Junior goaltender Kolby Matthews totaled 29 saves while three RIT goal scorers pushed the Tigers to a 3-1 victory over visiting Mercyhurst, Saturday, in Atlantic Hockey action at the Gene Polisseni Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED
RIT opened the scoring with 13:10 left in the first period. Freshman forward Carter Wilkie brought the puck across the blue line and evaded a defender with a nifty toe drag before beating Laker goalie Kyle McClellan with a stick-side finish.
RIT sophomore forward Cody Laskosky took a puck from junior forward Caleb Moretz in the Tiger zone and beat the Mercyhurst defense all the way back to flip a back-handed shot over McClellan’s stick with 6:16 left in the second period.
Mercyhurst got on the board skating, 4-on-3, in the final minute of the second period. Dante Sheriff beat Matthews inside the left post with a wrist shot from the left face-off circle with 21.7 on the clock.
RIT took a two-goal lead with 8:23 left in the third. Senior forward Jake Joffe took a shot in front originally saved by McClellan, but senior forward Andrew Petrucci collected the rebound and fed it back to Joffe in front for a short finish.
GAME NOTES
Wikie scored his fourth goal of the season and third in the Tigers’ last four games. He also notched a goal and an assist in Friday night’s 3-3 tie with Mercyhurst.
Sophomore defenseman Aiden Hansen-Bukata was credited with an assist on Wilkie’s goal for his fourth helper in five games.
Laskosky’s goal was his first point of the season.
RIT has killed 27 of 30 power play chances this season. Only one of the three power-play goals the Tigers have allowed has been 5-on-4 – the other two were skating 4-on-3.
Matthews improved to 4-0-2 on the season, finishing one stop short of his fourth 30-save effort of the season.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Tigers hit the road to continue Atlantic Hockey play next Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 6-7) at American International. Face-off set for 5:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., respectively.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].