By Tommy Kane

Published: February 23rd, 2020

Chapter 16: A Rivalry is Born

Tiger News and Notes

Prior to the series, the Tigers were 10-15-12 against the Purple Eagles Earlier this season, the Tigers tied and beat the Purple Eagles (1-0-1)

Final home-and-home series of the season for the Tigers

Alden Dupuis (F) was out for precautionary reasons with a lower-body injury

With the overtime win, the Tigers clinch home-ice advantage in the second round of the AHA Tournament

The RIT Tigers (18-12-4, 14-8-4 AHA) split their series against the Niagara Purple Eagles (10-18-4, 10-12-4 AHA) on Feb. 21, and Feb. 22, 2020. The Purple Eagles won the first game, 4-1, and the Tigers won the second game, 3-2, in overtime.

Consequently, the first game took place at Dwyer Ice Arena in Niagara Falls, NY, and the second game took place at the Gene Polisseni Center.

With the following results, the Tigers clinched a first-round bye and home-ice advantage in the second round of the Atlantic Hockey Tournament.

Rising Up

Jake Hamacher (F) played well in the last series against Bentley, scoring two goals and tallying three assists for a five-point weekend. He discussed his improvement over the past few years. Disclaimer: Hamacher did not get a hat trick as reported in the last article.

“The biggest thing is getting more confident as the years go on. When you start, you are in awe with how fast the game can be. But, as you progress throughout your career, the game starts to slow down for you and you kinda realize you belong. That, and playing my game more, has helped me a lot,” Hamacher said.

Logan Drackett (G), starting goaltender, has also been on the rise as of late. In the previous series against Bentley, Drackett saved 54 of 56 (.964) shots. He talked about the impact of his and the team’s performance.

“I think with any team, when you are winning, you feel you are playing better,” Drackett explained. “During the season, everyone goes through ups and downs and right now we are playing well and need to build off that every game to take it into the playoffs.”

The Coach’s Corner

Head Coach, Wayne Wilson, sat down with me to talk about the upcoming games. The next three of four games were going to be home for the Tigers, and he was asked his thoughts on it.

“I think the most important game is our next game [at Niagara] and that is the game we have been talking about,” explained Coach Wilson. “We aren’t even looking at the next three following that, just the first one for now. The guys aren’t thinking of situational circumstances. We really just want to win our season series.”

Coach Wilson also talked about how it is best to just make sure the team is playing well down the stretch, and if they are, everything will take care of its self.

Flat Out Disappointing

In the first game of the series, RIT had an early penalty, but they were able to kill it off.

But, the Purple Eagles scored the first goal of the game, just a few minutes after. Jared Brandt made the game 1-0 with about seven minutes into the game.

The Purple Eagles had another big chance towards the end of the first period, but the odd-man rush goal was eventually waved off. The Tigers then went into the intermission with some momentum, but nonetheless, were still down by a goal.

Niagara regained the momentum early in the second period, scoring within two minutes. A Tiger got his pass intercepted and Jon Hill was able to fire the puck past Drackett, giving his team a two-goal lead.

It didn’t last for long though, as Andrew Rinaldi (F) scored the first Tiger goal of the game. He was able to get the puck past Niagara goalie, Chad Veltri.

Unfortunately, the momentum shifted once again in the Purple Eagles’ favor. Ryan Cook scored off a rebound because Drackett couldn’t set himself before the puck went into the net. Niagara held a 3-1 lead heading into the second intermission.

The Tigers fell flat in the third period. Passes didn’t go their way and they were not able to get back into the game.

Ben Sokay scored the final goal of the game. He shot the puck through traffic and it found the back of the net.

Niagara won, 4-1. The Tigers had 30 shots, while the Purple Eagles had 26. In terms of the powerplay, both teams couldn’t score on any opportunities. RIT had four and Niagara had two. In the Tiger net, Drackett stopped 22 of 26 (.846). In the Purple Eagle net, Veltri saved 29 of 30 (.967).

Miracle on Ice

The Tigers Celebrate After a Goal

The second game of the series was very intense and physical, as both teams were playing for playoff positioning.

The Tigers were the first to get on the board. Jake Joffe (F) corralled the puck, which was caromed off Veltri, and scored. His goal gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

Towards the start of the second period, Sokay scored on the powerplay for the Purple Eagles, tying the game at one apiece.

Later in the period, Ryan Naumovski gave Niagara the lead. The Tigers needed to come out in the third period guns blazing.

Most of the third period was physical, much like the other two periods, and it wasn’t until with about a minute left that RIT tied the game. With Drackett pulled, and on the powerplay, Adam Brubacher (D) fired the equalizer. The game went to overtime.

With just a minute and six seconds into the overtime period, Brubacher became a hero. His wicked wrister shot created a loud echo of cheer throughout the Gene Polisseni Center, as the Tigers won the game, 3-2.

The Tigers had 32 shots, while the Purple Eagles had 30. In terms of the powerplay, both teams scored one. RIT had seven chances, and Niagara had five. In the Tiger net, Drackett saved 28 of 30 (.933). In the Purple Eagle net, Veltri stopped 29 of 32 (.906).

Last Series of the Season

To round out the regular season, the Tigers will host the Air Force Academy Falcons (9-17-6, 9-11-6 AHA) on Feb. 28, and Feb. 29, 2020.

Both games will start at 7:05 PM EST.

GO TIGERS!

Game One Stats Against Niagara

Game Two Stats Against Niagara