1026 for high definition subscribers and Saturday’s game available on channel 98 with Gene Battaglia and former RIT standout Katie Stack (Batavia, NY/Rochester Edge) ’11 bringing you the action from Ritter Arena. Both games will also be streamed online at witr.rit.edu. Live stats will also be available here.
Come out and support the Tigers in their first season as a Division I program and “Rock the Ritter”.
