By Tommy Kane

Published: March 1st, 2020

Chapter 17: Senior, Senior

Tiger News and Notes

Prior to the series, the Tigers were 14-23-3 against the Falcons The Tigers swept them (2-0) earlier in the season

This was the final regular-season series before the Atlantic Hockey Playoffs

Logan Drackett (G), Kobe Walker (F), and Brody Valette (D) did not play due to precautionary reasons

The RIT Tigers (19-13-4, 15-9-4 AHA) we’re defeated by the Air Force Falcons (10-18-6, 10-12-6 AHA), 3-0, on Feb. 28, 2020, and defeated them, 5-3, on Feb. 29. With the Tiger win, RIT locked up the third seed in the 2020 Atlantic Hockey Playoffs.

Both games took place at the Gene Polisseni Center.

Spectacular Finish Against Niagara

A weekend ago, on Feb. 21, 2020, the Tigers defeated the Niagara Purple Eagles, 3-2, on home ice to clinch a second-round home-ice advantage for the Atlantic Hockey Playoffs. Adam Brubacher (D) scored the equalizer and the OT game-winner.

He talked about how he and the team were able to come up big in the end.

“I think after the tying goal, we kind of had the momentum,” he recalled. “It was ours to take at that point. For me, I just got a nice pass from Jake [Hamacher] and I found a nice spot. It was a nice goal to get and a great win for the team to lock up home-ice advantage.”

The Coach’s Corner

Head Coach, Wayne Wilson, was happy with the win against Niagara. He discussed with me in more detail about the game.

“It was a very heated and hard-fought game. I have no problems with the way they [Niagara] played. They played hard, and we played hard,” he explained. “Sometimes you cross the line, but the officials took care of the penalties. Emotion is a big part of the game.”

Coach Wilson went on to say that his team needed emotion to win the game, and that the battle against the Purple Eagles was essentially what playoff hockey is.

Goalless Game

The first game of the series did not go well for the Tigers, as they were unable to even get a goal in the game.

13 seconds into the game, Luke Manning went behind the net and was able to come forward and find a seam. His goal was very difficult for Tigers’ goaltender, Ian Andriano, to stop. That strike was the only goal that was not an empty net.

The Tigers had two chances in the game. One was originally a goal in the second period. The puck squirted through Falcons’ goalie, Alex Schilling, but was challenged and overturned for too many men on the ice. Brubacher originally had the goal.

The second chance came in the middle of the third period when Jake Hamacher (F) was awarded a penalty shot. He was not able to convert it, and the game stayed 1-0.

The Tigers pulled Adriano to get the extra attacker on, but Air Force scored two empty-net goals to win 3-0. Brady Tomlak and Zach Mirageas were credited with the goals.

The Tigers had 25 shots, while the Falcons had 24. Both teams were unable to score a powerplay goal. RIT had four chances and Air Force had three chances. In the Tiger net, Andriano stopped 21 of 22 (.955). In the Falcon net, Schilling saved 24 of 24 (1.00) and earned the shutout.

Senior Winner

Tigers Celebrate After a Huge Goal

The Tigers played a better game on Senior Night at the Gene Polisseni Center.

Late in the first period, the Falcons got on the board first. Willie Reim made a great individual effort and put the puck past Andriano.

The Tigers played well in the second period, getting shots to the net in the first few minutes. Will Calverley (F) scored top-shelf for RIT, and minutes later, Ryan Kruper (F and Senior) gave the Tigers the lead after he sent the puck off the post and in. RIT went up 2-1 in the span of just a few minutes.

Late in the second period, the Falcons got back at it and tied the game at two goals apiece. Brandon Koch scored the equalizer on a powerplay.

Early in the third period, Mirageas earned a game misconduct for contact to the head. The Tigers took advantage and scored. Caleb Moretz (F) gave the Tigers the lead back after he corralled the puck and shot it past Schilling. Minutes later, though, Manning tied the game short-handed.

Late in the final period of play, Chris McKay (D and Senior) came up big for the Tigers. After making a great effort to get past the defender, McKay put the puck in the net and gave RIT the lead. Air Force pulled their netminder, but Shawn Cameron (F and Senior) took advantage and scored the insurance goal to lock up the third seed.

The Tigers won, 5-3. The Tigers had 20 shots, while the Falcons had 16. In terms of the powerplay, both teams scored once and had three chances to do so. In the Tiger net, Andriano saved 13 of 16 (.813) shots. In the Falcon net, Schilling stopped 15 of 19 (.789) shots.

Home for the Playoffs

The Tigers are now awaiting an opponent for the second round of the Atlantic Hockey Playoffs. They will host the second round on Mar. 13-15, 2020, in a best-of-three series. The winner of the series will go to the semifinals at the HarborCenter in Buffalo, NY, on Mar. 20, 2020.

RIT will be the #3 seed in the Playoffs.

GO TIGERS!

Game One Stats Against Air Force

Game Two Stats Against Air Force