By Tommy Kane

Published: February 16th, 2020

Chapter 15: Love is in the Air

Tiger News and Notes

Prior to the series, the Tigers were 14-3-3 against the Falcons

This was the first series of the season between the two foes

Bryson Traptow (F) was still out with a lower-body injury

The RIT Tigers (17-11-4, 13-7-4 AHA) swept the Bentley Falcons (13-16-3, 11-13-2 AHA) on Feb. 14, and Feb. 15, 2020. RIT won the first game, 4-1, and the second game, 5-1.

Both matches took place at the Gene Polisseni Center.

Bentley Playing Better

The Bentley Falcons were playing much better hockey than they were in the late months of 2019. Adam Brubacher (D) discussed how the Tigers could counter-act that momentum and get two wins.

“They [Bentley] are probably one of the hottest teams in the conference right now and last year we went there and didn’t play too great,” he said. “We are in a tight race right now. We have to play to our standard that we set and we feel that if we finish strong we will do well.”

Also, Ryan Nicholson (D) scored his first collegiate goal on Feb. 7, 2020, against the Robert Morris Colonials. Nicholson talked about how he felt getting his first.

“It was good. I was happy to finally get it over with and contribute to the team,” Nicholson exclaimed.

The Coach’s Corner

Head Coach, Wayne Wilson, discussed with me about what the Tigers need to do to beat a productive Falcon team in the upcoming weekend. It was interesting hearing it from a coach’s perspective.

“Bentley is playing really well. At this time of year, a lot of teams are playing really well, playing desperate,” Coach explained. “I think we need to worry about ourselves. We have to be aware of what they are doing because each team brings a different element to the game. I think they got a pretty skilled team, especially their top line.”

Coach Wilson also said that he feels the Tigers are playing well at this stage of the game, and need to take it one game at a time heading down the stretch to the playoffs.

Lovey Dub

The first game of the series proved to be a physical one between the two conference rivals.

It wasn’t until past the mid-way point of the first period that someone got on the scoreboard. Jake Hamacher (F) scored his first of three goals with a wrist shot that went past Bentley goalie, Fraser Kirk.

Unfortunately, in the beginning minutes of the second period, Kirk went down with an apparent lower-body injury. He was replaced by Aidan Pelino, and he did not return to action.

Soon after, the Tigers got on the powerplay and scored. Hamacher was able to thread the needle and put it past the new Falcon keeper, extending the lead to 2-0.

RIT continued to put pressure on Bentley and got quality chances. To round out the second period, Will Calverley (F) scored his first goal of the series from a great feed. This was also a powerplay goal for the Tigers.

Drackett made some big saves to start the third period, but he didn’t get the shutout. Brett Orr scored the lone Falcon goal. It was near-impossible to stop, as a lucky bounce took precedent.

With about two and a half minutes left in the game, the Falcons pulled their goalie to get the extra attacker on. Hamacher took advantage of this and earned his hat trick. RIT won, 4-1, in front of a ruckus and populated student section.

The Tigers had 29 shots, while the Falcons had 27. In terms of the powerplay, RIT scored on two of five opportunities, and Bentley couldn’t score on any of their two chances. In the Tiger net, Drackett saved 26 of 27 (.963) shots. In the Falcon net, Pelino stopped 18 of 20 (.900) shots and Kirk stopped 7 of 8 (.875) shots.

Sweeptacular Weekend

Shawn Cameron Fighting for Puck Possession

Game two started off great for the Tigers, as they scored just 20 seconds into the game. Nick Bruce (F) tipped a shot that went past Pelino, giving the Tigers the early 1-0 lead.

A few minutes later, Jakov Novak got on the breakaway and scored a quick back-hander that was difficult for Drackett to stop. That was the only goal the Falcons scored that night.

In the beginning of the second period, RIT cashed in to take the lead. Caleb Moretz (F) found the puck after a failed wrap-around attempt and put it home.

About a minute later, the Tiger rode the momentum into a powerplay. Elijah Gonsalves (F) scored a beauty that was from a pin-point pass. The Tigers took a 3-1 lead heading into the second intermission.

Early on in the third period, Novak laid a very dirty hit on a Tiger and was sent to the dressing room early with a five-minute game misconduct. The Tigers got a five-minute powerplay and scored on it. Shawn Cameron (F) was left alone in the slot and it paid off for the Tigers.

The Falcons got a few good opportunities, but the Tigers made some huge blocks and Drackett made some huge saves. Pelino was pulled, and Gonsalves took advantage of it by scoring an empty-net goal to secure the weekend sweep.

The Tigers won, 5-1. The Tigers had 24 shots, while the Falcons had 29. In terms of the powerplay, RIT scored on two of their six chances and Bentley scored on none of their five chances. In the Tiger net, Drackett saved 28 of 29 (.966). In the Falcon net, Pelino stopped 19 of 23 (.826).

Three of Four Home

The Tigers only have four games left in the 2019-2020 regular season. Next week, they have a home-and-home against the Niagara Purple Eagles (8-17-4, 8-11-6 AHA). On Feb. 21, 2020, Niagara hosts, and on Feb. 22, 2020, the Tigers host. Both games are at 7:05 PM EST.

Finally, the Air Force Falcons (8-16-5, 8-11-5 AHA) come into town on Feb. 28, and Feb. 29 to finish off the regular season. Both games are at 7:05 PM EST.

GO TIGERS!

Game One Stats Against Bentley

Game Two Stats Against Bentley