By Tommy Kane

Published: October 26th, 2019

Chapter 4: Flying Faster Than Air Force One

Tiger News and Notes

This was the first Atlantic Hockey Conference series for the Tigers this season.

Prior to the series, the Tigers were 12-23-3 against the Falcons.

Air Force had previously won the last nine of ten meetings.

Chris McKay (D) sat out the first game due to a previous suspension sustained against Merrimack.

Dan Willett (D) sat out the second game due to an injury.

The RIT Tigers (5-1, 2-0 AHA) swept the Air Force Falcons (0-6, 0-2 AHA) on Oct. 24 and Oct. 25, 2019.

The games, which took place at Cadet Ice Arena in Colorado Springs, CO, involved RIT winning, 2-1, the first game (Oct. 24), and shutting them out, 1-0, the second game (Oct.25).

The Tigers gained six points in the AHA standings and swept their first series of conference play. They also swept Air Force for the first time at the Cadet Ice Arena.

First Conference Series of the Season

Elijah Gonsalves (F) scored his first collegiate goal last Saturday during the 2019 Brick City Homecoming Game, and he was excited to do so in such a lively atmosphere at the Blue Cross Arena.

“Honestly, I couldn’t even put it into words,” he told. “It was so exciting and my family was there. It was a great goal that I will remember for the rest of my life.”

While the 4-0 victory against Merrimack was exhilarating, the Tigers had set their sights on Air Force, a team that had given them difficulty in the past. This series also marked the first conference series of the 2019-2020 season.

Jake Hamacher (F) spoke about what needed to be done to go to Colorado Springs, CO, and come away with a few victories.

“I think Air Force is going to be a tough challenge and they always play us really hard. For us, it is just continuing to play our game, put the puck behind their defense, and get on the forecheck. Hopefully, that recipe could lead to another two wins.”

The Coach’s Corner

Head Coach, Wayne Wilson, stressed that while it was a great win and a complete performance against Merrimack, the team could always get better and need to look at the importance of the upcoming conference play.

“I think we have played pretty good overall, but we could improve in all areas of our game,” he explained. “We have talked about things we did well and things we need to get better at. We need to try and be more efficient in every game. I do like where we are at right now, and we will get another unbelievable task against Air Force on the road. If we want to be a good team, we always need to find ways to win.”

He also explained how it was nice to get some wins against nonconference opponents, but it was time to look to get points against our rivals and move up in the conference standings.

Outshot Heavily, But Still Won

Logan Drackett (G) tracking down the puck

The first period of the first contest between the Tigers and Falcons got off positive for the Falcons, as they carried momentum throughout most of the period.

Momentum is nice, but a costly penalty for Air Force late in the first period proved to be huge for RIT. Shawn Cameron (F) scored yet another powerplay goal, this time finding the rebound and beating Falcon’s keeper, Zach LaRocque. RIT scored the first goal of the game.

No one scored in the second period, but the Tigers only had two shots in the entire twenty minutes that ensued. Air Force continued to push and garner shots throughout the period, also getting two powerplays in the stanza.

Gonsalves scored for the Tigers during the early stages of the third period, giving the team a 2-0 lead, despite the huge shot difference.

The Falcons, though, were finally able to break RIT goalie, Logan Drackett’s, shutout streak. Matt Pulver cut the lead to one with about six minutes left in the game.

Air Force pulled LaRocque to get the extra attacker out but was unable to get that game-tying goal. RIT won their first conference game, 2-1, in a tight battle.

The shot difference between the two teams was gigantic. RIT only had 11 shots, while Air Force had 44. The Falcons couldn’t score on any of their four powerplay chances, while the Tigers scored on one of three. In the Tiger net, Drackett made some huge saves and ultimately stopped 43 shots (.977). LaRocque, only facing 11 shots all game, stopped nine of them (.818).

Shutout and Sweep

Shawn Cameron stepping onto the ice

Saturday’s contest was a bit more even with shots at first, unlike the night before.

Throughout the first period, both teams traded powerplay opportunities, but no one was able to cash in on any.

Early in the second period, Adam Brubacher (D) somehow got a five minute major and ejection for “contact to the head”. It was a quite controversial call against the Tigers.

RIT did kill off the major and was able to get the first goal towards the latter stages of the stanza. Hamacher received a pass from Caleb Moretz (F) on a two-on-one and scored. The Tigers headed into the second intermission up 1-0.

A few penalties occurred in the third period, and eventually, Air Force pulled out their goalie, but RIT was able to hold off for the shutout.

Drackett made some huge saves towards the end to secure the 1-0 victory.

The game was very physical and a good amount of penalties were called throughout the match, despite no one capitalizing on a powerplay.

Shots were in favor of the Falcons, 36 to 11. Drackett stopped all 36, while LaRocque stopped 10 of 11 (.909) shots.

First of November at the Gene

The Tigers will be back in action on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2, 2019, where they will play the Holy Cross Crusaders (1-1-2) at the Gene Polisseni Center for the first time in the 2019-2020 season. The first game (Nov. 1) will be at 7:05 PM EST and the second game (Nov. 2) will be at 5:05 PM EST.

GO TIGERS!

Game One Stats Against the Falcons

Game Two Stats Against the Falcons